Walks and adventure sports in Offaly

Leinster

Offaly has 34 waymarked trails on Sport Ireland's National Trails Register, covering about 690 kilometres in total across walking (22), cycling (12).

Waymarked trails
34
Total distance
690 km
Longest
117.1 km

Spots worth the trip

Named on our sport and activity guides.

Clonbullogue, Co. Offaly

Skydiving & Parachuting

The Irish Parachute Club, founded 1956 and the country's main drop zone. Midlands jumping over flat, open countryside, with straightforward landing areas that suit student progression. skydive.ie

Waymarked trails in Offaly

The 25 longest of 34, from the National Trails Register.

Grand Canal Way

117.1 km · Easy · Linear

Starts at Lucan Road Bridge, near Lucan. Directions

5 days · Waymarked: yellow arrow on black background

Birr Cycle Hub Loop 3

73.1 km · Challenging · Loop

Starts near Birr. Directions

5 hours · Waymarked: blue text on white background

Slieve Bloom Way

71.4 km · 1275 m climb · Strenuous · Loop

Starts at Glenbarrow, near Clonaslee. Directions

3.75 days · Waymarked: yellow arrow on black background

NOTE - CLOSED between Glenbarrow to Monicknew until further notice due closure of the Ridge of Capard. Please note this trail can be started and finished at the Monicknew, Kinnitty, Cadamstown and Clonaslee trailheads as well as Glenbarrow. There is car parking available at all of these, however the car park at Glenbarrow is heavily used and it can be difficult to find a space here.

Birr Cycle Hub Loop 4

46.9 km · Challenging · Loop

Starts near Birr. Directions

1 hour 30 minutes · Waymarked: blue text on white background

Birr Cycle Hub Loop 3 B

44.2 km · Challenging · Loop

Starts near Birr. Directions

1 hour 30 minutes · Waymarked: blue text on white background

Birr Cycle Hub Loop 5

41.9 km · Challenging · Loop

Starts near Birr. Directions

1 hour 20 minutes · Waymarked: blue text on white background

Birr Cycle Hub Loop 4 A

40.1 km · Challenging · Loop

Starts near Birr. Directions

1 hour · Waymarked: blue text on white background

Offaly Way

38 km · Moderate · Linear

Starts at Cadamstown, near Kinnity. Directions

2 days · Waymarked: yellow arrow on black background

Pilgrim's Road to Clonmacnoise

24.4 km · 111 m climb · Moderate · Linear

Starts at 50 m east of Post Office in Ballycumber, near Ballycumber. Directions

1 hour · Waymarked: white signs blue text with bike symbol

Birr Cycle Hub Loop 3 A

15.7 km · Challenging · Loop

Starts near Birr. Directions

30 mins · Waymarked: blue text on white background

Lough Boora - Turraun Cycle Route

15.5 km · Easy · Loop

Starts at Car Park at Lough Boora Parklands (entrance off R357), near Kilcormac 5km, Cloghan 12km. Directions

1 hour 30 minutes · Waymarked: blue

Lough Boora - Turraun Walking Trail

15.5 km · Easy · Loop

Starts at Car Park at Lough Boora Parklands (entrance off R357), near Kilcormac 5km, Cloghan 12km. Directions

4 hours · Waymarked: blue

Birr Cycle Hub Loop 5 A

11.2 km · Challenging · Loop

Starts near Birr. Directions

30 minutes · Waymarked: blue text on white background

Giant's Grave Loop

11 km · Strenuous · Loop

Starts at Car Park opposite pub in Cadamstown, near Cadamstown. Directions

2 hours 30 minutes · Waymarked: red arrow

Derryounce Bog Oak Walk

10.5 km · Moderate · Loop

Starts at Car park on the L7178 Bog Road, near Portarlington. Directions

Waymarked: red arrow on white background

Lough Boora - Finnamore Lakes Route

10.5 km · Easy · Loop

Starts at Car Park at Lough Boora Parklands (entrance off R357), near Kilcormac 5km, Cloghan 12km. Directions

3 hours · Waymarked: orange

Glenregan Forest Recreation Area - Glenregan Loop

9.1 km · 140 m climb · Moderate · Loop

Starts at car park at Glenregan forest entrance, near Kinnity. Directions

3 hours

Birr Cycle Hub Loop 2

8.8 km · Challenging · Loop

Starts near Birr. Directions

20 mins · Waymarked: blue text on white background

Lough Boora - Mesolithic Cycling Route

8.8 km · Easy · Loop

Starts at Car Park at Lough Boora Parklands (entrance off R357), near Kilcormac 5km, Cloghan 12km. Directions

1 hour · Waymarked: red

Lough Boora - Mesolithic Walking Route

8.8 km · Easy · Loop

Starts at Car Park at Lough Boora Parklands (entrance off R357), near Kilcormac 5km, Cloghan 12km. Directions

1 hour 10 minutes · Waymarked: red

Glenafelly Forest Recreation Area - Eco Walk

7.5 km · 60 m climb · Moderate · Loop

Starts at Forest Car Park, near Kinnity. Directions

2 hours · Waymarked: red

Cadamstown Nature Trail Eco Loop

6.4 km · 100 m climb · Moderate · Loop

Starts at Cadamstown village Car Park, near Cadamstown 0km / Kinnity 8km. Directions

1 hour 45 minutes · Waymarked: green arrow on white background

Kinnitty - Glinsk Castle Loop

6.2 km · 170 m climb · Moderate · Loop

Starts at Car park at entrance to Kinitty Forest entrance barrier, near Kinnitty. Directions

2 hours 30 minutes · Waymarked: blue arrow

Moneygall Rock of Loyer Loop

6.2 km · 100 m climb · Moderate · Loop

Starts at Moneygall Activity Park, near Moneygall. Directions

1 hour 30 minutes · Waymarked: green arrow

Derryounce Bog Lake Walk

5.6 km · Moderate · Loop

Starts at Car park on the L7178 Bog Road, near Portarlington. Directions

Waymarked: blue arrow on white background

The other 9 in Offaly

Forest parks in Offaly

Coillte forest parks: managed destinations with parking, marked routes and facilities, not trails in open country.

Slieve Blooms MTB

Coillte maintains 18 forest car parks in Offaly. These are the usual starting points for forest walks and mountain bike trails.

3 clubs and schools in Offaly

Listed by Mountaineering Ireland, Diving Ireland and Irish Sailing. Reproduced as each body publishes it, with a link back to the register. Contact details are theirs, not checked by us.

Na Sléibhte Hillwalking Club

Club
Phone
0871153662

OFFALY SAC

Club · Banagher
Phone
087 653 5223

Safe Water Training Banagher

School

Adventure centres in Offaly

All 1 currently accredited by a national governing body, with a link to the register.

Birr OETC

Run by Laois and Offaly ETB

Approved here in 2001, and still accredited today.

Website
birroec.ie
Phone
057 912 0029
Email
[email protected]
The full directory →

Guides for Offaly

Hillwalking & Mountaineering Mountain Biking Skydiving & Parachuting

Common questions

Where can I go walking in Offaly?

22 waymarked walking trails are registered in Offaly. The longest are Grand Canal Way (117.1km), Slieve Bloom Way (71.4km), Offaly Way (38km), Lough Boora - Turraun Walking Trail (15.5km). Every one has a verified start point and driving directions on its own page.

How many waymarked trails are there in Offaly?

34 on Sport Ireland's National Trails Register, totalling roughly 690 kilometres. The register records waymarked trails only, so unmarked mountain routes and informal paths aren't counted.

How hard are the trails in Offaly?

By register grade: 11 easy, 11 moderate, 3 strenuous, 9 challenging. Grades are set by Sport Ireland against national criteria, so they're comparable between counties.

Are there sports clubs in Offaly?

3 clubs and schools in Offaly are listed by their national governing body: Mountaineering Ireland, Diving Ireland and Irish Sailing. They cover 3 sports between them, and each listing links back to the register it came from.

Are there adventure centres in Offaly?

1 in our directory, 1 of which currently hold accreditation from a national governing body: Birr OETC. Each accredited listing links to the body's own register so you can check it.

What adventure sports can you do in Offaly?

hillwalking & mountaineering, mountain biking, skydiving & parachuting, based on the trails registered in the county and the locations named on our sport guides.

Elsewhere in Leinster

Carlow Dublin Kildare Kilkenny Laois Longford Louth Meath Westmeath Wexford Wicklow

Trail data from the Sport Ireland National Trails Register, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Start points from the companion Trailheads dataset. Snapshot taken 2026-08-13. The register records waymarked trails only, so check the trail operator for current conditions and closures. Forest park and car park data from Coillte Recreation Information (CC BY 4.0), snapshot 2026-08-04, with county boundaries from OSi.