Many of Coillte’s forests provide a valuable link for accessing areas of national parks and other upland areas open for public access (by agreement). These mountain access routes are marked on the ground at the beginning and end of the route with this logo and are way marked in between. Some routes are existing trails or long distance routes, some are simple ride lines that allow access.

These routes are permissive access routes only and maybe be closed from time to time for operational, safety, conservation or other reasons.

Please respect all landowners and any notices posted on these routes.

What are National Looped Trails?

There are most than 80 National Looped Trails in Ireland and more than 60% of those are on Coillte land.  You can search for these National Looped Walks on our home page and you will find more on www.discoverireland.ie/walking.

Looped walks are now established in 26 counties. A number of walks have two-three loops from the trailhead to choose from. Each trailhead provides facilities such as car parks, map boards & picnic areas.  Local community & walking groups have been very supportive of the initiative as have the Irish Sports Council, National Trails Office, Coillte and Fáilte Ireland.

Research has shown that visitors are now seeking quality looped walks in areas of outstanding scenic beauty, off road & of 1.5-3 hours in duration.  Visitors also want to interact with local people & enjoy a relaxing, peaceful holiday in rural areas. National Looped Trails meet this market demand providing enjoyable off road walking and hiking experiences in scenic areas.

Fáilte Ireland with support from the Dept of Community, Rural & Gaeltacht affairs has developed looped walks throughout the country over the last two years. The walks come under the themes Heritage, Nature, Mountain & Coastal.  Many of these trails use Coillte lands as part of the trails network.