Site Name:

National Grid Reference

M 836 044   Understanding grid references

Ordnance Survey Ireland Discovery Series:

53

Location

Adjacent to Portumna town, Co. Galway on the northern side of Lough Derg.  Download location map

How do I get there?

Leaving Portumna, on the R352 heading towards Mountshannon, the park entrance is 1km from the town on the left hand side. The trailhead is located in the car-park which is 1km inside the park gates.

Portumna Forest Park Trail(s)

• Forest Friendly Walking Trail
• Forest Friendly Family Cycling Trail
• Woodland Walking Trail
• Woodland Mountain Biking Trail
• Rinmaher Walking Trail
• Rinmaher Mountain Biking Trail
• Bonaveen Walking Trails
• Bonaveen Mountain Biking Trail
• Download Map - All Trails

The name Portumna derives from the Irish Port Omna, meaning the landing place of the oak tree.  Portumna Forest Park was acquired in 1948 and covers almost 450 hectares.  It was formerly owned by the Clanrickarde family.  There is an old abbey, now under the care of the Office of Public Works (OPW), within the Park which dates back to the 15^th century.  The castle nearby, on which considerable restoration work has been carried out by the OPW, dates back to the 17^th century and was the seat of the Earl of Clanrickarde.

The park is generally dominated by coniferous woodland.  The main tree species are Scots pine and Norway spruce. However over the past 10 years a large area of mature spruce plantation has been commercially felled in the eastern half of the park.  Most of these recently felled areas are now being restored to native oak-ash-hazel woodland as part of the Native Woodland Scheme. 

Scattered throughout the coniferous woodland there are occasional patches of semi-natural woodland which tend to be dominated by ash and beech with silver birch frequent along the lake shore. A notable feature of the park is the presence of occasional individuals of Yew and Juniper in open woodland along the lake shore. Perhaps the most noteworthy animal species of the park is red squirrel which is frequently encountered in woodland areas.  There is a large population of Fallow deer in the Park and other animal species include fox and badger.

There are 4 looped trails in the park ranging from a multi-access trail suitable for all visitors of approx 1km length, to a long multi-use trail of over 10kms for walkers and cyclists.

Contact Info