Howth - Bog of Frogs Loop

Walking
County Dublin
4.7/5
23 reviews
Grade Strenuous
Length 12.1 km
Time 3 hours
Format Loop
Ascent 240 m
Waymarking Purple arrow on white background
Start Point
Howth Railway Station
Finish Point
Howth Railway Station
Nearest Town to Start Howth Village
Grid Ref. O 28157 39332
Lat. and Long. 53.38882, -6.07422

Starting at the DART (train) station in Howth village and following purple arrows this walk takes the path all along the cliffs to beyond Red Rock, passing the Baily Lighthouse, and then climbing to circle the Ben of Howth to return along the old tramline. The views of Lambay Island and Ireland's Eye as well as Dublin Bay are spectacular. The cliffs are great for birds and grey seals may also be seen.

Maps and other information

Trail Management

Dublin Discover Ireland Center Suffolk Street.
Suffolk Street Dublin 2 Dublin City Centre Dublin Republic of Ireland.
Tel. 1850 230 330

Terrain may be rough in parts, walking boots are recommended.

OSI Maps

OSI Maps

Discovery Series Sheet 50
23 trail reviews
4.7/5
Write your own review of this trail
07/24/2015

John from Wicklow

We walked this route yesterday, it's a beautiful varied walk. Excellent views out to sea, lots of squabbling kittiwakes etc nesting below the cliff path. Sheltered paths as you cross inland back over the Head..Waymarking was excellent, easily picked up at the DART Station.
4/5
03/16/2015

Phil from Kildare

Great walk with beautiful views across the bay. Good variety of terrains but OK even for inexperienced. Only disappointing thing is the amount of litter, it is everywhere like the rest of the country.
4/5
08/31/2014

Richard from Dublin

Walked this loop very early today enjoying a fabulous sunrise to start. The loop has a lot of variety...cliff tops, woodland, roads and residential areas. Waymarking is generally good with only one section needing an additional post for reassurance (as you exit woodland towards the playing fields/football pitch...latter stages of walk). Overall an excellent trail and one that is accessable via public transport. Add to that plenty of opportunities for refreshments in Howth at the end of your hike.
5/5
08/19/2014

Siobhán from Dublin

I was advised to to this trail in reverse as it's a nicer walk, however, local knowledge would be a help as the signs are only marked in the direction of the official starting point. It's a pity as wouldn't have cost a lot to put the purple arrow on both sides of the posts. It's still a fabulous walk on a clear day
08/16/2014

Miriam from Dublin

This is a great walk that is well worth doing. It takes you all along the cliffs where you have magnificent views over Dublin Bay, see the Wicklow Mountains in the distance.
5/5
05/28/2014

Denis from Kildare

This is a spectacular walk, giving panoramic views over East coast of Dublin. However I wish to point out the distance is 13.13 km and not the 12 km in your route information.
4/5
05/12/2014

Deirdre from _none

Fantastic walk with incredible views. Best way-marked walk I've ever done. Plenty of signs and no worries of making a wrong turn. Follow the purple arrows for Bog of Frogs Loop walk. Well done Howth! A credit to the organisers. A massive 5 stars *****
5/5
10/21/2013

Zdenka from Czech Republic

A really beautiful walk with breathtaking wiews. Highly recommended!
4/5
01/29/2013

John from Dublin

We walked the bog-of-frogs trail with our 6 and 10 year old daughters on 1st Jan 2013. It was a great day for it, even though it was cold the sun did make an appearance and the rain stayed away. The only negative comment is about the advertised distance.
Unless my sat-nav is very far out the total distance is a lot more than the advertised 10.00Km... It's closer to 15.00km. (We started and finished at the train station in Howth.) This caused our planning to be wide of the mark and the latter part of the walk to be completed in darkness across what is probably the muddiest and wettest uderfoot section on the stretch from the golf club down to the main street. Nevertheless that part was an adventure for the kids and we thoroughly enjoyed the whole day.
01/29/2013

Doug from Dublin

Hi Doug from the National Trails Office here. We have a problem with the links to one of our partner websites at the moment and we are working with them to try and resolve this. Check back here soon and it should be sorted.

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