Walking & Hiking

Walking in the Slieve Bloom Mountains

Get off the beaten track and connect with nature in the unspoilt and uncongested Slieve Bloom Mountains where you will find a great choice of walking trails ranging in distance from 4km to 70km.

Choose from 17 Slieve Bloom Looped Walks of varying length from trailheads at Kinnitty Cadamstown Clonaslee Glenbarrow and Monicknew.

Eco Walks focusing on different aspects of the flora fauna and geology of the Slieve Bloom Mountains can be found at Knockbarron, Glenafelly, Gurteenamile Silver River Cadamstown and Glenbarrow. The Circular Slieve Bloom Way can be accessed from any of the trailheads at Kinnitty, Cadamstown, Clonaslee, Glenbarrow, Monicknew. The linier way marked Offaly Way can be accessed from the trailhead at Cadamstown.

Organised walks take place on most weeks throughout the year — details of upcoming walks can be found here:

Please maintain Social Distancing. HSE guidelines recommend people keep a distance of 2 metres (6.5 feet) between themselves and others, this is the case both indoors and outside.

Slieve Bloom Walking Festival 2024

The Slieve Bloom Walking Festival takes place in spring every year as the bluebells come into full bloom and the hills are alive with birdsong.

This year the Slieve Bloom Walking Club celebrates it’s 28th year with a wide variety of walks. The festival starts on Saturday May 4th and finishes on Monday May 6th. The festival offers a choice of woodland walks, riverside and gentle rolling hills with experienced walk leaders who will enhance your hike with stories of local history, geology and fauna. We have an A, B and C walks on both Saturday and Sunday. Our Monday walk is a Grade A 13k and will take about 4 hours. The C and B walks are easy to moderate with a more strenuous A walk which is more suitable for the more experienced hiker. Walk details are available on our website calendar (see below). Festival weekend charge options are as follows: €8 per walk or €20 includes Festival and Annual subscription (individual) or €30 Festival and Annual subscription (Family)

For anyone who would like to join their hiking friends afterwards, Kinnitty Castle are providing a meal on Sunday, May 5th at 3.30pm. Two-course meal - Main course, Dessert, tea or coffee €25 (You must prebook)

Walking Guides

Are you looking for a personal leader who can tailor-make a walk to suit your party or group? All of our walking guides have received extensive practical walking guide training to ensure that you have a safe, educational and enjoyable experience in the Slieve Bloom Mountains.

If you are looking for a personal walk leader please contact Gerry at +353 86 8210056. He will arrange walk leader for you.