Walking The Pilgrim’s Path At Slieve League

The Pilgrim’s Path at Slieve League is an ancient trail that’s graded as strenuous. Depending on your starting point and pace it’s a 6km/3 hour walk.

A trail that should be avoided during bad weather, the Pilgrim’s Path is one of the more popular walks around Slieve League.

And, while I personally much prefer the trail from the other side of the Slieve League Cliffs, this is a bucket list walk for many.

Some quick need-to-knows about the Pilgrim’s Path

It’s worth taking 30 seconds to review the points below as they’ll save you time in the long run.

1. Avoid in bad weather

The majority of this walk is up a rough trail. The problem arises at the top – there’s cliff edge that can be completely invisible if fog/mist descends. PLEASE only attempt this trail if:

1. You’ve checked the weather conditions in advance
2. You have experience in mountain navigation

2. Length/distance

Depending on your exact start and finish points, the there-and-back Pilgrim’s Path up Slieve League is around 6km and it takes 3 hours, depending on pace.

3. Difficulty

This is a strenuous hike that requires good levels of fitness. Hiking boots and appropriate clothing/food/water are also essential.

4. Parking

While you could start this walk from the visitor centre, the best starting point is the walkers car park here. This is a tiny parking area (there’s another further up here) that fills up on good days.

An overview of the Pilgrim’s Path at Slieve League

After parking, follow the trail upwards. It’ll start to slowly incline and you’ll see the path disappear around a mossy hill before emerging back into view.

Once you come around the bend, the valley opens up in front of you.

The view ahead is relatively unexciting – it’s just the hills and the mountain (it’s for this reason that I’d recommend the third walk outlined here).

Keep on going and eventually the view behind you opens up, which you can enjoy if you need a breather.

The trail eventually disappears and you need to scramble in places with plenty of loose stone underfoot.

Keep on going and you’ll eventually reach the top to (hopefully) enjoy views of Donegal Bay.

A warning about One Man’s Pass

One Man’s Pass is an infamous section of the mountain that is treacherous even on good days.

There is, hence the name, room for only one person to cross and I would strongly recommend that you avoid it.

There are two dangers with One Man’s Pass:

1. The wind: The wind at the top of the mountain is incredibly powerful and can literally blow you over
2. The views: It’s easy to get distracted by the views when the day is clear

Explore the Slieve League Peninsula

Now that you have a good sense of what to expect from the Slieve League Pilgrim’s Path, it’s time to see what else the area has to offer.

While there are plenty of things to do in Donegal, if you’re in this area it’s worth taking the Slieve League Peninsula road trip, outlined in the map above.

Over the course of 1 day you’ll visit:

• The secret waterfall
• Malin Beg
• Glengesh Pass
• Maghera Caves
• Much more