First pick
Castletown Demesne
Park or garden · 140 m outside town
195 ha14.2 km of path
3 h 10 minto walk all 14.2 km of path
2.7 km south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Magnolia677 · CC BY 4.079%near a park
Outdoors in Leixlip · parks, paths & countryside
Leixlip has more park space per resident than 9 in 10 Irish towns
There are 18.6 ha of parks and playing fields for every 1,000 people in Leixlip, against 4.1 in the typical Irish town. Wicklow Mountains National Park begins 16 km away. 4 waymarked trails start within 5 km of Leixlip, among them the National Famine Way and Royal Canal Way.
Near a park
79%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
18.6 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
68 km
3.6 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Protected for nature
0.5%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Rye Water Valley/Carton SAC
Woodland
7.7%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Leixlip?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Room to roam18.6 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 93% of Irish towns.Countryside close byWicklow Mountains National Park starts 16 km south-east.Protected land nearbyRye Water Valley/Carton SAC reaches the edge of Leixlip.On a long-distance trailThe National Famine Way passes through.
Leixlip’s strongest suit is plenty of park space, followed by Wicklow Mountains National Park close by.
Against other towns
How Leixlip 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 walk79%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
33out of 100
Public green space18.6 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
94out of 100
Footpaths3.6 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
63out of 100
Protected for nature0.5%of the land within 5 km
38out of 100
Woodland7.7%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
90out 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
Leixlip has the 19th fewest footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (14,213 to 19,287 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Esker (10.5 km per km²) to Tullamore (0.7 km per km²).
Footpath, km per km²
Leixlip3.6
Towns its size3.7
Co. Kildare towns1.0
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Leixlip18.6
Towns its size5.1
Co. Kildare towns2.2
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Leixlip79%
Towns its size98%
Co. Kildare towns79%
Typical Irish town92%
Against towns its size, Leixlip stands out most for park space per resident: only 4 of the other 39 have more. It falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 30 of the others do better.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | The sea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Esker Dublin | 10.5 | 2.1% | 0.1% | – |
| 2 | Tallaght Dublin | 8.8 | 3.8% | 0.6% | – |
| 3 | Old Bawn Dublin | 8.5 | 3% | 1.8% | – |
| 4 | Dolphins Barn Dublin | 8.4 | 2.9% | 0% | – |
| 5 | Ballyowen Dublin | 7.5 | 6% | 0% | – |
| 6 | Stoneybatter Dublin | 7.5 | 1.6% | 0% | – |
| 7 | The Liberties Dublin | 7.4 | 0.5% | 0% | – |
| 8 | Mulhuddart Dublin | 6.6 | 4% | 0% | – |
| 9 | Stillorgan Dublin | 6.5 | 3% | 0.1% | 17% |
| 10 | Ashtown Dublin | 6.3 | 6.9% | 0% | – |
| 11 | Ballinteer Dublin | 6.2 | 7.1% | 2.8% | – |
| 12 | Dundrum Dublin | 6.2 | 4.7% | 1.3% | 6.7% |
| 13 | Rathmines East Dublin | 5.9 | 2.3% | 0.1% | 13% |
| 14 | Rathfarnham Dublin | 5.5 | 4.8% | 0.1% | – |
| 15 | Crumlin Dublin | 5.4 | 0.8% | 0% | – |
| 16 | Templeogue Dublin | 5.2 | 3.8% | 0.1% | – |
| 17 | Cabinteely Dublin | 5.1 | 7.6% | 1.1% | 29% |
| 18 | Kimmage Dublin | 4.3 | 0.1% | 0% | – |
| 19 | East Wall Dublin | 4.1 | 1% | 3.5% | 27% |
| 20 | Belmayne Dublin | 3.8 | 1.9% | 5.2% | 25% |
| 21 | Maynooth Kildare | 3.7 | 3.9% | 0.5% | – |
| 22 | Leixlip Kildare | 3.6 | 7.7% | 0.5% | – |
| 23 | Clontarf West Dublin | 3.2 | 2.2% | 3.5% | 17% |
| 24 | Bishopstown Cork | 3.2 | 6% | 0.2% | – |
| 25 | Clontarf East Dublin | 3.1 | 3% | 6.1% | 38% |
| 26 | Dún Laoghaire Dublin | 3 | 0.5% | 0.3% | 56% |
| 27 | Corbally and King's Island Limerick | 3 | 3.7% | 9.5% | – |
| 28 | Beaumont Dublin | 2.9 | 2% | 3.4% | 9.7% |
| 29 | Darndale Dublin | 2.7 | 1.9% | 3.7% | 11% |
| 30 | Castletroy Limerick | 2.4 | 1.8% | 6.6% | – |
| 31 | Malahide Dublin | 2.4 | 3.4% | 2.1% | 32% |
| 32 | Ashbourne Meath | 1.6 | 0.3% | 0% | – |
| 33 | Knocknacarra Galway | 1.6 | 3.4% | 32% | 34% |
| 34 | Ballybane Galway | 1.5 | 3.9% | 12% | 15% |
| 35 | Killarney Kerry | 1.3 | 14% | 34% | – |
| 36 | Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney Meath | 1.2 | 0.5% | 4.4% | 39% |
| 37 | Clonmel Tipperary | 1.1 | 14% | 3.9% | – |
| 38 | Dooradoyle Limerick | 1 | 2.6% | 7.7% | – |
| 39 | Carrigaline Cork | 0.9 | 6.5% | 0.2% | 6.7% |
| 40 | Tullamore Offaly | 0.7 | 10% | 3.8% | – |
The map
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Leixlip’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 Leixlip
The biggest is Castletown Demesne, 195 ha (483 acres).
All 4 named parks and woods by size: 297 ha (734 acres) and 25 km of path
Parks & gardens 297 ha
The two biggest, Castletown Demesne and Saint Catherine's Park, are 99% of the named green space and carry 24 km of path between them.
Saint Catherine's Park
Park or garden
99 ha10 km of path
2 h 15 minto walk all 10 km of path
2.2 km eastfrom the centre
Woodland Walk
Directionsto a point inside
Riverforest Bowl
Park or garden
2.0 ha0.2 km of path
0.9 km north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
The Walled Garden
Park or garden
0.9 ha0.5 km of path
5 minto walk all 0.5 km of path
1.4 km eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
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
8 in 10 Leixlip residents live 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 (79%)Further (21%)
Leixlip79%
Co. Kildare towns79%
Typical Irish town92%
About 3,500 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
Rye Water Valley/Carton SAC reaches Leixlip
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 Leixlip2%
Within 5 km0.5%
Co. Kildare towns0.5%
Typical Irish town1.8%
One protected site lies within 5 km of Leixlip. Proposed Natural Heritage Areas cover 2% 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.
Rye Water Valley/Carton SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 0.7 km² · reaches Leixlip
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
Wicklow Mountains National Park is 16 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
Wicklow Mountains National Park
16 km south-east223 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
68 km of footpaths cross Leixlip
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
68 km
over 19 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
7.7%
about 1.5 km² of mapped woods
Registered trails
4
walking trails within 5 km
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
LeixlipCo. Kildare townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths3.6
02.55 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
LeixlipCo. Kildare townsTypical Irish town
Woodland7.7%
0%50%100%
Leixlip has more footpath per km² than 63% of Irish towns and more woodland than 90% of Irish towns.
Footpaths and woods: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Woods are mapped cover, private and Coillte forests included.
Footpaths & trails
Leixlip is on the National Famine Way
68 km of footpaths are mapped in Leixlip and the kilometre around it, 3.6 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
Long-distance wayGreenway
National Famine Way168.6 km
Royal Canal Way146.3 km
Grand Canal Way117.1 km
Royal Canal Greenway Walking Trail121.4 km
The National Famine Way (169 km end to end) passes through Leixlip. One cycling or paddling trail also starts within 5 km.
4 more waymarked walks on OpenStreetMap
NationalLocal
The Royal Canal Way8.8 km
Sli Na Sláinte Leixlip Sli4.0 km
Sli Na Sláinte Leixlip Lucan Desmense2.1 km
The Carton trails: Red1.0 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.
History
2 historic parks, gardens and demesnes on the record in Leixlip
Parks, gardens, walled gardens and demesne walls in the town on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, each with its record.
Demesne walls/gates/railingsCastletownfrom 1740Regional rating (NIAH)
Demesne walls/gates/railingsLeixlip Castlefrom 1770Regional rating (NIAH)
The oldest dated is Castletown, from 1740.
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (CC BY 4.0).
When to get out
The best walking months in Leixlip: 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) | 8.0 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.9 | 17.0 | 16.5 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 64 | 57 | 52 | 55 | 56 | 65 | 64 | 73 | 66 | 82 | 85 | 78 |
March is the driest month (52 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.5 hours of daylight in December, and 85 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. The climate in Leixlip →
Things to do
1 viewpoint and 1 waterfall
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.
1Viewpoints1Waterfalls3Picnic sites11Playgrounds0.5× the typical Irish town, per resident1Dog parks1Slipways
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Waterfalls 1
Leixlip Spa Waterfall0.1 km from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 3
Plus 3 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 11
Leixlip Playgroundin town
DirectionsWonderful Barn Playground0.1 km from town
DirectionsCelbridge Playground2.0 km from town
DirectionsPlus 8 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 1
Plus 1 dog park without a name on the map.
Slipways 1
Plus 1 slipway without a name on the map.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Unnamed places are counted, not listed.
Gardens & nature
2 gardens and nature sites to visit near Leixlip
Gardens, national parks, nature sites and islands within 15 km of the town’s edge, each with its own page.
Hamwood House and GardensGarden · 3.8 km from town
Its pageSaint Stephen's GreenGarden · 15 km from town
Its pagePlaces to visit: Fáilte Ireland open data (CC BY 4.0), OpenStreetMap and Wikidata.
Next door
Next to Leixlip
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
LucanCelbridgeEskerOngarBallyowenDunboyneLeixlip
Under 1%1–10%10–25%25–50%50%+
In Ballyowen, 100% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park, more than here.
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 Leixlip
What is the biggest park in Leixlip?
Castletown Demesne, 195 ha (483 acres), just outside the built-up area. Saint Catherine's Park (99 ha) is second. 4 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is there protected countryside near Leixlip?
One protected site lies within 5 km, though it covers under 1% of the land.
What are the best walks near Leixlip?
4 waymarked trails start within 5 km, including the National Famine Way, Royal Canal Way and Grand Canal Way.
How many people in Leixlip live near a park?
79% 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 Leixlip?
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 Leixlip near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Wicklow Mountains National Park, 16 km south-east of the town’s edge; it covers about 223 km².
What is there to do outdoors around Leixlip?
Within 2 km, OpenStreetMap maps 1 viewpoint, 1 waterfall and 3 picnic sites; the named ones are listed under Things to do, with directions.
Which parks in Leixlip are historic?
The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage records 2 historic parks, gardens and demesnes in the town, among them Castletown and Leixlip Castle.
Sources
Where Leixlip’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
- Historic parks and gardens. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (CC BY 4.0)
- 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).