Photo: C Michael Hogan · CC BY-SA 2.0Parks and walks in Ballinrobe
4 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 0.3 for every square kilometre. 55% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. There are 1.5 ha of parks and playing fields for every 1,000 people in Ballinrobe, against 4.1 in the typical Irish town.
How Ballinrobe 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.
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.
Ballinrobe has the 7th fewest footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (2,758 to 3,539 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).
Ballinrobe falls furthest behind on path per km², where 33 of the 39 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 | Shandon Cork | 7.3 | 1.9% | 0.9% | – |
| 4 | Blackpool Cork | 6.6 | 3% | 1.4% | – |
| 5 | Carna Dublin | 5.4 | 1.7% | 0% | – |
| 6 | Taylor's Hill Galway | 5.1 | 1.2% | 15% | 37% |
| 7 | Togher Cork | 5 | 1.5% | 0.5% | – |
| 8 | Mayfield Cork | 4.7 | 5.3% | 3.3% | – |
| 9 | Limerick City Centre Limerick | 3.5 | 1% | 11% | – |
| 10 | Edenmore Dublin | 2.8 | 3.6% | 5.9% | 24% |
| 11 | Ballynanty Limerick | 2.5 | 5.7% | 12% | – |
| 12 | Rahoon Galway | 2.3 | 2.3% | 27% | 20% |
| 13 | Murrough Galway | 2.3 | 5.1% | 10% | 26% |
| 14 | Annacotty Limerick | 2 | 2% | 6.2% | – |
| 15 | Blarney Cork | 1.4 | 14% | 0% | – |
| 16 | Kilbarry Waterford | 1.3 | 1.6% | 5.1% | – |
| 17 | Crosshaven Cork | 1.2 | 8.9% | 0.4% | 44% |
| 18 | Rathnew Wicklow | 1.2 | 1.3% | 3.9% | 17% |
| 19 | Cleaboy Waterford | 1.2 | 0% | 5.8% | – |
| 20 | Virginia Cavan | 1.1 | 18% | 0.2% | – |
| 21 | Bantry Cork | 1 | 4.4% | 0% | 18% |
| 22 | Ballina Tipperary | 0.9 | 1.8% | 4.7% | – |
| 23 | Moate Westmeath | 0.7 | 2.4% | 2.4% | – |
| 24 | Tower Cork | 0.7 | 13% | 0% | – |
| 25 | Kingscourt Cavan | 0.7 | 12% | 0% | – |
| 26 | Newtownmountkennedy Wicklow | 0.6 | 12% | 4.9% | 6.2% |
| 27 | Muinebeag (Bagenalstown) Carlow | 0.5 | 3.9% | 2.9% | – |
| 28 | Skibbereen Cork | 0.5 | 1.7% | 1.6% | – |
| 29 | Rathangan Kildare | 0.5 | 4.5% | 0% | – |
| 30 | Kinnegad Westmeath | 0.3 | 4.5% | 4.5% | – |
| 31 | Boyle Roscommon | 0.3 | 3.2% | 0% | – |
| 32 | Bailieborough Cavan | 0.3 | 10% | 0% | – |
| 33 | Kanturk Cork | 0.3 | 0% | 5.1% | – |
| 34 | Ballinrobe Mayo | 0.3 | 0.5% | 11% | – |
| 35 | Ballyhaunis Mayo | 0.2 | 2.8% | 3.4% | – |
| 36 | Ballyjamesduff Cavan | 0.2 | 7.6% | 0% | – |
| 37 | Clara Offaly | 0.2 | 6.1% | 6.4% | – |
| 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% | – |
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Ballinrobe’s urban area.
6 in 10 Ballinrobe 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).
About 1,400 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected sites cover 11% of the land within 5 km of Ballinrobe
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.
5 protected sites lie within 5 km of Ballinrobe. Proposed Natural Heritage Areas cover 12% 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.
Protected 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.
Connemara National Park is 40 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.
Connemara National Park
Wild Nephin National Park
Burren National Park
3 of Ireland’s six National Parks are within 100 km of Ballinrobe.
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).
4 km of footpaths cross Ballinrobe
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+.
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
Ballinrobe has less footpath per km² than 96% of Irish towns and less woodland than 93% of Irish towns.
Footpaths and woods: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Woods are mapped cover, private and Coillte forests included.
Footpaths in and around Ballinrobe
4 km of footpaths are mapped in Ballinrobe and the kilometre around it, 0.3 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
No waymarked trail starts within 5 km of Ballinrobe; 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.
The best walking months in Ballinrobe: 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 | 16.6 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| High (°C) | 9 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 149 | 122 | 102 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 89 | 104 | 102 | 130 | 150 | 155 |
April is the driest month (80 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.5 hours of daylight in December, and 155 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. The climate in Ballinrobe →
2 playgrounds
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.
Every named place, with directions
Playgrounds 2
Plus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Unnamed places are counted, not listed.
Next to Ballinrobe
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
| Town | Near a park | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Paths (km/km²) | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballinrobe | 55% | 1.5 | 0.3 | 11% |
| Claremorris 19 km | 87% | 5.1 | 0.4 | 0% |
| Headford 19 km | 100% | 4.6 | 0.0 | 3.4% |
In Headford, 100% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park, more than here. Claremorris and Headford have at least twice Ballinrobe’s green space per resident.
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 Ballinrobe
Is there protected countryside near Ballinrobe?
Yes: 11% of the land within 5 km is protected, across 5 sites. The nearest is Lough Carra/Mask Complex SAC, 1.5 km from the edge of town.
How many people in Ballinrobe live near a park?
55% 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 Ballinrobe?
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 Ballinrobe near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Connemara National Park, 40 km west of the town’s edge; it covers about 21 km². 2 more are within 100 km.
Where Ballinrobe’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).