Waterford · Easy · There and back

Mahon Falls from the Comeragh car park

A short out-and-back on the surfaced path from the car park up the Comeragh coum to the foot of Mahon Falls.

Distance: 2.5 km (1.6 mi)
Ascent: 24 m
Time: About 45 min
High point: 406 m
Grade: Easy

Line © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), drawn by Global Adventurer.

Move along the height chart to see each point on the map.

Mahon Falls from the Comeragh car park — Limnoporus · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The walk

From the Mahon Falls car park, follow the surfaced path north up the valley into the glacial coum, with the cliffs of the Comeragh plateau closing in, to the foot of the falls, where the River Mahon drops about 80 m. Return the same way.

It is 2.5 km there and back with 24 m of ascent; allow about ¾ of an hour. The grade is Easy: a surfaced path on a gentle gradient, though the car park is already at about 380 m.

The path stops at the foot of the falls: keep to the path and off the wet rock. Weather on the Comeragh plateau changes fast, and it is colder and windier here than in the valley.

The Mahon Falls car park, at the end of the minor road up into the Comeragh Mountains, has 25 spaces and is tagged free in OpenStreetMap. The nearest railway station, Carrick-on-Suir, is about 17 km away.

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.

Good to know

The River Mahon rises in the Comeragh Mountains and runs to the sea at Bunmahon; at Mahon Falls its main drop is about 80 m.
The gorge below the falls was cut out of the Comeragh plateau by ice, in the Munsterian glaciation about 100,000 years ago.
The Mahon Falls Walk is a surfaced path of about 1.5 km that leads from the car park into the glacial coum to the foot of the falls.
A second walk, the Crough Wood Walk, follows the river for about 2.7 km upstream from Mahon Bridge.

Getting there

Start: Mahon Falls car park · Free parking. 52.22358, -7.54125

Directions to the start

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Places to stay nearby

Rooms in and around Carrick-on-Suir: Booking.com → Expedia → Hotels.com →

Affiliate links: if you book, Global Adventurer earns a small commission at no cost to you.

Paths change, and the weather decides the day. The line is drawn along OpenStreetMap paths and the figures are worked out from it; take a map, check the forecast, and turn back if it isn't right.