The Tibradden Wood walk is one of my favourite Dublin Mountains walks.
Perfect for a relatively easy weekend ramble, if you’ve a decent level of fitness, the Tibradden Wood walk is a tranquil stroll in the mountains.
The trail here stretches for around 2.5km and it’ll take you roughly 2 hours to complete it, depending on pace.
In the guide below, you’ll find a map of this Tibradden Mountain trail along with info on parking, difficulty and more.
Some quick need-to-knows about the Tibradden Wood Walk (Pine Forest)
Although a visit to Tibradden Mountain is fairly straightforward, there are a few need-to-knows that’ll make your visit that bit more enjoyable.
1. Location
Lying in between Cruagh Wood and Kilmashogue mountains, Tibradden is easy to get to if you just head up the R116. Turn left at the fork in the road and then the entrance and car park should be on your left-hand side.
2. Parking
The car park is easy enough to spot and surprisingly large too! However, although there are around 50 spaces available, they fill up fast on the weekend, and the car park here can get chaotic, so try and arrive early.
3. Opening hours
Opening hours differ between summer and winter. The car park is open from April to September between the hours of 7:00am and 9:00pm, and then from October to March between 8:00am and 5:00pm.
4. Difficulty
The Tibradden Mountain walk follows a linear trail through the woods and is of moderate difficulty but shouldn’t be too strenuous for those with a reasonable fitness level.
5. Time it takes
You’re looking at around a two-hour hike in total (though that depends on how long you stop for in certain spots). Beginning with a gentle stroll through the absurdly green forest, you’ll then hike up the mountain up to the cairn at the summit and be rewarded with some seriously savage views!
About Tibradden Woods
The Tibradden Woods are indeed beautiful, but probably the most interesting part of their grand expanse lies close to the summit. Excavated in 1849, the prehistoric burial cairn possibly dates back to the Bronze Age.
When it was uncovered, antiquarians found a central cist (a small stone-lined grave) that contained a pottery food vessel of Bronze Age type and cremated human remains within a circular chamber with a diameter of approximately 3m.
Mind-bending history aside, the woods lie about 320m above sea level and are dotted with fine examples of Scots pine, Japanese larch, European larch, Sitka spruce, oak and beech. In fact, examples of old pine woods planted way back in 1910 can still be seen!
Heather, furze, gorse and bilberry also grow in abundance, and keep an eye out for Sika deer, foxes and badgers too. Check out the wide variety of birdlife on show too.
An overview of the Tibradden Wood Walk
Starting from the car park, we’ll be following the red-dotted route on the big map that you’ll see when you arrive (see photo above).
The gravel route begins at the back of the car park and then zigzags through the tall pine trees while slowly ascending. Don’t forget to keep an eye out for deer during this dusky section of the trail!
Getting into the belly of the walk
After exiting the forest, you’ll start hiking up a more challenging section into open mountain on a stony trail to reach the top of Tibradden Mountain.
Flanked by gorse and heather, you’ll also begin to feel the wind whipping up as you ascend higher and higher. Look out for the narrow turn-off towards the summit as that’s where you’ll find the stone cairn!
The summit and getting back to the car
Allegedly, it may be the burial place Bródáin, who gave his name to the mountain. But whatever the story, it’s a perfect spot to sit down and take in some of the stunning views of Dublin Bay all the way across to Howth.
Since this is a linear route, when you’re ready to move on after drinking in the views, simply follow the same route straight back to the car park.
Other great walks in Dublin
There’s an almost endless number of walks in Dublin to tackle after you’ve conquered the Tibradden Woods walk.
Below, you’ll find 4 of our favourites, from hill walks with mighty views to forest walks where, if you start early, you’ll dodge the crowds.
1. Killiney Hill
For some gorgeous coastal views after an easy little ramble, walks don’t come much better than the Killiney Hill walk just south of Sandycove. Taking just 20 minutes from the car park to the summit, you get a load of bang for your buck and you’ll be treated to stunning views out over Bray Head and the Wicklow Mountains on one side and of Dublin city on the other.
2. Howth Cliff Walk
With its lovely coastal scenes and easy-to-follow trail, Howth’s Cliff Walk is a cracking way to spend an afternoon and there are a ton of great pubs and restaurants to unwind at when you’re ready to rest your boots. The 1.5-hour walk begins at Howth Summit car park and takes you north to Howth Head Peak where you should have some deadly views of Ireland’s Eye and Lambay Island.
3. Cruagh Woods Walk
If you were feeling particularly ambitious/energetic, you could take on the Cruagh Woods Walk straight after the Tibradden Woods Walk. Doubling up on these woods walks sounds a bit mad but they’re right next to each other and the Cruagh Woods offer some gorgeous views along with a pretty walk amid all the local flora and fauna.
4. Dublin Mountains Walks
Did you know there are 43km of mountain trails, country paths and rural roads along the Dublin Mountains Way? So yeah, plenty to get stuck into! Whether it’s coming across the mysterious Hellfire Club or taking in epic views from Dublin Bay to the Wicklow Mountains, there’s a ton of great trails only a few kms south of the city.
FAQs about the Tibradden Mountain walk (Pine Forest)
We’ve had a lot of questions over the years asking about everything from ‘Is the Tibradden Mountain walk worth doing?’ to ‘What’s the story with parking?’
In the section below, we’ve popped in the most FAQs that we’ve received. If you have a question that we haven’t tackled, ask away in the comments section below.
How long is the Tibradden walk?
Although there are a couple of Tibradden Mountain trails to tackle, the walk outlined in this guide should take you around 2 hours to complete.
Is the Tibradden Woods walk hard?
The Tibradden Mountain walk outlined above is moderately difficult, and a reasonable level of fitness is required.