| Ballyhoura Bike Trails |
Getting there
The main entrance to the Ballyhoura Bike Track is in the Greenwood located about 3km
outside the village of Ardpatrick, Co Limerick. Kilmallock is the nearest large town. Once
you get to Ardpatrick, drive one through heading in the direction of Kildorrery or heading
more or less due south. About 200m outside the village there is a turn off to the right, ignore
that. The second turnoff to the right is the one you want and it is roughly 2km outside the
village. Turn up to the right and soon after a sharp bend to left you will find the entrance the
car park on the right.
The main entrance to the Ballyhoura Bike Track is in the Greenwood located about 3km
outside the village of Ardpatrick, Co Limerick. Kilmallock is the nearest large town. Once
you get to Ardpatrick, drive one through heading in the direction of Kildorrery or heading
more or less due south. About 200m outside the village there is a turn off to the right, ignore
that. The second turnoff to the right is the one you want and it is roughly 2km outside the
village. Turn up to the right and soon after a sharp bend to left you will find the entrance the
car park on the right.
Car Park
Currently (2008) the car park costs €5. There are other
places to park for free and indeed other places to join the
tracks, but for the sake of a few euro my advice is to use
the official car park. There are showers and other facilities
available at the car park.
Currently (2008) the car park costs €5. There are other
places to park for free and indeed other places to join the
tracks, but for the sake of a few euro my advice is to use
the official car park. There are showers and other facilities
available at the car park.
The Tracks
They tell me that there is 96Km in total of tracks and I can well
believe it. Starting from the car park the tracks are structures is
various loops. They also get harder the farther away from the car
park you get. In fact the first loop is a very pleasant one with little
or no climbs. Some of the tracks are along gravel based
mountain roads. These are fairly boring tree lined roads used for
They tell me that there is 96Km in total of tracks and I can well
believe it. Starting from the car park the tracks are structures is
various loops. They also get harder the farther away from the car
park you get. In fact the first loop is a very pleasant one with little
or no climbs. Some of the tracks are along gravel based
mountain roads. These are fairly boring tree lined roads used for
logging. However most of the tracks are
along custom made paths through the
forest and these are lovely. Some parts
can be wet in bad weather, but what do
you expect. There are many bridges and
a lot of little board walks through boggy
areas. It is well signposted. The views
from many parts of the tracks are
breathtaking, not that you will notice if
you are cycling the tracks.
along custom made paths through the
forest and these are lovely. Some parts
can be wet in bad weather, but what do
you expect. There are many bridges and
a lot of little board walks through boggy
areas. It is well signposted. The views
from many parts of the tracks are
breathtaking, not that you will notice if
you are cycling the tracks.
Walkers
As the failte sign below suggests, walkers are
welcome in the park as well so watch out for them if
your cycling. Walkers are encouraged to walk in the
opposite direction to the cyclists. Leaving the car
park this means walking in a clockwise direction or
at the first junction heading left. With lots of tracks,
mountain roads and original walking paths, there are
lot of different options to loop walk. I hope to
include a map shortly but email me if you want more
info on the tracks - TomMurphy@Ardpatrick.NET
As the failte sign below suggests, walkers are
welcome in the park as well so watch out for them if
your cycling. Walkers are encouraged to walk in the
opposite direction to the cyclists. Leaving the car
park this means walking in a clockwise direction or
at the first junction heading left. With lots of tracks,
mountain roads and original walking paths, there are
lot of different options to loop walk. I hope to
include a map shortly but email me if you want more
info on the tracks - TomMurphy@Ardpatrick.NET
Links
www.Ballyhouramtb.com
www.Ballyhouramtb.com
- This is the official web site of the Ballyhoura Mountain Bike Trails. It is supposed to feature a map of the trails in time
- This site does have maps of various trails.
- The official web site of Ardpatrick, this site in fact
- Local company that hires and sells bikes. It is run by a couple of locals who are themselves keen mountain bikers and know
the Ballyhoura trails very well.
