First pick
Floods Wood
Wood or forest
12 ha0.2 km of path
0.7 km north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Oliver Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0100%near a park
Outdoors in Carney · parks, paths & countryside
Carney is more wooded than 9 in 10 Irish towns
Woods cover 11% of Carney and the kilometre around it. 100% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. 4 waymarked trails start within 5 km of Carney, among them the Carney Walk and Ben Bulben loop.
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
5.2 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
2 km
0.4 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: Cummeen Strand/Drumcliff Bay (Sligo Bay) SAC
Woodland
11%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
The sea
23%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Carney?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Wooded country11% mapped woodland in and around town, more than 95% of Irish towns.A park on every doorstep100% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.On the coast23% of the area within 5 km is sea.Few mapped footpaths0.4 km of path per km²; the typical Irish town has 2.1.
Carney’s strongest suit is its woods, followed by parks close to every home. Where it falls short is footpaths.
Against other towns
How Carney 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 space5.2 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
60out of 100
Footpaths0.4 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
9out of 100
Protected for nature14%of the land within 5 km
95out of 100
Woodland11%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
96out of 100
The sea23%of the area within 5 km
84out 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
Carney has the 14th fewest footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (373 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
Carney0.4
Towns its size0.7
Co. Sligo towns1.2
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Carney5.2
Towns its size4.1
Co. Sligo towns4.2
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Carney100%
Towns its size87%
Co. Sligo towns98%
Typical Irish town92%
Against towns its size, Carney stands out most for park space per resident: only 15 of the other 39 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 26 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 | Carney Sligo | 0.4 | 11% | 14% | 23% |
| 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 Carney’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 Carney
The biggest is Floods Wood, 12 ha (31 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
Everyone in Carney lives 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 (100%)Further (0%)
Carney100%
Co. Sligo towns98%
Typical Irish town92%
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
Protected sites cover 14% of the land within 5 km of Carney
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 Carney0%
Within 5 km14%
Co. Sligo towns9.5%
Typical Irish town1.8%
6 protected sites lie within 5 km of Carney. Proposed Natural Heritage Areas cover 15% 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.
Cummeen Strand/Drumcliff Bay (Sligo Bay) SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 51 km² · 0.4 km from the edge
NPWS pageDrumcliff Bay SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 18 km² · 0.4 km from the edge
NPWS pageBallintemple and Ballygilgan SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 2.4 km² · 0.7 km from the edge
NPWS pageBen Bulben, Gleniff and Glenade Complex SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 60 km² · 2.9 km from the edge
NPWS pageSligo/Leitrim Uplands SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 11 km² · 2.9 km from the edge
NPWS pageCummeen Strand SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 17 km² · 3.5 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 62 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
62 km west171 km²
National Park
Glenveagh National Park
66 km north155 km²
2 of Ireland’s six National Parks are within 100 km of Carney.
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
2 km of footpaths cross Carney
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
1.9 km
over 5.2 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
11%
about 0.6 km² of mapped woods
Registered trails
4
walking trails within 5 km
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
CarneyCo. Sligo townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths0.4
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
CarneyCo. Sligo townsTypical Irish town
Woodland11%
0%50%100%
Carney has less footpath per km² than 91% of Irish towns and more woodland than 96% of Irish towns.
Footpaths and woods: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Woods are mapped cover, private and Coillte forests included.
Footpaths & trails
4 waymarked trails start near Carney
2 km of footpaths are mapped in Carney and the kilometre around it, 0.4 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
Walking trail
Carney Walk2.7 km
Ben Bulben loop5.5 km
Gortarowey - Multi Access0.2 km
Rosses Point Coastal Walk2.2 km
For a shorter walk, the Ben Bulben loop is 5.5 km, graded easy. 2 cycling or paddling trails also start within 5 km.
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 Carney: 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 | 9.6 | 11.7 | 14.0 | 16.0 | 17.2 | 16.7 | 14.9 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.4 | 7.3 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 126 | 102 | 94 | 79 | 83 | 89 | 111 | 115 | 106 | 123 | 141 | 139 |
April is the driest month (79 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 18 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.3 hours of daylight in December, and 141 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. The climate in Carney →
The coast
Carney is a coastal town
23% of the area within 5 km of Carney is sea. One bathing water is within 5 km.
Rosses Point BeachExcellent (2025) · 4.2 km from town
beaches.ieOne of the 1 is rated excellent: Rosses Point Beach.
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
Viewpoints, hills and nature near Carney
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
Nature reserves 1
Ballyigilgan Nature Reserve28 ha · 1.2 km from town
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Unnamed places are counted, not listed.
Gardens & nature
2 gardens and nature sites to visit near Carney
Gardens, national parks, nature sites and islands within 15 km of the town’s edge, each with its own page.
Lissadell House & GardensGarden · 3.4 km from town
Its pageBenbulbenNature site · 4.4 km from town
Its pagePlaces to visit: Fáilte Ireland open data (CC BY 4.0), OpenStreetMap and Wikidata.
Next door
Next to Carney
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
SligoStrandhillBallysadareCollooneyCoolaneyCarney
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carney | 100% | 5.2 | 0.4 | 14% |
| Sligo 8.4 km | 98% | 4.2 | 1.2 | 9.5% |
| Strandhill 8.9 km | 100% | 2.1 | 0.8 | 11% |
| Ballysadare 14 km | 81% | 0.5 | 0.3 | 11% |
| Collooney 18 km | 84% | 2.0 | 0.6 | 8.9% |
| Coolaney 19 km | 54% | 1.8 | 0.1 | 4% |
None of the neighbours has many more of its people near a park than Carney.
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 Carney
Is there protected countryside near Carney?
Yes: 14% of the land within 5 km is protected, across 6 sites. The nearest is Cummeen Strand/Drumcliff Bay (Sligo Bay) SAC, 0.4 km from the edge of town.
What are the best walks near Carney?
4 waymarked trails start within 5 km, including the Carney Walk, Ben Bulben loop and Gortarowey - Multi Access.
Where can you swim near Carney?
The nearest bathing water is Rosses Point Beach, 4.2 km from town: Excellent (2025). Check beaches.ie before swimming: a notice can close a beach for the day.
How many people in Carney 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 Carney?
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 Carney near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Wild Nephin National Park, 62 km west of the town’s edge; it covers about 171 km². One more is within 100 km.
What is there to do outdoors around Carney?
Within 2 km, OpenStreetMap maps 1 nature reserve; the named ones are listed under Things to do, with directions.
Sources
Where Carney’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
- Bathing water. EPA: bathing water quality, 2025 season
- 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).