First pick
Reenagross Park
Park or garden · 80 m outside town
8.5 ha1.8 km of path
25 minto walk all 1.8 km of path
1.1 km south-eastfrom the centre
Lover's Walk
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: J. Patrick Fischer · CC BY-SA 4.0100%near a park
Outdoors in Kenmare · parks, paths & countryside
The Kerry Way runs through Kenmare
2 waymarked trails start within 5 km of Kenmare, among them the Kerry Way and Beara Way. Killarney National Park begins 5.3 km away. 9 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 0.6 for every square kilometre.
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
6.2 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
9 km
0.6 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Protected for nature
6.5%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Kenmare River SAC
Woodland
7.2%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
The sea
6.4%
of the area within 5 km
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Kenmare?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On a long-distance trailThe Kerry Way passes through.A park on every doorstep100% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.Hills with a view3 mapped viewpoints, about 32× as many per resident as the typical Irish town.Few mapped footpaths0.6 km of path per km²; the typical Irish town has 2.1.
Kenmare’s strongest suit is the Kerry Way, followed by parks close to every home. Where it falls short is footpaths.
Against other towns
How Kenmare compares with Irish towns
Each figure against Ireland’s 321 towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500+ (city hubs left out): the marked bar is the town’s, the line the median. Ireland has no Outdoors Grade yet: the figures are described, each against other Irish towns, and none of them counts towards the overall grade.
A park within a walk100%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
83out of 100
Public green space6.2 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
65out of 100
Footpaths0.6 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
18out of 100
Protected for nature6.5%of the land within 5 km
82out of 100
Woodland7.2%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
86out of 100
The sea6.4%of the area within 5 km
72out of 100
Parks, paths and woods: OpenStreetMap; residents: CSO Census 2022 Small Areas; protected sites: NPWS; sea: CSO and ONS land outlines. A 0 means nothing is mapped.
Towns its size
Kenmare has the 19th fewest footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (2,510 to 3,148 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Ballybrack (8.6 km per km²) to Sixmilebridge (0 km per km²).
Footpath, km per km²
Kenmare0.6
Towns its size0.7
Co. Kerry towns0.6
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Kenmare6.2
Towns its size3.8
Co. Kerry towns2.9
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Kenmare100%
Towns its size83%
Co. Kerry towns77%
Typical Irish town92%
Against towns its size, Kenmare stands out most for park space per resident: only 13 of the other 39 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 21 of the others do better.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | The sea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ballybrack Dublin | 8.6 | 8% | 0.2% | 36% |
| 2 | Sunday's Well Cork | 7.3 | 2.7% | 0.4% | – |
| 3 | Blackpool Cork | 6.6 | 3% | 1.4% | – |
| 4 | Carna Dublin | 5.4 | 1.7% | 0% | – |
| 5 | Taylor's Hill Galway | 5.1 | 1.2% | 15% | 37% |
| 6 | Togher Cork | 5 | 1.5% | 0.5% | – |
| 7 | Decies Dublin | 4.8 | 7.2% | 0% | – |
| 8 | Mayfield Cork | 4.7 | 5.3% | 3.3% | – |
| 9 | Kylemore Dublin | 4 | 3% | 0% | – |
| 10 | Edenmore Dublin | 2.8 | 3.6% | 5.9% | 24% |
| 11 | Ballynanty Limerick | 2.5 | 5.7% | 12% | – |
| 12 | Claddagh Galway | 2.4 | 0.2% | 17% | 46% |
| 13 | Murrough Galway | 2.3 | 5.1% | 10% | 26% |
| 14 | Grange Upper Waterford | 1.4 | 1.5% | 6.6% | – |
| 15 | Blarney Cork | 1.4 | 14% | 0% | – |
| 16 | Kilbarry Waterford | 1.3 | 1.6% | 5.1% | – |
| 17 | Bantry Cork | 1 | 4.4% | 0% | 18% |
| 18 | Ballina Tipperary | 0.9 | 1.8% | 4.7% | – |
| 19 | Moate Westmeath | 0.7 | 2.4% | 2.4% | – |
| 20 | Callan Kilkenny | 0.7 | 0.1% | 2.3% | – |
| 21 | Kingscourt Cavan | 0.7 | 12% | 0% | – |
| 22 | Kenmare Kerry | 0.6 | 7.2% | 6.5% | 6.4% |
| 23 | Athboy Meath | 0.6 | 1.1% | 1.5% | – |
| 24 | Bundoran Donegal | 0.5 | 2% | 5.1% | 35% |
| 25 | Muinebeag (Bagenalstown) Carlow | 0.5 | 3.9% | 2.9% | – |
| 26 | Skibbereen Cork | 0.5 | 1.7% | 1.6% | – |
| 27 | Kinnegad Westmeath | 0.3 | 4.5% | 4.5% | – |
| 28 | Donegal Donegal | 0.3 | 4% | 4.1% | 12% |
| 29 | Boyle Roscommon | 0.3 | 3.2% | 0% | – |
| 30 | Bailieborough Cavan | 0.3 | 10% | 0% | – |
| 31 | Castleisland Kerry | 0.3 | 1.7% | 12% | – |
| 32 | Kanturk Cork | 0.3 | 0% | 5.1% | – |
| 33 | Ballinrobe Mayo | 0.3 | 0.5% | 11% | – |
| 34 | Baltinglass Wicklow | 0.2 | 4.9% | 0.5% | – |
| 35 | Ballyhaunis Mayo | 0.2 | 2.8% | 3.4% | – |
| 36 | Kilrush Clare | 0.2 | 9.8% | 37% | – |
| 37 | Ballyjamesduff Cavan | 0.2 | 7.6% | 0% | – |
| 38 | Gort Galway | 0.2 | 4.3% | 24% | – |
| 39 | Carndonagh Donegal | 0.1 | 4.9% | 5.1% | 5.8% |
| 40 | Sixmilebridge Clare | 0 | 0.7% | 2% | – |
The map
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Kenmare’s urban area.
Green: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces and woods, named or not.© OpenStreetMap contributors · NPWS · Sport Ireland · CSO
Places to walk
Parks to walk in, in and around Kenmare
The biggest is Reenagross Park, 8.5 ha (21 acres).
Named parks, gardens, commons and woods in the town or within 400 m of it, from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); pieces of one name that touch are one place. Sizes are the whole site; directions go to a point inside.
Close to home
Everyone in Kenmare lives within a 5-minute walk of a park
Each square is 1 in 100 residents: green lives within 400 m of a public park, garden or playing field (CSO Census 2022 Small Areas against OpenStreetMap).
Within 400 m (100%)Further (0%)
Kenmare100%
Co. Kerry towns77%
Typical Irish town92%
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
Protected sites cover 6.5% of the land within 5 km of Kenmare
Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas and Natural Heritage Areas designated by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, within 5 km of the town’s edge.
Inside Kenmare0%
Within 5 km6.5%
Co. Kerry towns12%
Typical Irish town1.8%
6 protected sites lie within 5 km of Kenmare. Proposed Natural Heritage Areas cover 7.4% of the land within 5 km as well; many have been proposed since 1995 and aren’t counted here. Ireland’s National Parks have a block of their own on this page; much of their land also lies inside these sites.
Kenmare River SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 446 km² · reaches Kenmare
NPWS pageMucksna Wood SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 0.1 km² · 0.4 km from the edge
NPWS pageKillarney National Park, Macgillycuddy's Reeks and Caragh River Catchment SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 831 km² · 3.2 km from the edge
NPWS pageKilgarvan Ice House SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 0.2 km² · 4.1 km from the edge
NPWS pageBlackwater River (Kerry) SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 59 km² · 4.4 km from the edge
NPWS pageDoughill Bog NHANatural Heritage Area · 1.9 km² · 4.6 km from the edge
NPWS pageProtected sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service designated site boundaries (CC BY 4.0), 2026; land within 5 km from CSO Small Areas and, over the border, ONS. Overlapping sites are counted once.
National Parks
Killarney National Park is 5.3 km away
Ireland’s National Parks within 100 km, and the nearest always, by direction and distance from the town’s edge; circle size shows each park’s area.
National ParkThe 5 km around the town
National Park
Killarney National Park
5.3 km north104 km²
National Park boundaries: National Parks and Wildlife Service, generalised to 50 m (CC BY 4.0, © Government of Ireland), 2022. Distances from the town’s outline (CSO Small Areas).
Footpaths and woods
9 km of footpaths cross Kenmare
Footways that aren’t pavements, paths, bridleways, steps and tracks open on foot, and mapped woods and forest, in the town and 1 km around it, each beside the county’s and Ireland’s typical town of 2,500+.
Footpaths
9.1 km
over 14.6 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
7.2%
about 1.1 km² of mapped woods
Registered trails
2
walking trails within 5 km
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
KenmareCo. Kerry townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths0.6
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
KenmareCo. Kerry townsTypical Irish town
Woodland7.2%
0%50%100%
Kenmare has less footpath per km² than 82% of Irish towns and more woodland than 86% of Irish towns.
Footpaths and woods: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Woods are mapped cover, private and Coillte forests included.
Footpaths & trails
2 waymarked trails start near Kenmare
9 km of footpaths are mapped in Kenmare and the kilometre around it, 0.6 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
Long-distance way
Kerry Way232.1 km
Beara Way241.8 km
The Kerry Way (232 km end to end) passes through Kenmare. 2 cycling or paddling trails also start within 5 km.
2 more waymarked walks on OpenStreetMap
National
The Kerry Way8.2 km
European long distance path E8 - part Ireland7.2 km
Trails: Sport Ireland National Trails Register (CC BY 4.0), registered trails within 5 km; footpaths: OpenStreetMap (ODbL). More waymarked walks: OpenStreetMap route relations (ODbL) within 2 km, those already on the register left out. Coillte’s own forest trails and recreation sites aren’t included: Coillte’s terms limit its data to research or private study. Its trails on the National Trails Register are listed.
When to get out
The best walking months in Kenmare: May to September
Met Éireann’s 1991–2020 averages for the town’s 1 km square and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 15 to 30 °C and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 8.3 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.6 | 16.7 | 16.2 | 14.6 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.7 | 7.8 |
| High (°C) | 10 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 |
| Rain (mm) | 220 | 166 | 137 | 120 | 105 | 103 | 118 | 122 | 141 | 191 | 214 | 221 |
June is the driest month (103 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.8 hours of daylight in December, and 221 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. The climate in Kenmare →
The coast
Kenmare is near the sea
6.4% of the area within 5 km of Kenmare is sea.
Bathing water classes: EPA, latest season (CC BY 4.0). Sea: the area outside CSO and ONS land outlines. Check today’s water quality on beaches.ie
Things to do
3 viewpoints and 4 hills and peaks
Mapped on OpenStreetMap in the town and 2 km around it; each count per resident beside Irish towns’ typical town of 2,500+. Beaches are on the coast’s list, from the EPA.
Per resident, viewpoints stand out most: Kenmare has 32× as many as the typical Irish town.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 3
platform1.7 km from town
Directionsbench1.7 km from town
DirectionsPlus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 4
Strickeen0.9 km from town
DirectionsKnockeirka1.3 km from town
DirectionsPlus 2 hills and peaks without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 1
Mucksna Nature Reserve0.5 km from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 2
Kenmare Community Playgroundin town
DirectionsPlus 1 playground without a name on the map.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Unnamed places are counted, not listed.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Green space nearby. The share of residents (CSO Small Areas, by where people live) within 400 m of a park, garden, common or playing field mapped on OpenStreetMap. Mapping is uneven: a town whose parks nobody has mapped looks greyer than it is.
- Protected areas. Land in a Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area or Natural Heritage Area within 5 km, overlaps counted once. Protected for nature doesn’t always mean open to walkers.
- Footpaths and hiking routes. Footways that aren’t pavements, paths, bridleways, steps and tracks open on foot, in the town and 1 km around it, from OpenStreetMap. Trails are the registered ones within 5 km; a trail often follows mapped paths, so the two aren’t added.
- Woodland. Woods and forest as OpenStreetMap maps them, private and Coillte forests included: mapped cover, not access.
- No grade yet. Ireland’s grades don’t include the outdoors yet: these figures describe the town and stand beside the median Irish town.
Questions about the outdoors in Kenmare
What is the biggest park in Kenmare?
Reenagross Park, 8.5 ha (21 acres), just outside the built-up area. Cumann na mBan Park (0.1 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is there protected countryside near Kenmare?
Yes: 6.5% of the land within 5 km is protected, across 6 sites. Kenmare River SAC reaches Kenmare.
What are the best walks near Kenmare?
2 waymarked trails start within 5 km, including the Kerry Way and Beara Way.
How many people in Kenmare live near a park?
100% of residents live within 400 m, about a 5-minute walk, of a park or playing field; in the typical Irish town it is 92%.
When is the best time of year for walking in Kenmare?
On the town’s 1991–2020 averages and its daylight: May to September, when days are long, highs reach 15 °C and rain is light for the place.
Is Kenmare near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Killarney National Park, 5.3 km north of the town’s edge; it covers about 104 km².
What is there to do outdoors around Kenmare?
Within 2 km, OpenStreetMap maps 3 viewpoints, 4 hills and peaks and 1 nature reserve; the named ones are listed under Things to do, with directions.
Sources
Where Kenmare’s outdoors figures come from
- Parks, woods and paths. OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL): parks, woods and footpaths, Geofabrik extract, October 2026
- Protected sites. National Parks and Wildlife Service: designated sites (SAC, SPA, NHA), 2026
- Trails. Sport Ireland: National Trails Register, 2026
- Residents. CSO: Census 2022 Small Areas (residents)
- National Parks. National Parks and Wildlife Service: National Park boundaries, generalised to 50 m (CC BY 4.0), 2022
- Things to do. OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL): viewpoints, hills, waterfalls, nature reserves, picnic sites, playgrounds, campsites and waymarked walks, Geofabrik extract, October 2026
- Weather. Met Éireann: 1991–2020 averages (Copyright Met Éireann)
Protected sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service (CC BY 4.0). Trails: Sport Ireland National Trails Register (CC BY 4.0). Bathing water: EPA (CC BY 4.0). Parks, woods and paths: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Not on this page yet: Coillte’s forest trails (its terms) and bike routes.
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).