First pick
Town Park
Park or garden
4.9 ha1.8 km of path
25 minto walk all 1.8 km of path
Centralin the middle of Castlebar
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Munifico · CC BY-SA 3.095%near a park
Outdoors in Castlebar · parks, paths & countryside
95% of Castlebar’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
Wild Nephin National Park begins 18 km away. 2 waymarked trails start within 5 km of Castlebar, among them the Raheens Wood Trail and Raheens Wood Multi Access. 28 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 1.0 for every square kilometre.
Near a park
95%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
2.6 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
28 km
1.0 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Protected for nature
2.3%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: River Moy SAC
Woodland
3.1%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
Against other towns
How Castlebar 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 walk95%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
54out of 100
Public green space2.6 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
33out of 100
Footpaths1.0 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
30out of 100
Protected for nature2.3%of the land within 5 km
54out of 100
Woodland3.1%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
56out 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
Castlebar has the 8th fewest footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (11,149 to 15,207 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Cabra East (8 km per km²) to Enniscorthy (0.4 km per km²).
Footpath, km per km²
Castlebar1.0
Towns its size4.3
Co. Mayo towns0.6
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Castlebar2.6
Towns its size3.9
Co. Mayo towns2.6
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Castlebar95%
Towns its size95%
Co. Mayo towns85%
Typical Irish town92%
Castlebar falls furthest behind on path per km², where 32 of the 39 others do better.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | The sea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cabra East Dublin | 8 | 2.2% | 0% | – |
| 2 | Deansrath Dublin | 7.9 | 2.2% | 0% | – |
| 3 | Phibsborough Dublin | 7.6 | 0.4% | 0% | – |
| 4 | Ballyowen Dublin | 7.5 | 6% | 0% | – |
| 5 | Kilnamanagh Dublin | 7.4 | 3.9% | 0.5% | – |
| 6 | Fettercairn Dublin | 7 | 3.5% | 0.4% | – |
| 7 | Firhouse Dublin | 6.8 | 4.4% | 4.2% | – |
| 8 | Ballsbridge Dublin | 6.3 | 1.3% | 1.2% | 18% |
| 9 | Ballygall Dublin | 6.3 | 1.4% | 0% | – |
| 10 | Ashtown Dublin | 6.3 | 6.9% | 0% | – |
| 11 | Summerhill Dublin | 6 | 0.4% | 0.2% | 8.5% |
| 12 | Clonskeagh Dublin | 6 | 2.7% | 0.1% | 16% |
| 13 | Foxrock Dublin | 5.8 | 5.3% | 0.2% | 25% |
| 14 | Knocklyon Dublin | 5.8 | 4.7% | 3.2% | – |
| 15 | Drumcondra Dublin | 5.6 | 1.6% | 0.8% | 6.9% |
| 16 | Finglas South Dublin | 5.6 | 1.7% | 0% | – |
| 17 | Whitehall Dublin | 5.6 | 2.6% | 0.3% | – |
| 18 | Sallynoggin Dublin | 5 | 2% | 0.3% | 47% |
| 19 | Blackrock Dublin | 4.7 | 1.4% | 0.2% | 30% |
| 20 | Kimmage Dublin | 4.3 | 0.1% | 0% | – |
| 21 | Ongar Dublin | 4.2 | 2.7% | 0.2% | – |
| 22 | Belmayne Dublin | 3.8 | 1.9% | 5.2% | 25% |
| 23 | Mahon Cork | 3.6 | 6.1% | 5.3% | – |
| 24 | Hollystown Dublin | 3.3 | 2% | 0% | – |
| 25 | Bishopstown Cork | 3.2 | 6% | 0.2% | – |
| 26 | Corbally and King's Island Limerick | 3 | 3.7% | 9.5% | – |
| 27 | Darndale Dublin | 2.7 | 1.9% | 3.7% | 11% |
| 28 | Castletroy Limerick | 2.4 | 1.8% | 6.6% | – |
| 29 | Midleton Cork | 1.6 | 2.6% | 4.5% | – |
| 30 | Ballybane Galway | 1.5 | 3.9% | 12% | 15% |
| 31 | Killarney Kerry | 1.3 | 14% | 34% | – |
| 32 | Wicklow Wicklow | 1.1 | 0.9% | 4.3% | 38% |
| 33 | Castlebar Mayo | 1 | 3.1% | 2.3% | – |
| 34 | Tramore Waterford | 0.8 | 0.9% | 3.9% | 34% |
| 35 | Cobh Cork | 0.8 | 3.5% | 13% | 23% |
| 36 | Arklow Wicklow | 0.7 | 5.7% | 0.3% | 34% |
| 37 | Gorey Wexford | 0.7 | 3.9% | 0.5% | – |
| 38 | Cavan Cavan | 0.6 | 6.7% | 5.1% | – |
| 39 | Mallow Cork | 0.6 | 5.1% | 3.2% | – |
| 40 | Enniscorthy Wexford | 0.4 | 6.9% | 2.1% | – |
The map
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Castlebar’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 Castlebar
The biggest is Town Park, 4.9 ha (12 acres).
Lough Lannagh Park
Park or garden
4.9 ha1.4 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.4 km of path
1.4 km south-westfrom 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
How close Castlebar’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 (95%)Further (5.3%)
Castlebar95%
Co. Mayo towns85%
Typical Irish town92%
About 700 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
2.3% of the land around Castlebar is protected for nature
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 Castlebar0%
Within 5 km2.3%
Co. Mayo towns3.4%
Typical Irish town1.8%
One protected site lies within 5 km of Castlebar. Ireland’s National Parks have a block of their own on this page; much of their land also lies inside these sites.
River Moy SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 156 km² · 2.2 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
Wild Nephin National Park is 18 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
Wild Nephin National Park
18 km north-west171 km²
National Park
Connemara National Park
47 km south-west21 km²
National Park
Burren National Park
85 km south21 km²
3 of Ireland’s six National Parks are within 100 km of Castlebar.
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
28 km of footpaths cross Castlebar
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
28 km
over 27.7 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
3.1%
about 0.9 km² of mapped woods
Registered trails
2
walking trails within 5 km
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
CastlebarCo. Mayo townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths1
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
CastlebarCo. Mayo townsTypical Irish town
Woodland3.1%
0%50%100%
Castlebar has less footpath per km² than 70% of Irish towns and more woodland than 56% 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 Castlebar
28 km of footpaths are mapped in Castlebar and the kilometre around it, 1.0 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
Walking trail
Raheens Wood Trail1.5 km
Raheens Wood Multi Access0.1 km
One cycling or paddling trail also starts within 5 km.
One more waymarked walk on OpenStreetMap
Local
Lough Lannagh Loop1.9 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
One historic park or garden on the record in Castlebar
Parks, gardens, walled gardens and demesne walls in the town on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, each with its record.
ParkPark, The Mall, Castlebarfrom 1700Regional rating (NIAH)
The oldest dated is Park, The Mall, Castlebar, from 1700.
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 Castlebar: 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) | 7.9 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.9 | 17.1 | 16.6 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.4 | 7.4 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 163 | 128 | 112 | 89 | 88 | 87 | 96 | 111 | 109 | 143 | 167 | 175 |
June is the driest month (87 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.4 hours of daylight in December, and 175 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. The climate in Castlebar →
Things to do
1 viewpoint and 17 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
Viewpoints 1
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 17
Nokey'sin town
DirectionsFairy Village1.7 km from town
DirectionsPlus 15 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Unnamed places are counted, not listed.
Next door
Next to Castlebar
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
WestportFoxfordCastlebar
Under 1%1–10%10–25%25–50%50%+
None of the neighbours has many more of its people near a park than Castlebar. Foxford has at least twice Castlebar’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 Castlebar
What is the biggest park in Castlebar?
Lough Lannagh Park, 4.9 ha (12 acres). Town Park (4.9 ha) is second. 5 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is there protected countryside near Castlebar?
Yes: 2.3% of the land within 5 km is protected, in one site. The nearest is River Moy SAC, 2.2 km from the edge of town.
What are the best walks near Castlebar?
2 waymarked trails start within 5 km, including the Raheens Wood Trail and Raheens Wood Multi Access.
How many people in Castlebar live near a park?
95% 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 Castlebar?
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 Castlebar near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Wild Nephin National Park, 18 km north-west of the town’s edge; it covers about 171 km². 2 more are within 100 km.
What is there to do outdoors around Castlebar?
Within 2 km, OpenStreetMap maps 1 viewpoint; the named ones are listed under Things to do, with directions.
Which parks in Castlebar are historic?
The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage records one historic park, garden or demesne in the town: Park, The Mall, Castlebar.
Sources
Where Castlebar’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).