First pick
Town Park
Park or garden
2.3 ha0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
Centralin the middle of Mullingar
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Shaun Nolan · CC BY-SA 2.055%near a park
Outdoors in Mullingar · parks, paths & countryside
The National Famine Way runs through Mullingar
5 waymarked trails start within 5 km of Mullingar, among them the National Famine Way and Royal Canal Way. 55% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. There are 1.4 ha of parks and playing fields for every 1,000 people in Mullingar, against 4.1 in the typical Irish town.
Near a park
55%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
1.4 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
34 km
0.8 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Protected for nature
3.3%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Lough Ennell SAC
Woodland
8.9%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Mullingar?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On a long-distance trailThe National Famine Way passes through.Less park per person1.4 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical Irish town has 4.1.
Mullingar’s strongest suit is the National Famine Way. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Against other towns
How Mullingar 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 walk55%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
5out of 100
Public green space1.4 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
11out of 100
Footpaths0.8 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
24out of 100
Protected for nature3.3%of the land within 5 km
59out of 100
Woodland8.9%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
92out 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
Mullingar has the 5th fewest footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (18,369 to 27,923 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Esker (10.5 km per km²) to Portlaoise (0.6 km per km²).
Footpath, km per km²
Mullingar0.8
Towns its size2.7
Co. Westmeath towns0.8
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Mullingar1.4
Towns its size4.0
Co. Westmeath towns2.0
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Mullingar55%
Towns its size95%
Co. Westmeath towns68%
Typical Irish town92%
Mullingar falls furthest behind on path per km², where 35 of the 39 others do better.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | The sea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Esker Dublin | 10.5 | 2.1% | 0.1% | – |
| 2 | Old Bawn Dublin | 8.5 | 3% | 1.8% | – |
| 3 | Dolphins Barn Dublin | 8.4 | 2.9% | 0% | – |
| 4 | Stoneybatter Dublin | 7.5 | 1.6% | 0% | – |
| 5 | The Liberties Dublin | 7.4 | 0.5% | 0% | – |
| 6 | Carpenterstown Dublin | 7.3 | 11% | 0% | – |
| 7 | Blanchardstown Dublin | 7 | 3.8% | 0% | – |
| 8 | Lucan Dublin | 6.8 | 7.3% | 0.2% | – |
| 9 | Mulhuddart Dublin | 6.6 | 4% | 0% | – |
| 10 | Ballymun Dublin | 6.5 | 2.6% | 0% | – |
| 11 | Clonsilla Dublin | 6.4 | 3% | 0.1% | – |
| 12 | Jobstown Dublin | 6.3 | 1.9% | 2.2% | – |
| 13 | Rathmines West Dublin | 6 | 1.7% | 0.1% | 5.8% |
| 14 | Crumlin Dublin | 5.4 | 0.8% | 0% | – |
| 15 | Clondalkin Dublin | 4.6 | 3.3% | 0% | – |
| 16 | Stepaside Dublin | 4.3 | 15% | 6.4% | 5.9% |
| 17 | Sandymount Dublin | 3.6 | 1.2% | 3.6% | 35% |
| 18 | Clontarf East Dublin | 3.1 | 3% | 6.1% | 38% |
| 19 | Kilkenny Kilkenny | 3.1 | 3.8% | 2.4% | – |
| 20 | Beaumont Dublin | 2.9 | 2% | 3.4% | 9.7% |
| 21 | Celbridge Kildare | 2.4 | 6.9% | 0.5% | – |
| 22 | Malahide Dublin | 2.4 | 3.4% | 2.1% | 32% |
| 23 | Greystones-Delgany Wicklow | 2.2 | 11% | 5% | 35% |
| 24 | Balbriggan Dublin | 2.1 | 1.6% | 0% | 37% |
| 25 | Naas Kildare | 1.9 | 1.4% | 0% | – |
| 26 | Douglas Cork | 1.7 | 4.6% | 5% | – |
| 27 | Knocknacarra Galway | 1.6 | 3.4% | 32% | 34% |
| 28 | Ballincollig Cork | 1.3 | 8.4% | 0% | – |
| 29 | Athlone Westmeath | 1.3 | 6.1% | 14% | – |
| 30 | Sligo Sligo | 1.2 | 6.1% | 9.5% | 18% |
| 31 | Tralee Kerry | 1.1 | 2.4% | 21% | 6.4% |
| 32 | Clonmel Tipperary | 1.1 | 14% | 3.9% | – |
| 33 | Wexford Wexford | 1.1 | 3.8% | 13% | 22% |
| 34 | Dooradoyle Limerick | 1 | 2.6% | 7.7% | – |
| 35 | Carlow Carlow | 0.9 | 1.3% | 2% | – |
| 36 | Mullingar Westmeath | 0.8 | 8.9% | 3.3% | – |
| 37 | Ennis Clare | 0.7 | 9.6% | 7.8% | – |
| 38 | Letterkenny Donegal | 0.7 | 4.9% | 4.3% | 5.3% |
| 39 | Newbridge Kildare | 0.6 | 1.6% | 4.9% | – |
| 40 | Portlaoise Laois | 0.6 | 2.6% | 1.1% | – |
The map
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Mullingar’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 Mullingar
The biggest is Town Park, 2.3 ha (6 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
5 in 10 Mullingar 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 (55%)Further (45%)
Mullingar55%
Co. Westmeath towns68%
Typical Irish town92%
About 10,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
Protected sites cover 3.3% of the land within 5 km of Mullingar
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 Mullingar0%
Within 5 km3.3%
Co. Westmeath towns3.9%
Typical Irish town1.8%
7 protected sites lie within 5 km of Mullingar. Proposed Natural Heritage Areas cover 3.6% 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.
Lough Ennell SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 17 km² · 0.3 km from the edge
NPWS pageLough Ennell SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 14 km² · 0.6 km from the edge
NPWS pageLough Owel SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 11 km² · 0.8 km from the edge
NPWS pageLough Owel SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 11 km² · 0.8 km from the edge
NPWS pageWooddown Bog NHANatural Heritage Area · 2.0 km² · 0.9 km from the edge
NPWS pageWooddown Bog SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 0.5 km² · 1.2 km from the edge
NPWS pageScragh Bog SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 0.2 km² · 3.2 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
Wicklow Mountains National Park is 65 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
65 km south-east223 km²
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
34 km of footpaths cross Mullingar
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
34 km
over 41.8 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
8.9%
about 3.7 km² of mapped woods
Registered trails
5
walking trails within 5 km
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
MullingarCo. Westmeath townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths0.8
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
MullingarCo. Westmeath townsTypical Irish town
Woodland8.9%
0%50%100%
Mullingar has less footpath per km² than 76% of Irish towns and more woodland than 92% of Irish towns.
Footpaths and woods: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Woods are mapped cover, private and Coillte forests included.
Footpaths & trails
5 waymarked trails start near Mullingar
34 km of footpaths are mapped in Mullingar and the kilometre around it, 0.8 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
Long-distance wayGreenway
National Famine Way168.6 km
Royal Canal Way146.3 km
Royal Canal Greenway Walking Trail121.4 km
Old Rail Trail Greenway Walking Trail: Mullingar - Athlone43.0 km
Westmeath Way28.3 km
The National Famine Way (169 km end to end) passes through Mullingar. 5 cycling or paddling trails also start within 5 km.
2 more waymarked walks on OpenStreetMap
NationalLocal
The Royal Canal Way14.0 km
Mullingar Sli Na Slainte4.2 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
2 historic parks, gardens and demesnes on the record in Mullingar
Parks, gardens, walled gardens and demesne walls in the town on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, each with its record.
Walled gardenWalled garden, Saint Loman's Hospitalfrom 1850Regional rating (NIAH)
Demesne walls/gates/railingsGlenmorefrom 1860Regional rating (NIAH)
The oldest dated is Walled garden, Saint Loman's Hospital, from 1850.
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 Mullingar: 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 | 16.5 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 94 | 77 | 70 | 67 | 65 | 75 | 82 | 86 | 77 | 100 | 101 | 103 |
May is the driest month (65 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.5 hours of daylight in December, and 103 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. The climate in Mullingar →
The coast
Bathing waters near Mullingar
0% of the area within 5 km of Mullingar is sea. One bathing water is within 5 km.
Portnashangan, Lough OwelExcellent (2025) · 3.3 km from town
beaches.ieOne of the 1 is rated excellent: Portnashangan, Lough Owel.
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
6 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 6
Plus 6 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Slipways 1
Plus 1 slipway without a name on the map.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Unnamed places are counted, not listed.
Next door
Next to Mullingar
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
RochfortbridgeKillucan-RathwireKinnegadCastlepollardMullingar
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mullingar | 55% | 1.4 | 0.8 | 3.3% |
| Rochfortbridge 12 km | 83% | 1.7 | 0.1 | 0.1% |
| Killucan-Rathwire 14 km | 73% | 1.6 | 0.1 | 2.8% |
| Kinnegad 18 km | 63% | 1.4 | 0.3 | 4.5% |
| Castlepollard 18 km | 100% | 6.6 | 0.0 | 2.5% |
In Castlepollard, 100% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park, more than here. Castlepollard has at least twice Mullingar’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 Mullingar
What is the biggest park in Mullingar?
Town Park, 2.3 ha (6 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is there protected countryside near Mullingar?
Yes: 3.3% of the land within 5 km is protected, across 7 sites. The nearest is Lough Ennell SAC, 0.3 km from the edge of town.
What are the best walks near Mullingar?
5 waymarked trails start within 5 km, including the National Famine Way, Royal Canal Way and Royal Canal Greenway Walking Trail.
Where can you swim near Mullingar?
The nearest bathing water is Portnashangan, Lough Owel, 3.3 km from town: Excellent (2025). Check beaches.ie before swimming: a notice can close a beach for the day.
How many people in Mullingar 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 Mullingar?
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 Mullingar near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Wicklow Mountains National Park, 65 km south-east of the town’s edge; it covers about 223 km².
Which parks in Mullingar are historic?
The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage records 2 historic parks, gardens and demesnes in the town, among them Walled garden, Saint Loman's Hospital and Glenmore.
Sources
Where Mullingar’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
- Historic parks and gardens. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (CC BY 4.0)
- 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).