Photo: Simon Mortimer · CC BY-SA 2.0Rathnew has 3 waymarked trails within 5 km
Wicklow Mountains National Park begins 13 km away. The sea makes up 17% of the area within 5 km. Footpaths add up to 12 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 1.2 for every square kilometre.
How Rathnew 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.
Rathnew has the 17th most footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (2,955 to 4,096 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Shandon (7.3 km per km²) to Charleville (0 km per km²).
Against towns its size, Rathnew stands out most for path per km²: only 16 of the other 39 have more. It falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 24 of the others do better.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | The sea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shandon Cork | 7.3 | 1.9% | 0.9% | – |
| 2 | Ballyfermot Dublin | 6.8 | 8.7% | 0% | – |
| 3 | Cork City Centre Cork | 6.7 | 1.5% | 1.8% | – |
| 4 | Blackpool Cork | 6.6 | 3% | 1.4% | – |
| 5 | Farranree Cork | 6 | 3% | 0.5% | – |
| 6 | Newcastle Galway | 5.4 | 1.7% | 15% | 29% |
| 7 | Shanakiel Cork | 5.3 | 5.7% | 0.1% | – |
| 8 | Taylor's Hill Galway | 5.1 | 1.2% | 15% | 37% |
| 9 | Togher Cork | 5 | 1.5% | 0.5% | – |
| 10 | Limerick City Centre Limerick | 3.5 | 1% | 11% | – |
| 11 | Ballynanty Limerick | 2.5 | 5.7% | 12% | – |
| 12 | Rahoon Galway | 2.3 | 2.3% | 27% | 20% |
| 13 | Annacotty Limerick | 2 | 2% | 6.2% | – |
| 14 | Ballinacurra Limerick | 1.8 | 1.4% | 11% | – |
| 15 | Westbury Clare | 1.7 | 3.3% | 9.6% | – |
| 16 | Crosshaven Cork | 1.2 | 8.9% | 0.4% | 44% |
| 17 | Rathnew Wicklow | 1.2 | 1.3% | 3.9% | 17% |
| 18 | Cleaboy Waterford | 1.2 | 0% | 5.8% | – |
| 19 | Virginia Cavan | 1.1 | 18% | 0.2% | – |
| 20 | Enfield Meath | 1.1 | 3.9% | 0% | – |
| 21 | Cahir Tipperary | 1 | 7.5% | 3.4% | – |
| 22 | Castleblayney Monaghan | 1 | 3.8% | 0% | – |
| 23 | Ballina Tipperary | 0.9 | 1.8% | 4.7% | – |
| 24 | Riverstown Cork | 0.8 | 14% | 2.9% | – |
| 25 | Kilcullen Kildare | 0.8 | 5.3% | 0% | – |
| 26 | Kill Kildare | 0.8 | 2.1% | 0% | – |
| 27 | Moate Westmeath | 0.7 | 2.4% | 2.4% | – |
| 28 | Tower Cork | 0.7 | 13% | 0% | – |
| 29 | Kingscourt Cavan | 0.7 | 12% | 0% | – |
| 30 | Newtownmountkennedy Wicklow | 0.6 | 12% | 4.9% | 6.2% |
| 31 | Rathangan Kildare | 0.5 | 4.5% | 0% | – |
| 32 | Claremorris Mayo | 0.4 | 7.1% | 0% | – |
| 33 | Macroom Cork | 0.4 | 4.9% | 3.9% | – |
| 34 | Mitchelstown Cork | 0.3 | 0% | 0% | – |
| 35 | Kinnegad Westmeath | 0.3 | 4.5% | 4.5% | – |
| 36 | Bailieborough Cavan | 0.3 | 10% | 0% | – |
| 37 | Stamullen Meath | 0.3 | 1.7% | 0.5% | 12% |
| 38 | Ballinrobe Mayo | 0.3 | 0.5% | 11% | – |
| 39 | Clara Offaly | 0.2 | 6.1% | 6.4% | – |
| 40 | Charleville Cork | 0 | 0.3% | 0.2% | – |
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Rathnew’s urban area.
9 in 10 Rathnew 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 200 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected sites cover 3.9% of the land within 5 km of Rathnew
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.
3 protected sites lie within 5 km of Rathnew. Proposed Natural Heritage Areas cover 7.8% 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.
Wicklow Mountains National Park is 13 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.
Wicklow Mountains National Park
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).
12 km of footpaths cross Rathnew
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
Rathnew has less footpath per km² than 64% of Irish towns and less 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.
3 waymarked trails start near Rathnew
12 km of footpaths are mapped in Rathnew and the kilometre around it, 1.2 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
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 Rathnew: 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) | 8.1 | 9.8 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.8 | 16.9 | 16.4 | 14.7 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.6 | 7.6 |
| High (°C) | 9 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 98 | 74 | 73 | 70 | 66 | 69 | 62 | 74 | 80 | 114 | 125 | 103 |
July is the driest month (62 mm) and the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.6 hours of daylight in December, and 125 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. The climate in Rathnew →
Rathnew is near the sea
17% of the area within 5 km of Rathnew 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
3 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 3
Plus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Unnamed places are counted, not listed.
3 gardens and nature sites to visit near Rathnew
Gardens, national parks, nature sites and islands within 15 km of the town’s edge, each with its own page.
Places to visit: Fáilte Ireland open data (CC BY 4.0), OpenStreetMap and Wikidata.
Next to Rathnew
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
None of the neighbours has many more of its people near a park than Rathnew. Ashford has at least twice Rathnew’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 Rathnew
Is there protected countryside near Rathnew?
Yes: 3.9% of the land within 5 km is protected, across 3 sites. The nearest is The Murrough Wetlands SAC, 0.8 km from the edge of town.
What are the best walks near Rathnew?
3 waymarked trails start within 5 km, including the Glen Beach Cliff Walk, The Devil's Glen - Seamus Heaney Walk and The Devil's Glen - Waterfall Walk.
How many people in Rathnew live near a park?
93% 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 Rathnew?
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 Rathnew near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Wicklow Mountains National Park, 13 km west of the town’s edge; it covers about 223 km².
Where Rathnew’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
- 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).