What to do · Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains
The Spinc and Glenealo Valley walk
Information
- Price
- Free
- Duration
- 3 h 15
- Distance
- 9.5 km
- Season
- All year in good weather; works on the zigzag section since July 2026
- Who it's for
- Fit adults and teenagers, with boots
- With a dog
- On a lead throughout the national park
Glendalough's classic mountain walk. It starts at the park's information office, beside the Upper Lake, runs flat along the Miners' Road and then climbs hard up steps to the Spinc, the ridge that drops down to the lake. At the top, a boardwalk follows the edge with the valley at your feet, and the return comes down the Glenealo Valley, where deer are easy to spot. It is 9.5 km and about three and a quarter hours, waymarked with white arrows.
Before you go: since 20 July 2026 the park has been repairing the zigzag section between the mining village and the boardwalk, with works expected to last five or six months; check the closure notices on the park's website. If it is closed, go up and down the same side or do the Miners' Road walk.
With teenagersWith a dog
