Glendalough — Wicklow Mountains Valley Floor Trailhead

Glendalough punches hard. Two dark glacial lakes sit hemmed in by steep oak and conifer slopes, with the round tower and ruins of St Kevin’s monastic settlement standing at the lower lake edge — atmospheric doesn’t cover it. The upper lake trail, Spinc ridge, and Camaderry summit give you genuine hill walking with views across the Wicklow uplands. This is the eastern gateway into Wicklow Mountains National Park and the most practical staging point for routes along the Military Road (R115), one of Ireland’s best overland drives.

The car park fills early on weekends and bank holidays — arrive before 9am or you’re fighting tour buses. The main visitor car park charges a fee in season. Fuel and supplies are back in Laragh village, just 2km from the valley entrance. No dispersed camping in the national park, but private sites and hostels operate in Laragh. Trails range from easy lakeside walks to full-day ridge traverses — know what you’re getting into before you start climbing.

Monastic ruins meet Wicklow ridge trails.