Gougane Barra Forest Park is tucked away into a lush valley at the edge of the Sheehy Mountains. Sitting close to the Cork & Kerry border, this woodland is full of beautiful trails that follow the streams and curves of the forest to showcase the best of the area.

Overview:

County: Cork
Distances: There are many different trails in the forest park, ranging from 500m - 5km. Some of the primary trails are:
- Slí na Laoi (white trail): 1.3km
- Slí an Choim Rua (blue trail): 400m
- Slí Ghaorthaidh / Multi-access & Nature Trail: 500m
- Slí Doire Na Coise: 2km
- Slí Sleitbhe (red trail): 3km
Elevation Gain: 0m - 100m
Format: A mixture of looped and linear trails, which means that you can walk for as long or as short as you like.
Time: 30mins - 4 Hours
Start / End / Parking: To drive into the park there’s a €5 entry fee (card payment).
- Lower Primary Car Park: A large car park with well maintained toilets. Parking for 20 cars. There is no phone reception in the lower parts of the valley.
  Google Maps link.
- Upper Car Park: A smaller car park based at the top of the valley, where the access roads loops back down. Room for maybe 8 cars.
  Google Maps link.
Public Transport: There is unfortunately no public transport to Gougane Barra. For closest bus links, you can look at the Cork Local Link Routes.
Trail difficulty: Multi-Access / Easy
The trails here feature a variety of surfaces, including access road, gravel paths, stone slabs, and wooden bog-bridge. The multi-access trail begins from the lower car park.
Read about trail grading in Ireland here.
Trail quality: 5/5
The trails were all very well maintained when I visited, providing a good mix of surfaces and challenges.
Views: 5/5
For a narrow forest valley, the views of misty mountains through the trees were beautiful. The thick moss and mixture of spruce with more native planting adds great colour.
Buggy/Wheelchair friendly: Yes! The multi-access trail is acessible for all, and many of the other trails near the main car park are also accessible.
When did I walk this route: November 2025
Dogs allowed: Yes
External Links:
- Coillte Recreation (and their overview map is here)

Trail 1: Slí na Laoi (white trail)

As I pulled into the main car park, two other women were finishing up their own walk. I wasn’t sure whether to start here or at the upper car park, so I asked them if there was a trail they recommended here. Immediately they pointed to the Slí na Laoi, saying it was a beautiful walk. So I parked up properly, packed the bag, and started winding my way through the woods.

The Slí na Laoi followed the juvenile stream that up here in the mountains is small and swift, but as it flows east it becomes the large river Lee that flows through Cork City. It was a great recommendation, with lots of small foot bridges zig-zagging from one bank to another, and stone steps cut into the steeper sides. There was just a hint of other-worldliness to the stonework, like something you’d expect to illustrate a Tolkien novel.

The rain for the preceding week had been pretty constant, and the clouds sat low on the hills around me. All the watercourses were fast flowing and the moss was vibrant - dew dangling from spider webs and late-lasting heather.

The trail is less than 2km in total, and brings you to the upper car park. You can either turn around and walk it back down, or connect onto one of the other trails that start in the upper car park.

2. Slí an Choim Rua (blue trail)

This is an extremely short loop up from the upper car park to give you a slightly wider view of the valley. However, I’d still highly recommend taking it in if you’re there, as the path is lovely and there is a small stream crossing to hop over.

From here I’d planned to connect onto the red trail, however being slightly above the tree line was too tempting for the fates, and the drizzle began to become a more substantial downpour. So I abandoned the higher trails, and walked back down the main access road to the lower car park and the shelter of the denser woods.

3. Slí Ghaorthaidh / Multi-access & Nature Trail (orange arrows)

Once back in the safety of the trees, and the rain was manageable again, I decided to also incorporate the Multi-access Nature Trail. While I’ve included multi-access in my trail grading guide, there are very few that I’ve actually walked or documented for Tough Soles.

I really enjoyed this route - it included lots of interactive signage on the species of trees, explanations on forestry practices, and highlighting boulders left by glaciers thousands of years ago.

Arriving back to the van once more, I decided to call it a day. The rain was picking up once more, and didn’t lessen again for the rest of the evening.

Coming to Gougane Barra hadn’t even been on my list for this trip - I had been working in Kerry, and after shooting each day I would go to the next trail on my list, only to find them either closed for the season or flooded. However, I’m so glad that I ended up in this valley once more. It felt like the right place at the right time. One of my favourites of 2025.