First pick
Ballinalee Forest Walk
Wood or forest
5.9 ha0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
Centralin the middle of Ballinalee
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Sarah777 · CC BY-SA 2.0100%near a park
Outdoors in Ballinalee · parks, paths & countryside
Almost everyone in Ballinalee lives within a 5-minute walk of a park
There are 0.1 ha of parks and playing fields for every 1,000 people in Ballinalee, against 4.1 in the typical Irish town. Footpaths add up to 1 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 0.1 for every square kilometre.
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
0.1 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
1 km
0.1 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Woodland
1.2%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Ballinalee?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A park on every doorstep100% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.Less park per person0.1 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical Irish town has 4.1.
Ballinalee’s strongest suit is parks close to every home. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Against other towns
How Ballinalee 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 space0.1 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
0out of 100
Footpaths0.1 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
1out of 100
Protected for nature0%of the land within 5 km
11out of 100
Woodland1.2%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
21out 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
Ballinalee has the 3rd fewest footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (395 to 3,141 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
Ballinalee0.1
Towns its size0.7
Co. Longford towns0.6
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Ballinalee0.1
Towns its size3.8
Co. Longford towns2.3
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Ballinalee100%
Towns its size87%
Co. Longford towns82%
Typical Irish town92%
Against towns its size, Ballinalee stands out most for homes near a park: none of the other 39 has more. It falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 39 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 | Baltinglass Wicklow | 0.2 | 4.9% | 0.5% | – |
| 34 | Ballyhaunis Mayo | 0.2 | 2.8% | 3.4% | – |
| 35 | Kilrush Clare | 0.2 | 9.8% | 37% | – |
| 36 | Ballyjamesduff Cavan | 0.2 | 7.6% | 0% | – |
| 37 | Gort Galway | 0.2 | 4.3% | 24% | – |
| 38 | Ballinalee Longford | 0.1 | 1.2% | 0% | – |
| 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 Ballinalee’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 Ballinalee
The biggest is Ballinalee Forest Walk, 5.9 ha (15 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
How close Ballinalee’s homes are to 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%)
Ballinalee100%
Co. Longford towns82%
Typical Irish town92%
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
No protected site lies within 5 km of Ballinalee
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.
No site protected for nature lies within 5 km of Ballinalee.
National Parks
Wicklow Mountains National Park is 102 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
102 km south-east223 km²
None of Ireland’s six National Parks is within 100 km of Ballinalee; the nearest is shown.
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
1 km of footpaths cross Ballinalee
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
1.1 km
over 8.1 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
1.2%
about 0.1 km² of mapped woods
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
BallinaleeCo. Longford townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths0.1
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
BallinaleeCo. Longford townsTypical Irish town
Woodland1.2%
0%50%100%
Ballinalee has less footpath per km² than 99% of Irish towns and less woodland than 79% of Irish towns.
Footpaths and woods: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Woods are mapped cover, private and Coillte forests included.
Footpaths & trails
Footpaths in and around Ballinalee
1 km of footpaths are mapped in Ballinalee and the kilometre around it, 0.1 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
No waymarked trail starts within 5 km of Ballinalee; its footpaths are counted above.
Trails: Sport Ireland National Trails Register (CC BY 4.0), registered trails within 5 km; footpaths: OpenStreetMap (ODbL). 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 Ballinalee: 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 | 17.1 | 16.6 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.4 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 107 | 85 | 80 | 73 | 70 | 80 | 86 | 95 | 80 | 105 | 109 | 113 |
May is the driest month (70 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.4 hours of daylight in December, and 113 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. The climate in Ballinalee →
Next door
Next to Ballinalee
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
DrumlishEdgeworthstownLongfordGranardBallinalee
Under 1%1–10%10–25%25–50%50%+
| Town | Near a park | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Paths (km/km²) | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballinalee | 100% | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0% |
| Drumlish 8.8 km | 76% | 1.3 | 0.2 | 3% |
| Edgeworthstown 9.0 km | 64% | 3.2 | 0.4 | 0.1% |
| Longford 10 km | 82% | 2.3 | 0.6 | 5.6% |
| Granard 11 km | 100% | 2.7 | 0.1 | 1.5% |
None of the neighbours has many more of its people near a park than Ballinalee. Drumlish, Edgeworthstown and Longford have at least twice Ballinalee’s green space per resident.
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 Ballinalee
How many people in Ballinalee 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 Ballinalee?
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 Ballinalee near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Wicklow Mountains National Park, 102 km south-east of the town’s edge; it covers about 223 km².
Sources
Where Ballinalee’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
- 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).