Line © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), checked by Global Adventurer.
The walk
From the car park at the north-east corner of Lough Hyne, follow the narrow lough road west along the north shore, past the small roadside parking, to where the nature trail leaves the road. The path zigzags up through the oaks of Knockomagh Wood, past benches and viewpoints, to the open top of Knockomagh Hill, looking over the lough and the Atlantic to Roaringwater Bay and Baltimore. Return the same way.
It is 3.9 km there and back with 179 m of ascent; allow about 1½ hours. The grade is Easy: a narrow road, then a steady, steep climb on a built zigzag path that is slippery when wet.
Knockomagh Wood is a State-owned nature reserve looked after by NPWS, open to the public on the nature trail. The lough is a marine nature reserve, where swimming is discouraged. After storm damage the old Northern Loop was closed, so the walk returns the same way. Skibbereen Heritage Centre says the trail has reopened, shorter than before, and a walker reached the top by the zigzag path in March 2026. Fallen trees can block the path after storms. The lough road is busy in summer.
The car park is free. There is no bus to the lough; Skibbereen, served by Bus Éireann from Cork, is about 5 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
- Lough Hyne became Ireland's first marine nature reserve in 1981: a sea lough fed through a narrow tidal channel called the Rapids.
- Its sheltered water, refreshed by the tide pouring through the Rapids, holds an unusually wide range of marine life for so small a place.
- Knockomagh Wood, a reserve since 1989, is sessile oak and mixed broadleaf woodland rising from sea level to the 197 m summit.
- From the top you look over the lough, the Atlantic and Roaringwater Bay towards Baltimore.
Summits on the way
- Knockomagh 197 m
Getting there
Start: Lough Hyne car park · Free parking. 51.50630, -9.30317
Directions to the start
Places to stay nearby
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Paths change, and the weather decides the day. The line and figures come from OpenStreetMap and our own checks; take a map, check the forecast, and turn back if it isn't right.