First pick
Princess Grace Park
Park or garden
5.6 ha0.6 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.6 km of path
Centralin the middle of Newport
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Mark Waters · CC BY 2.077%near a park
Outdoors in Newport · parks, paths & countryside
Newport is on the coast
The sea makes up 15% of the area within 5 km. 10 waymarked trails start within 5 km of Newport, among them the Western Way - Mayo and Great Western Greenway. Wild Nephin National Park begins 7.9 km away.
Near a park
77%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
8.7 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
7 km
0.7 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Protected for nature
14%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Clew Bay Complex SAC
Woodland
5.5%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
The sea
15%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Newport?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On the coast15% of the area within 5 km is sea.Room to roam8.7 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 76% of Irish towns.Countryside close byWild Nephin National Park starts 7.9 km north-west.Few mapped footpaths0.7 km of path per km²; the typical Irish town has 2.1.
Newport’s strongest suit is the sea, followed by plenty of park space. Where it falls short is footpaths.
Against other towns
How Newport 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 walk77%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
30out of 100
Public green space8.7 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
76out of 100
Footpaths0.7 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
19out of 100
Protected for nature14%of the land within 5 km
95out of 100
Woodland5.5%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
78out of 100
The sea15%of the area within 5 km
79out 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
Newport has the 19th fewest footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (815 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
Newport0.7
Towns its size0.7
Co. Mayo towns0.6
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Newport8.7
Towns its size4.1
Co. Mayo towns2.6
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Newport77%
Towns its size83%
Co. Mayo towns85%
Typical Irish town92%
Against towns its size, Newport stands out most for park space per resident: only 10 of the other 39 have more.
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 | Newport Mayo | 0.7 | 5.5% | 14% | 15% |
| 23 | Kenmare Kerry | 0.6 | 7.2% | 6.5% | 6.4% |
| 24 | Athboy Meath | 0.6 | 1.1% | 1.5% | – |
| 25 | Bundoran Donegal | 0.5 | 2% | 5.1% | 35% |
| 26 | Muinebeag (Bagenalstown) Carlow | 0.5 | 3.9% | 2.9% | – |
| 27 | Skibbereen Cork | 0.5 | 1.7% | 1.6% | – |
| 28 | Kinnegad Westmeath | 0.3 | 4.5% | 4.5% | – |
| 29 | Donegal Donegal | 0.3 | 4% | 4.1% | 12% |
| 30 | Boyle Roscommon | 0.3 | 3.2% | 0% | – |
| 31 | Bailieborough Cavan | 0.3 | 10% | 0% | – |
| 32 | Castleisland Kerry | 0.3 | 1.7% | 12% | – |
| 33 | Kanturk Cork | 0.3 | 0% | 5.1% | – |
| 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 Newport’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 Newport
The biggest is Princess Grace Park, 5.6 ha (14 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
8 in 10 Newport 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 (77%)Further (23%)
Newport77%
Co. Mayo towns85%
Typical Irish town92%
About 200 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
14% of the land around Newport 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 Newport8.5%
Within 5 km14%
Co. Mayo towns3.4%
Typical Irish town1.8%
4 protected sites lie within 5 km of Newport. Proposed Natural Heritage Areas cover 10% 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.
Clew Bay Complex SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 120 km² · reaches Newport
NPWS pageNewport River SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 14 km² · reaches Newport
NPWS pageOwenduff/Nephin Complex SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 279 km² · 3.2 km from the edge
NPWS pageOwenduff/Nephin Complex SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 268 km² · 4.1 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 7.9 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
7.9 km north-west171 km²
National Park
Connemara National Park
42 km south-west21 km²
National Park
Burren National Park
95 km south21 km²
3 of Ireland’s six National Parks are within 100 km of Newport.
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
7 km of footpaths cross Newport
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
6.7 km
over 10.3 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
5.5%
about 0.6 km² of mapped woods
Registered trails
10
walking trails within 5 km
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
NewportCo. Mayo townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths0.7
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
NewportCo. Mayo townsTypical Irish town
Woodland5.5%
0%50%100%
Newport has less footpath per km² than 81% of Irish towns and more woodland than 78% of Irish towns.
Footpaths and woods: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Woods are mapped cover, private and Coillte forests included.
Footpaths & trails
Newport is on the Western Way - Mayo
7 km of footpaths are mapped in Newport and the kilometre around it, 0.7 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
Long-distance wayGreenwayWalking trail
Western Way - Mayo130.2 km
Great Western Greenway44.5 km
Burrishoole Loop - Newport Doogary Loop10.7 km
Burrishoole Loop - Newport Derryhillagh Loop7.0 km
Burrishoole Loop - Newport Lecarrow Loop6.8 km
Burrishoole Loop - Newport Loch Morchan Loop6.3 km
Burrishoole Loop - Derradda Furnace Loop9.5 km
Burrishoole Loop - Derradda Oghillies Loop10.4 km
Lettermaghera - Derradda Loop7.3 km
Western Way Mayo - Achill Spur to Mulranny16.0 km
The Western Way - Mayo (130 km end to end) passes through Newport. For a shorter walk, the Burrishoole Loop - Newport Doogary Loop is 10.7 km, graded moderate. 4 cycling or paddling trails also start within 5 km.
2 more waymarked walks on OpenStreetMap
Local
Burrishole Abbey Walk3.0 km
Furnace Loop - Mayo2.9 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.
When to get out
The best walking months in Newport: 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) | 9 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 150 | 125 | 110 | 86 | 86 | 85 | 99 | 118 | 116 | 140 | 162 | 167 |
June is the driest month (85 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 18 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.4 hours of daylight in December, and 167 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. The climate in Newport →
The coast
The coast and bathing waters near Newport
15% of the area within 5 km of Newport 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
1 playground
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 1
Plus 1 playground without a name on the map.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Unnamed places are counted, not listed.
Next door
Next to Newport
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
WestportCastlebarNewport
Under 1%1–10%10–25%25–50%50%+
In Castlebar, 95% 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 Newport
What is the biggest park in Newport?
Princess Grace Park, 5.6 ha (14 acres). Canon Kileen 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 Newport?
Yes: 14% of the land within 5 km is protected, across 4 sites. Clew Bay Complex SAC reaches Newport.
What are the best walks near Newport?
10 waymarked trails start within 5 km, including the Western Way - Mayo, Great Western Greenway and Burrishoole Loop - Newport Doogary Loop.
How many people in Newport live near a park?
77% 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 Newport?
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 Newport near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Wild Nephin National Park, 7.9 km north-west of the town’s edge; it covers about 171 km². 2 more are within 100 km.
Sources
Where Newport’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).