Wexfordʼs Tintern Abbey Among Top 20 Most Visited Coillte Recreational Parks

Tintern Abbey in Co. Wexford was named among the Top 20 most visited Coillte recreational forests in Ireland according to visitor statistics recorded in 2024. Welcoming over 169,000 visits last year, Tintern Abbey ranked fifth overall in the Top 20 most visited Coillte recreational sites last year. Tintern Abbey offers visitors five different marked walkways suited to all levels of physical health. Visitors can enjoy seeing the ruins of Tintern Abbey before exploring the woodlands, which are situated beside a quiet stream and offer a haven of wildlife throughout its trails. Avondale Forest Park in Co. Wicklow ranked in first place with almost 350,000 visits recorded last year. Avondale Forest Park is home to the visitor destination Beyond the Trees Avondale which officially opened in July 2022. In addition to Avondale House, the home of Charles Stewart Parnell, it now boasts a unique Treetop Walk and Viewing Tower, Ireland’s longest slide and for the Halloween season, will offer a Spooktacular Halloween Twilight Trail and family fun activities. Rossmore Forest Park in Co. Monaghan, which boasts a variety of walking trails around Rossmore Castle, surrounding lakes where fishing is available, family cycling trails, and nature tracks, attracted the second highest number of visits in 2024, with over 343,000 recorded. Ticknock in Co. Dublin, which offers several walking and hiking trails, as well as mountain-bike tracks and orienteering courses, followed in third place with over 260,000 visits last year. Over three million people visited Coillte’s top 50 most popular recreational woodlands and parks in 2024. The data indicates a growing interest from the public in local outdoor recreation, with many visitors to Coillte sites enjoying walks through recreational parks and woodlands where they can explore nature and biodiversity. There are also a host of activities available at various locations including cycling, fishing, orienteering, horse-riding and ziplining. Coillte is the largest provider of outdoor recreation in Ireland with a total of 260 forest recreational areas, twelve forest parks and six mountain bike centres nationwide. The full Top 20 list of Coillte’s most visited recreational sites is as follows: Ranking Coillte Recreational Site Visitor Number 2024 1 Avondale Forest Park, Co. Wicklow   344,765* 2 Rossmore Forest Park, Co. Monaghan 343,074 3 Ticknock, Co. Dublin 264,441 4 Donadea Forest Park, Co. Kildare 216,942 5 Tintern, Co. Wexford 169,064 6 Lough Key Forest & Activity Park, Co. Roscommon 139,000 7 Hellfire, Co. Dublin 134,583 8 Killykeen Forest Park, Co. Cavan 103,000 9 Jenkinstown Wood, Co. Kilkenny 101,875 10 Cong, Co. Galway 87,369 11 Ards Forest Park, Co. Donegal   87,116* 12 Hazelwood, Co. Sligo 85,795 13 Belleek, Co. Mayo 82,249 14 Mullaghreelan, Co. Kildare 75,586 15 Curragh Chase Forest Park, Co. Limerick 71,357 16 Millennium Woods, Co. Kilkenny 61,532 17 Deerpark Virginia, Co. Cavan 56,999 18 Cruagh, Co. Dublin 56,145 19 Glenbarrow, Co. Laois 51,685 20 Devil’s Glen, Co. Wicklow 46,726 *In 2024, counters at these locations were repositioned within the forest areas to permit more accurate data to be captured on visitor numbers. Coillte’s head of recreation, Daithi de Forge, said: “As Ireland’s largest provider of outdoor recreation spaces, Coillte is delighted to see the growth in visitor numbers to three million, across our most popular recreational sites in 2024. This increase highlights the importance of outdoor recreation and reflects a growing demand by the public to spend time in nature. Storm Éowyn caused unprecedented damage in January to our productive and recreational forests, as well as to biodiversity areas across the country. Almost 100 Coillte recreation locations were closed after the storm and we’re pleased that 92 of these sites have since reopened following significant efforts by the Coillte team, with just eight sites remaining closed at this time. These eight sites require detailed recovery works given the scale of the damage caused and we remain committed to recovering these eight sites and reopening them to the public as soon as possible. Coillte is also pleased to continue its partnership with the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, which will enable the improvement and restoration of Coillte forests and amenities nationwide. With an open forest policy, Coillte is proud to support local businesses who enhance the services available in our forests, and we look forward to continuing the delivery of the highest quality outdoor recreation experiences for communities across Ireland.” Earlier in 2025, the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht announced that it will invest over €4 million at Coillte recreational sites this year. This funding will be dedicated towards new trail infrastructure, ongoing maintenance and repair of damage caused by recent storms including Storm Éowyn in January of this year. This funding is critical to ensure the upkeep and improvement of locations and ensures the continued safety for visitors seeking to enjoy the outdoors and reap the benefits that nature offers to health and wellbeing. For more information on Coillte recreation sites and forests, visit:  www.coillte.ie (https://url41.mailanyone.net/scanner?m=1vETiJ-000000001Po-29qC&d=4%7Cmail%2F90%2F1761834600%2F1vETiJ-000000001Po-29qC%7Cin41i%7C57e1b682%7C24873547%7C11296957%7C6903772FCB22199DE3FC03CFD7C26581&o=wphtw%2F%2Fwt%3Aei.cilt.ole&s=bC9WgtlF_tkh8K8ONicpP3T2Phs)