Torc Mountain from Torc Waterfall

From the car park on the N71, walk up through the woods to Torc Waterfall and climb the long flight of steps on its left. Above the falls the path joins the Old Kenmare Road, which crosses the Owengarriff River at Torc Old Bridge and leads south-west out of the woods into an open valley. At the signed junction, turn right onto the summit path, a line of old railway sleepers and stone steps that zig-zags up the south-east side of Torc Mountain to the top. Return the same way.

It is 9.3 km there and back with 449 m of ascent; allow about 3½ hours. The grade is Moderate: a steady climb on steps, a stony track and the sleeper path.

The sleepers can stand well above the ground and are slippery when wet, and the summit is open and windy. Killarney National Park has Ireland's only native herd of wild red deer: keep well away from them, above all from the stags in the autumn rut.

The car park on the N71 is free, with an overflow across the road. We found no bus: the shuttle stop by the car park has been out of use since Covid. Torc is about 7 km from Killarney on the N71; from the town you can come by bike or jaunting car.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.