Guide to Camping the Wicklow Way in Ireland

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The Wicklow Way is an 81-mile (131-kilometer) multi-day hiking trail in Ireland that stretches from the village of Clonegal in the south to the capital of Dublin in the north, traversing Wicklow Mountains National Park along the way. It has the distinction of being the very first of the Republic of Ireland’s 43 National Waymarked Trails, conceived by J.B. Malone in the 1960s and brought to reality by 1982. 

Most hikers prefer to carry day packs and stay at B&Bs, but for masochists like myself, the Wicklow Way is actually one of the most suitable trails in Ireland for camping because of its three Adirondack-style mountain huts and the permissibility of wildcamping in parts of Wicklow Mountains National Park. Yet, the lack of resources for those who want to tent camp the entirety of the route can make it confusing to plan; just about all of the trail reports and blog posts I found about hiking the Wicklow Way described day-to-day mileages and stopping points in the context of staying indoors at the end of each day. Having now completed the trek with tent in tow, I aim to resolve this issue for future campers. 

Wicklow Way Trail Stats

How Many Days to Complete the Wicklow Way

Suggested itineraries commonly recommend 5-7 days to complete the Wicklow Way if you’re not tent camping. As a camper carrying a heavy backpack, I initially aimed for a 7-day itinerary, though using different starting/stopping points than if I was staying at B&Bs. Throughout the course of my trek as I got a handle on what to expect from the terrain, I realized I was capable of doing it faster and I combined two of my planned stages into one, completing the hike in 6 days. This post will describe my 6-day itinerary but also suggest variation options in case you’d like to lengthen or shorten it.

Wicklow Way Stages

Throughout the post when I talk about “Day 1” or “Day 2” etc, assume a south to north orientation since that’s the direction I chose.

Understanding how to break down the day-to-day stages of the Wicklow Way as a camper was the most confusing part of planning my trek. Popular recommendations look like this:

Day 1: Clonegal – Shillelagh 
Day 2: Shillelagh – Tinahely or Moyne 
Day 3: Tinahely/Moyne – Aughavanagh or Glenmalure
Day 4: Aughavanagh/Glenmalure – Glendalough
Day 5: Glendalough – Roundwood or Oldbridge
Day 6: Roundwood/Oldbridge – Knockree
Day 7: Knockree – Marlay Park

Shillelagh, Tinahely, and Roundwood are not directly on the Wicklow Way, so hikers have to make a detour into these towns to find their hotel accommodations. If you’re camping, there’s really no reason to make those detours. 

The bigger problem with this breakdown is that there are not any official campsites along the southern stages of the route. If hiking south to north, the first official campground is Glendalough Glamping on Day 4 in Laragh. If you consider Adirondack-style shelters, the earliest one is Mucklagh Hut which is in between Moyne and Glenmalure, kind of an awkward midpoint on Day 3. Where would you camp on Days 1 and 2? In the northern section of the trail, if you’d prefer to save money on campground fees by wildcamping and using the cool huts, which are free, then you won’t want to end any stages in Roundwood or Knockree either. These stages just don’t make sense. 

Here’s what I came up with as a solution for campers:

Day 1: Clonegal to Stranakelly – camp at Dying Cow Pub (14.6 miles / 23.5 km)
Day 2: Stranakelly to Moyne – camp at Kyle Farmhouse (9.2 miles / 14.8 km)
Day 3: Moyne to Glenmalure – camp at Mullacor Hut (14.6 miles / 23.5 km)
Day 4: Glenmalure to Paddock Hill – camp at Brusher Gap Hut (9.4 miles / 15 km)
Day 5: Paddock Hill to Glensoulan Valley – wildcamp near Powerscourt Falls (9.6 miles / 15.5 km)
Day 6: Glensoulan Valley to Marlay Park (14 miles / 22.5 km)

If Days 3 and 6 sound too long, there are a few ways to shorten them, including:

Split up Day 3 into two days:
Moyne to Aghavannagh – camp at Mucklagh Hut (7.2 miles)
Aghavannagh to Glenmalure – camp at Mullacor Hut (7.4 miles)

Split up Day 6 into two days:
Glensoulan Valley to Glencullen – wildcamp above Glencullen (7.2 miles)
Glencullen to Marlay Park (6.9 miles)

If Day 1 feels too long I don’t know what to tell you, The Dying Cow was the only reliable camping option I could find. You may be able to stealth camp. Old Forge Glamping is located halfway along this stage, but they are a glamping accommodation and do not have a tent pitch for backpackers. 

If Day 4 feels too short, you could hike another 1.4 miles past Brusher Gap Hut to camp at Wicklow Way Camping. This will give you a jump on Day 5, and then you could wildcamp somewhere further along past Powerscourt or stay at the hostel in Knockree (which will reopen in August 2024).

In the day-to-day camping guide below, I go into further detail about the amenities and locations of each possible campsite, wildcamping, and hut location. I also offer ideas for other potential wildcamping locations for Night 5 that I noticed while I was hiking.

Wicklow Way Distance

The official distance of the Wicklow Way is 81 miles, or 131 kilometers. 

I know the distances given in my itinerary are 10 whole miles short of adding up to 81 miles. I did walk every single inch of the trail, even though I frequently longed to hitchhike past some of the road sections. All of the campsites I stayed at are directly along the trail, except for Kyle Farmhouse which adds 1 kilometer at the end of Day 2 and 1 kilometer to get back on trail at the beginning of Day 3.

My Garmin GPS device and my iPhone tracker never match up with each other, so I try to extrapolate the correct numbers by comparing both devices alongside the numbers given by other hikers and online resources. If I round my numbers up to match other sources (Day 1: 15 miles, Day 2: 10 miles, Day 3: 16 miles, Day 4: 10 miles, Day 5: 11 miles, Day 6: 16 miles), it gets a little closer to 81 miles. I’m letting you know this so that if one of the days ends up being slightly longer than I predicted for you, you can’t be mad at me.

There are a few side detours you can take off the Wicklow Way which could change your overall mileage, including summiting Djouce or taking the boardwalk to The Spinc trail as you approach Glendalough, as described by Tough Soles. 

Wicklow Way Route

The Wicklow Way is a point-to-point thru-hike rather than a loop, so you need to decide whether to hike north to south vs. south to north.

The northern half of the trail closer to Dublin is the most scenic and mountainous, while the southern portion closer to Clonegal involves flat road walking through farmland. Frequent backpackers know that this kind of relentless road walking is really hard on the feet. 

I see the value in doing the opposite of what I did. I decided to start in Clonegal because I thought it would be nice to give my legs a warm-up in the flatlands so they’d be ready to go by the time I hit the mountains. I also thought ending on a high note would be celebratory and give me something to look forward to. 

In reality, the slog of those first few days of nothing but road walking on tarmac and gravel really zapped all my vigor for the trail. By the time I finally got to the nicer northern sections, I couldn’t fully appreciate them. There are also some great views which were at my back while hiking south to north that I would have preferred to have in front of me. I frequently stopped so I could turn around and look at the landscape. 

That said, the first few days of my hike were also rainy, which probably contributed to my low morale. I am glad that it cleared by the time I reached the more expansive views. I suppose I’d rather road walk in the rain than ascend mountains and balance on bog boardwalks in the rain. If you have the flexibility to change your plan at the last minute, the weather may inform your choice about which direction to hike.

Getting to Clonegal from Dublin is very annoying. Whether you want to attack the transportation saga before or after your hike may also contribute to your choice.

Reaching the Trail

Beginning the hike in Dublin is convenient because you have likely flown into Dublin Airport. From the airport, you can take either the Dublin Express or Aircoach bus service into the city center for €8, then take a local city bus to Marlay Park. 

Which local bus line you take to Marlay Park will depend on the time of day and day of the week – most likely it will be the Ballinteer/Kingston-bound 16 bus line. You can use the Leap Card or Visitor Leap Card (purchasable at the airport) to pay for the fare, or pay the driver in cash.

“When you get on the bus, tell the driver your destination. The driver will then tell you how much your fare is. Please make sure that you have the correct change to pay for your fare. All our services are exact fare only and the driver cannot accept Euro notes or give change.” – Dublin Bus FAQ

Beginning the hike in Clonegal is more involved. There are a few options:

• In Dublin’s city center, take the Tullow-bound 132 bus via Bus Éireann from Connolly Station to Kildavin. This is about a 2 hour ride. The town of Kildavin is 3 km from Clonegal, so you will walk the rest of the way, take a taxi, or if you have accommodation in Clonegal, maybe ask if they can come pick you up. Note: the official Wicklow Way website says to board the bus at the Busáras stop in Dublin; this is not correct, but Busáras and Connolly are across the road from each other. 
• If the 132 bus schedule isn’t ideal for your itinerary, you could take either Irish Rail or the Wexford-bound 740 or 2 bus (which bus depends on time/day of the week) to the town of Enniscorthy. Then take the 369 or 376 bus from Enniscorthy to either Bunclody or Kildavin (whether it will go all the way to Kildavin or stop short in Bunclody depends on time/day of the week). Bunclody is 5 km from Clonegal, but there are some shops in both Enniscorthy and Bunclody in case you need to stock up on any last minute essentials for your hike. You may be able to get yet another bus, the Dublin-bound 132, from Bunclody to Kildavin if you prefer to walk 3 km instead of 5 km to Clonegal.

The Visitor Leap Card is not valid on the Bus Éireann service, but the regular Leap Card is. Bus Éireann tickets can also be bought online in advance, or you can pay in cash – exact change necessary – upon boarding.

I would not recommend going with the second option if you can help it. I took the 740 bus to Enniscorthy, which was supposed to arrive at 3:45pm, plenty of time to make it for the 4:15pm 369 bus to Bunclody. Of course, the 740 was 30 minutes late arriving to Enniscorthy – we pulled up at exactly 4:15pm and I agonizingly watched the 369 bus pull away in front of us just as we arrived. I sat around for two hours until the 376 bus came at 6:10pm.

If you need transportation between stages once you’re on the Wicklow Way, check out the Wicklow Way Bus shuttle service. Note that it must be pre-booked. St. Kevin’s Bus Services offers transportation between Dublin, Glendalough, Ballinastoe, and Roundwood.

Waymarking and Navigation

I downloaded gpx tracks from the HiiKER app for use on my offline navigation app of choice, GAIA. You might as well just download the entire HiiKER app, though. If you use that, extra details are available such as water sources and pharmacy locations. 

HiiKER is an Irish app, and while it’s a great resource for trails all around the world, I would expect it to be at its best for trails in Ireland specifically! Indeed I found the gpx tracks for the Wicklow Way to be perfect; every twist and turn was correct.

The Irish National Waymarked Trails are signposted with a symbol of a little yellow walking man with a hiking stick. Sometimes there are also road signs with a brown background and white lettering. 

Some of the signposts are hidden behind branches or around a bend that isn’t in your sightline. Sometimes they are egregiously missing from forks in the road where you could really use them. Other times they are simply few and far between, and it would be nice to see one just for reassurance that you’re still on the right path. For these reasons I was glad to have the offline map downloaded. 

Currency

The Republic of Ireland uses the Euro. Some B&Bs only take cash, so keep this in mind if you plan to camp on an accommodation’s yard and they charge a fee, or if you will opt into their breakfast. The food trucks and restaurants/pubs I ate at took cards. 

If at any point during your trip, meaning before or after you complete the Wicklow Way, you end up crossing into Northern Ireland, they use the Pound Sterling. There are also different passport and visa regulations between the two countries. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, where Americans can stay for up to 6 months with a tourist passport. Americans can stay in the Republic of Ireland for up to 90 days. Note that both countries, though, use the British-style 3-pronged electrical outlets. Don’t bring your 2-pronged European power adaptor for Ireland!

Camping the Wicklow Way

Wildcamping

–Free, no permits or reservations necessary.

Wildcamping is allowed in Wicklow Mountains National Park, except in Glendalough Valley where camping is forbidden. This likely has a lot to do with protection of the monastic site ruins of St. Kevin’s Church, the Roundtower, and cemetery. Glendalough’s lakes are also extremely popular with tourists and I imagine it’s a big effort to keep the area pristine.

On this map, you can see that the Wicklow Way briefly passes through the national park multiple times from Days 4-6 of my itinerary. Since you can’t camp in Glendalough Valley and since we’re aiming to stay at Brusher Gap Hut on Night 4, that leaves Night 5 for wildcamping in the national park. There are a couple interesting potential sites that I’ll mention in my day-by-day camping guide below.

The man at the Information Office at Glendalough told me you cannot wildcamp on Powerscourt Estate, which is confusing because its forest lines right up against the popular camping area at Glensoulan Valley. When you arrive in Glensoulan Valley on Day 5, the Wicklow Way goes down into a deep ravine all the way to the River Dargle. You cross a bridge over the river and then ascend back up the other side of the ravine. During this time, the forest land to the right, or east, of the Wicklow Way is private Powerscourt land that cannot be camped. 

Most other land that you’ll pass through on the Wicklow Way is also privately owned, but you may be able to camp there if you ask permission from the landowner. If you can’t find anyone to ask, a rule of thumb often repeated is to set up camp after sundown, leave before sunrise, and Leave No Trace.

I find this rule about camping in Ireland to be kind of meaningless. I mean technically isn’t that “rule” true anywhere in the world? If I’m strolling around the suburbs in the United States I guess I could knock on someone’s door and ask if I can pitch a tent in their garden. It would be weird, but I could. If I’m on a road trip and driving way too late in the night and find myself falling asleep at the wheel without a designated place to stop, I could pull over next to some remote ranch and aim to skeddadle by morning before anyone knocks on my window and asks why I’m loitering around their property. While it’s not the most punishable offense, if you still feel a little guilty doing it then it’s not a rule you can live by, it’s just called being a creepy dirtbag. Therefore your comfort level with being a creepy dirtbag will dictate your success in wildcamping on land that isn’t under the purview of the national park.

Mountain Meitheal Huts

-Free, no permits or reservations necessary.

There are three Adirondack-style mountain huts along the Wicklow Way thanks to volunteer groups Mountain Meitheal and Glenwalk Hillwalking Club. This type of hut has three walls, a floor, and a roof, with one side open to the elements. The huts have campfire rings, picnic tables, clotheslines, and sometimes other campers leave behind “trail magic” in the form of supplies, water, or food you can take.

Other campers also leave behind litter, which is sad. The Mucklagh Hut was the worst offender during my trip, with tons of empty food wrappers and packaging everywhere. Remember that if you pack it in, you need to pack it out! 

You should bury human waste at least 50 meters from a hut and ideally pack out used toilet paper, even if it’s marketed as biodegradable. If you’re not going to pack it out, at least bury it. I can’t believe the amount of toilet paper I saw strewn about in the woods behind Mucklagh Hut.

The huts are a bit oddly spaced out so that it doesn’t make a lot of sense to spend a night at all 3 of them, but I really enjoyed staying at Mullacor and Brusher. After so much road walking, it’s nice to arrive at a structure that was specifically designed to cater to hikers and wasn’t simply repurposed to allow us access. Brusher has a great view and I used some of the water and snacks (though I wouldn’t say you should rely on this as a resupply point). At Mullacor I was able to protect my gear from the night’s intermittent rain.

I am admittedly a bit confused about the etiquette of staying at the huts. There is enough room for multiple people to sleep if everyone is just in their sleeping bags, and if it’s crowded, you should be prepared to set up your tent outside the huts. This is how it works at the huts along the Appalachian Trail in the States too.

However, I read a blog post where some campers set up their free-standing tent inside the hut because nobody else had come along and they wanted protection from bugs. With this in mind, I set up my tent when I arrived first at the huts and saw no-one else around. I worried that maybe someone else would walk up later in the evening and be annoyed to see me taking up the entire space. It’s probably not a cool thing to do, but at the same time, I never saw any other campers for the entire trail up until the Powerscourt area on Day 5. Not one person ever hiked past the Mullacor Hut after I set up; I felt very alone that night. I did hear some passing feet at Brusher Gap, which is the most popular hut location, so maybe I’m an asshole. I hope I didn’t ruin someone’s night. Nobody ever set up a tent anywhere nearby the hut, though, so maybe they were day hikers.

The huts are technically not far from civilization. The Mullacor Hut is right on a logging road and at 9pm an old truck drove by. From Brusher Gap Hut to the nearest driving road is a 20 minute walk. It feels more creepy to sleep out in the open in just a sleeping bag as a solo female when you know how accessible you are to non-outdoorspeople, unlike on the remote Appalachian Trail. If it’s between just a sleeping bag in the hut vs. setting up a tent outside the hut, I would still go with setting up a tent for some privacy. When you’re inside a tent, no-one knows if you’re one woman or a couple of bodybuilders with a Dobermann.

Designated Campgrounds

-Usually paid, reservations or advance notice ideal.

Most of the paid campgrounds are not located directly along the Wicklow Way, such as Roundwood Caravan and Camping Park, Glendalough Glamping, or the Lough Dan Scout Center, though these are reasonable walking distances off-trail. Wicklow Way Camping is the only one that’s directly en route, but it comes 1.4 miles after Brusher Gap Hut. You might choose it over the hut if you really need amenities that night like electrical outlets, showers, toilets, and the vending machine, or if you want to get a jump on the next day’s mileage.

Most people don’t realize you can pay to camp at the Dying Cow Pub and that some Bed & Breakfast locations actually allow camping onsite, even though they don’t advertise it much on their websites. I found out I could camp at these places by emailing in advance. If you’d like to end one of your stages in a location that doesn’t appear to have any nearby camping options, but there is a B&B, hostel, or hotel there, why not reach out and ask about pitching your tent? It will probably be cheaper than a bed, or even free, but with the option of buying a meal and hopefully using a power outlet and toilet.

Food and Resupply on the Wicklow Way

The Wicklow Way is a bit weird when it comes to amenities. Since it’s not the most remote wilderness trail, you’d think there would be frequent access to shops, cafes, and bathrooms, but in fact you will need to carry most of your food if you are tent camping the entirety of the trail. It goes through a lot of farmland and private estates that owners have graciously allowed public access to, or in many places the road walking is a result of landowners not allowing access, and either way this means the route balances a funny line between nature path and suburbia.

There are a few places you can rely on for food, though, and thankfully most of them come about halfway through the hike. At the Dying Cow Pub (end of Day 1) you can try their famous pizza and wash it down with a beer. The restaurant and pub at Glenmalure Lodge (end of Day 3) has a full and hearty menu, including some typical Irish fare. When you arrive at Glendalough (Day 4), there are a bunch of food trucks set up near the Upper Lake Car Park, one of which sells protein bars, muffins, and crisps/chips that you can pack to-go. There are cafes inside the Glendalough Hotel, like Casey’s Bar & Bistro. The next town over is called Laragh, which has a shop and multiple restaurant options, although you do have to walk about 1.5 km off-trail to reach them. At the Crone Woods Car Park (Day 6) there is sometimes a coffee van, although it was tragically missing the day I arrived. This was a very sad moment for me.

Besides the food truck in Glendalough that has some to-go items and the possibility of walking off-trail to Laragh to visit their shop (or super off-trail to Shillelagh, Tinahely, or Roundwood), there are not any resupply points along the Wicklow Way in the form of grocery stores or convenience stores.

If you camp in the yard of any B&Bs and opt into their breakfasts, you can hoard some of your breakfast for the road. I grabbed some extra bread and apples from Kyle Farmhouse when I camped there.

I once had a random lady poke her head over a fence to ask me if I wanted some tea while I walked by her house, and other hikers I met on the trail told me they met a local who invited them inside a church to partake in a giant feast they were having. The friendly people in Ireland may provide for you when you least expect it!

You will come across natural water sources so often throughout the Wicklow Way that worrying about refilling your water is silly. Just make sure to bring a filter to protect against any sheep-poo-related impurities. If you don’t bring a filter and prefer to rely on refilling from tap water sources, you may run into issues on the last two days of the hike. The last tap water source I noticed was a drinking water spigot on the side of a farmhouse just after Brusher Gap hut, on the morning of Day 5, so that would have to last you through Days 5 and 6.

Difficulty of the Wicklow Way

I did not find the Wicklow Way difficult in terms of the typical criteria I would use to rate a hike – not a ton of elevation change, no exposed ledges, and nothing technical in the form of ladders or scrambling. This is why I felt comfortable shortening my hike to 6 days despite the heavy pack. I did find the road walking quite demoralizing mentally, and hard on the feet. I didn’t like dodging out of the way of cars on the highway; I think that’s actually the most dangerous aspect of the Wicklow Way.

If you have very windy, cold, rainy weather and have difficulty getting your clothes to dry, then persevering through that might add difficulty to your trek.

One unique feature of the Wicklow Way is the bog boardwalks. These are wooden planks that look like balance beams, with metal rivets jutting out which are meant to provide traction. I thought the boardwalks were coolest around Ballinastoe, where the boggy landscape really emits a quintessential Irishness. In other places, though, particularly through forests or when the boardwalks are sharply descending, I didn’t prefer them. They seemed like they’d be even more slippery and less safe than just walking on the ground; I’m not sure the metal rivets help. What’s the last thing you need when the wind is blowing you down, it’s raining, and a heavy pack is conspiring with gravity to yank you in every direction? To teeter on a balance beam. The boardwalks are designed to protect the fragile environment, though, so it’s best practice to try to stay on them as much as possible, and they should help to keep your feet dry in soggy meadows. 

Best Time of Year to Hike the Wicklow Way

April to September is generally the best time of year to hike the Wicklow Way if you want a chance of pleasant weather. March or October may be ok some years. Some B&Bs are closed outside of the mid-March to mid-October season.

Best Resources about the Wicklow Way

Tough Soles is an Irish blog written by two hikers who have completed every single National Waymarked Trail in the Republic of Ireland. They’ve written a trail guide to the Wicklow Way which I found very helpful. 

The Thousand Year Crawl wrote a trail report about camping the Wicklow Way in 4 days, which makes for some very long distances! This helped me grasp potential mileages between huts and wildcamp spots, although since I had not wildcamped in Ireland before this trip, I wasn’t sure how bold I’d feel about stealth camping near Tinahely. For that reason and the long days, I didn’t follow his exact itinerary. 

The HiiKER app’s Wicklow Way map is an excellent resource showing a gpx track of the entire route, plus amenities like hostels, hotels, campgrounds, restaurants, and water sources along the trail.

The official Wicklow Way website has a lot of good information about transportation and indoor accommodation options.

The Wicklow Mountains National Park website is helpful for the northern sections of the trail. Read about the flora, fauna, history, and conservation of the park, plus official wildcamping rules and who to contact in case of mountain rescue emergencies.

Special Equipment for the Wicklow Way

You will need solid rain gear. From hiking the Kerry Way, I already knew to expect intermittent rain that randomly arrives just as fast as it disperses. Thankfully I only had brief showers during my Wicklow Way trek and my gear dried quickly. I never needed to use the rain pants I brought, but I needed my pack cover and I was constantly putting on and taking off my rain jacket. If you have heavier torrential downpours, a typical rain shell is not going to cut it. I have an X-treme waterproof rain jacket that I always bring for hiking in Ireland and Scotland. I wish it wasn’t so heavy to carry, but it’s the most reliable and useful clothing item I have.

Some kind of bug spray and/or bug net is a good idea, particularly for midges. That said, I delightfully didn’t end up using mine much. I think I wore my net for about 10 minutes.

Ireland does have ticks which may carry Lyme disease. You’re more likely to encounter ticks if you go off-trail into higher weeds. I wore long pants for the entirety of my trek in order to protect my skin. You could think about spraying down your clothes and gear with Permethrin prior to your hike, which lasts up to 6 washings or 6 weeks before clothing has to be treated again. Or, something like Ben’s Tick & Insect Repellent is a more temporary solution that lasts 12 hours.

Bring a water filter so you can refill your thermos from natural water sources. Since you’re surrounded by farmland, assume the water is contaminated by the animals.

Day-to-Day Wicklow Way Campsite Guide

Stage 0: Clonegal

Update: Unfortunately Carraig B&B in Clonegal is no longer offering tent camping for insurance reasons.

My Campsite: Carraig Bed & Breakfast (€10 to pitch tent, €5 for breakfast, €6 packed lunch. Cash only, pay on arrival. No ATMs in Clonegal but there are in Bunclody and Shillelagh). Do not confuse the Carraig Guest House in Clonegal with Carraig View Guest House in Gorey.
Alternative Campsites/Huts: I’m not aware of any official campsites or other B&Bs that allow camping in Clonegal.

Carraig Guest House is ideally located about 1 km from the southern trailhead of the Wicklow Way in Clonegal. They are a typical bed and breakfast with indoor room options, but if you email Sheila in advance, you’ll find out there is a tent pitch area in the backyard which you can use for €10! There is even an outdoor shower and toilet facility.

I signed up for the amazing breakfast for €5, which is a steal. You can ask for just a few items or request a smorgasbord of pretty much everything on the menu. The first day’s hike from Clonegal to Dying Cow Pub is a long and arduous road walk, so starting off on the right food with a hearty breakfast is a smart idea. There are no shops or cafes along the way.

The family atmosphere at Carraig was extremely welcoming and it felt like a good omen for my hike. Sheila was nice enough to come pick me up from Bunclody on short notice when my bus from Dublin arrived late and messed up my intended plan to walk from Kildavin. As I arrived, the crazy rain cleared, a rainbow appeared across the sky, and I sat down to chat with some Swedish hikers who I’d end up leapfrogging with throughout the rest of the trail.

Stage 1: Clonegal to Stranakelly  

Expected Mileage: 15 miles / 24 km || My Tracker: 14.6 miles / 23.5 km

My Campsite: Dying Cow Pub (€15 paid upon arrival via cash or card. Pizza and beer for sale).
Alternative Campsites/Huts: Old Forge Glamping is about halfway between Clonegal and Dying Cow, but this location is not intended for backpackers. You would pay to camp in one of their yurts, shepherd’s huts, cabins, or safari tents. Or, if you get off the trail to go into the town of Shillelagh, there are a handful of hotels there including Central House and Hunter’s Lodge. You could email them to ask about potential tent camping options.

The Dying Cow is a famous institution along the Wicklow Way. It’s at least 300 years old and the decor has a lot of character. It was quiet the day I arrived, but apparently it can get pretty animated, with hikers and locals congregating around Guinness, pizza, and live music. There is a traditional session every other Friday.

During my research I happened upon this 2022 article about how the Dying Cow hoped to add camping facilities. I couldn’t find any recent updates, so I contacted them and was told camping is indeed allowed. 

There is a field in the back where you can pitch (which has cute outdoor string lights you can turn on) and there is also a hiker hut where you can shelter from the weather. The bartender told me that if there are no other campers, I could feel free to put my sleeping bag on one of the benches inside the hut instead of setting up my tent, which is what I did. This whole backyard area is private and hidden from view of the pub, so there’s no worry about being stared at by merrymakers.

There is also a separate shower block/toilet facility and kitchenette, which is clean and full of amenities – a kettle, microwave, sink, and power outlets. When you pay inside at the bar, you are given a fluffy towel and shower mat included in the €15 price. 

It’s incredible that The Dying Cow has put effort into creating this space for campers on the Wicklow Way considering there is nowhere else to reliably pitch a tent in this section of the trail, unless you want to take your chances “wildcamping” on a farmer’s land who may not be very pleased to discover you. The pub is really filling a need and doing it well – I felt spoiled by the hut and kitchenette! The bartender told me they hope to install glamping pods in the future too. Perhaps it will soon become an even bigger pillar of the Wicklow hiking community.

Stage 2: Stranakelly to Moyne

Expected Mileage: 10 miles / 16 km || My Tracker: 9.2 miles / 14.8 km

My Campsite: Kyle Farmhouse (Free camping! €15 breakfast via cash or card, €7.50 packed lunch).
Alternative Campsites/Huts: Here is a list of other B&Bs in nearby Tinahely and Hacketstown which you could email to ask about camping. None of these are going to be directly along the trail like Kyle Farmhouse is. Tinahely is very close to Dying Cow, so it would make for a short Day 2. If you continue hiking past Kyle Farmhouse, you could look at B&Bs in Aghavannagh or even try to make it all the way to the Mucklagh Hut, which would be a long day. From Kyle Farmhouse to Mucklagh Hut is another 7.2 miles. 

Kyle Farmhouse is only 1 km from the Wicklow Way and pitching your tent in their yard is free, so it’s really a no-brainer to camp here instead of trying to stealthily wildcamp on someone else’s land. Margaret is very welcoming to campers!

They are a typical B&B where you can reserve an indoor room, but campers can still opt into the breakfast for €15. The breakfast is huge. You’ll pick your main order of a full Irish breakfast, poached eggs on toast, or scrambled eggs and bacon, but then there’s also the porridge, cereals, yogurt, toast, Irish brown bread, fruit, coffee, and orange juice that comes with every meal choice. I grabbed a few apples and slices of bread for the road, which helped me out over the next few days considering the limited resupply points along the Wicklow Way.

There is no outdoor shower or toilet facility for campers, but there is a drinking water spigot to refill your thermos. When I came inside for breakfast, I used the toilet and plugged my phone into an outlet to charge. 

The farmhouse produces 3000 liters of milk per day! They also have very curious chickens that followed me all around while I was setting up my tent, which I thought was hilarious. I didn’t know chickens had so much personality! There is a beautiful view of the surrounding countryside from the farmhouse’s front patio, which is a nice place to have a cup of tea.

If you do not opt into any meals and you’re camping for free on someone’s property, in my opinion it’s best not to milk them for everything they’re worth by asking to use all the indoor amenities and facilities. It’s free camping and they did not have to allow it, plus campers are dirty and could be getting in the way of paid customers. This is not a written rule anywhere but seems like a common sense code of conduct.

Stage 3: Moyne to Glenmalure

Expected Mileage: I judged 13 miles but also heard 16 mile estimates || My Tracker: 14.6 miles / 23.5 km

My Campsite: Mullacor Hut (Free camping. Moderately good cell reception).
Alternative Campsites/Huts: Glenmalure Hostel is a “simple mountain hut with no running water or electricity” though it has bunk beds. It has interesting history related to the Battle of Glenmalure, poet WB Yeats, and playwright JM Synge. It’s quite far off-trail. Glenmalure Lodge is directly on-trail and you have to pass it to reach Mullacor Hut, but it’s a hotel and not a campsite. You could stop short at Mucklagh Hut instead of going all the way to Mullacor Hut, but that will cut your day in half.

Mullacor Hut is only another 2 miles past Glenmalure Lodge and it feels like a quick jaunt after fueling up with a nice dinner at the lodge’s restaurant. This 2 miles features a cool view of Carrawaystick Waterfall in the distant mountains and I ran into wild goats on the trail! I remember the Tough Soles blog described seeing wild goats in the exact same spot, so this must be a favorite stomping ground for them. 

I was pleased to find that Mullacor Hut was tidier than Mucklagh Hut and in good overall shape. I met no-one else on the trail heading up to the hut and it was vacant when I arrived in the evening, so I felt ok about setting up my tent inside the hut. No-one else ever came along, except for one old car driving by on the lonely logging road. The cute little Sika deer and I had the forest all to ourselves. 

Staying here sets you up well for the next day’s ascent up Mullacor Mountain and around the bend to Glendalough. Day 4’s awesome views will come at you quick as you leave the hut behind.

Stage 4: Glenmalure to Paddock Hill

Expected Mileage: 10.5 miles / 17 km || My Tracker: 9.4 miles / 15 km

My Campsite: Brusher Gap Hut (Free camping. Excellent 5G cell reception).
Alternative Campsites/Huts: Wicklow Way Camping, Lough Dan Scout Center, Glendalough Glamping, Glendalough International Hostel, Roundwood Caravan & Camping Park

Remember you are not allowed to wildcamp in Glendalough Valley, so you either need to pay for an official campsite or hostel in Glendalough or Laragh, or hike on past the region.

Since the lakes and monastic site at Glendalough are so cool, many hikers try to end one of their stages here. Since I wanted to experience the Adirondack huts, I couldn’t figure out a way that staying in Glendalough would make any sense. From Mullacor Hut to Glendalough is way too short of a day, and from Glendalough to Brusher Gap Hut would also be way too short the following day. Maybe from Mucklagh Hut to Glendalough would make sense, and then Glendalough to Roundwood or Lus Mór B&B, but of the three huts Mucklagh isn’t my favorite one. 

The good thing about starting this stage at Mullacor, arriving at Glendalough halfway, and then continuing on to Brusher Gap is that it’s a relatively short day at ~9.5 miles. This means you can spend a few hours exploring Glendalough and having lunch at the food trucks with plenty of time to spare for hiking the rest of the way to Brusher Gap.

Shortly after Glendalough’s Upper Lake, you’ll find the Information Center where you can chat with a knowledgeable staff member about any questions you may have for the rest of your trek, including acceptable wildcamping locations for Night 5 tomorrow. 

In the Upper Lake Car Park is a public restroom and a collection of food trucks that were my saving grace. You can get a hot meal like a toastie, burger, or hot dog, plus coffee, hot chocolate, or an ice cream. The truck that has toasties and coffee also has a collection of packaged foods to-go, like protein bars, muffins, and chips/crisps. I collected a few items to last me through the rest of the trek to Dublin.

After the incredible monastic site ruins comes another congregation of food trucks, including Kevin’s Cones for more ice cream. This is right next to the Glendalough Hotel which has two cafes, Casey’s Bar & Bistro and The Backyard Cafe and Farm Kitchen. The next town over is called Laragh, about 1 mile (1.5 km) off-trail. Laragh has a convenience store and a handful of food options, including one of the best restaurants in all of Wicklow called the Wicklow Heather.

The Brusher Gap Hut is the most popular hut on the Wicklow Way and it also has the best view of the three as it looks out over surrounding farmland and rolling green hills. It’s in great condition. When I arrived, other hikers had left behind “trail magic” like fuel for a camp stove, water, granola bars, and even a tea cake with a note that said “you can eat it.” The forest behind Brusher Gap has a lot of room for setting up tents if the shelter itself is full.

I think I made an etiquette faux pas by setting up my tent inside the shelter here, considering it’s the most popular one. I had become complacent because for four days I was the only camper anywhere on the trail; I didn’t feel bad for a single second about setting up at the Mullacor Hut, for instance. At Brusher Gap I probably should have set up my tent in the forest behind the hut or just laid out my sleeping bag in the open air of the hut.

Shortly after you leave Brusher Gap tomorrow morning, you will pass a farmhouse on your right with a sign that says “Drinking Water” pointing to a spigot you can use to fill up your thermos. This is the last tap water opportunity that I noticed for the rest of the hike. From here to Dublin you’d need to filter natural water sources.

Stage 5: Paddock Hill to Glensoulan Valley

Expected Mileage: 11 miles / 18 km || My Tracker: 9.6 miles / 15.5 km

My Campsite: Wildcamp near Powerscourt Falls (Free camping. Excellent 5G cell reception).
Alternative Campsites/Huts: Various wildcamping spots in Wicklow Mountains National Park

Stage 5 is exciting because you finally get to pitch a tent in true “wildcamp” fashion! The whole area around Djouce Mountain is national park land, but a lot of it is unsuitable for camping because it’s either boggy (you wouldn’t get off the boardwalk between Ballinastoe and Djouce looking for a spot), highly exposed and windy (such as on top of the mountain if you decide to take the detour to summit), or steeply sloped. But conceivably you could try to find a spot somewhere after you finish the bog boardwalk and before you reach Glensoulan Valley. Getting creative to find a pitch in this region is your best bet for being within allowed wildcamping guidelines. The national park land east of the Wicklow Way in this area looks relatively flat.

The most popular option is to pitch on the flat land immediately west of the River Dargle bridge in Glensoulan Valley. Ironically this is not in the national park, it’s in a little pocket of open hill land – see included topo map screenshot. The bridge and flat camping area is at the bottom of a V-shaped gorge. Hikers on the Wicklow Way must descend all the way down the gorge, cross the bridge, then ascend up the other side (if you’re camping near the bridge, you won’t ascend until the next morning. When you ascend though, you’re back on national park land for half a second. I suppose you could look for a tent spot here too). It’s quite a dramatic landscape feature – you’ll know it when you see it.

This location is next to the water and can be very buggy (if this was national park land there would be more enforcement of the Leave No Trace rule about camping away from water sources). It’s also a popular local hang spot on good weather weekends or holidays, so if there are already a lot of other campers here, you could look at pitching your tent higher up the hill, near 53.14402, -6.21882 as described by the HiiKER app. This is what I had to do, but it kind of sucked because the steep slope of the gorge meant I kept sliding down off of my sleeping mat during the night. It’s also very windy up on the exposed slope, so I pitched my tent back in the trees a bit, paranoid about being too close to the Powerscourt Estate off-limits forestland. Don’t go too far back into this forest; the land on the left/west of the trail is ok, but the land on the right/east does not permit camping.

If you want to continue on past Glensoulan Valley and Powerscourt, the next coolest camping location I noticed was at 53.19828, -6.23046 just below Prince William’s Seat. This is slightly outside the boundary of Wicklow Mountains National Park, but it’s unclear who owns this land and I did see some tents pitched here. This is a unique section of the trail that feels like one of the more remote natural areas on the Wicklow Way. You will have ascended for awhile to get up here – on an actual nature trail and not a paved/gravel road for once! – with peekaboo views along the way, but the area is shaded by trees and you will have some privacy.

Next comes the Glencullen wildcamp spot described by the HiiKER app, though my coordinates are slightly different than theirs, at 53.21606, -6.24142. You will have been following a gravel road for a long time and will finally notice a little path off this road and into the woods. It leads to a big clearing or meadow featuring mysterious ruins. The land here is relatively flat. I’m not sure who owns it (ghosts?) or why camping is supposedly allowed here according to the app.

You may see tents pitched along the Glencree River, but this is private land and there are blatant “No Camping” signs especially marking the stretch between 53.16967, -6.21811 and 53.17225, -6.22222. This is a good place to filter some water from the river, though, before you reach the exposed and waterless miles just before Dublin.

Stage 6: Glensoulan Valley to Marlay Park

Expected Mileage: 16 miles / 26 km || My Tracker: 14 miles / 22.5 km

My Accommodation: Jacob’s Inn Hostel (Dorm pod and private room prices vary by season).
Alternative Accommodations: Abbey Court Hostel or any of the gazillions of hotels and hostels throughout Dublin.

I chose to stay at Jacob’s Inn Hostel because I had an extra travel bag with me which I wouldn’t need during the hike. Jacob’s Inn has a big storage locker room so you can keep items secure while you’re gone and then retrieve them when you check in for your stay after completing the hike. I came straight here after arriving in Dublin just to drop off the bag, then took the bus to Bunclody. Another option for luggage storage is to use the Bounce service, which does have locations in Dublin.

Jacob’s Inn has a self-service laundry room, which is a godsend post-hike! A wash costs €4 and the dryer costs €5. The machines take €1, €2, €0.50, or €0.20 coins. The detergent is free. 

The dorm bunkroom pods are immaculate at this place. They are very private and you have your own light, shelf, and USB outlet for charging. There is a large storage cubby underneath your bed. You can set your own digital code to lock it, so you don’t need to rent a physical lock.

Downstairs there is a hangout room with great wifi where I was able to work remotely. You can pay €12 for a full Irish breakfast buffet and coffee, or €5-6 if you just choose one dish (in which case there’s a separate charge for coffee). During the day you can order drinks or food at the bar.  

In the past I have stayed at Abbey Court Hostel, which also offers self-service laundry and allows you to store a bag before the hike and retrieve it upon check-in afterwards. Their continental breakfast is free! From memory I don’t think this hostel is as upscale and vibey as Jacob’s Inn, and they have regular bunks instead of private pods. They strike me as more of an old school backpackers hostel, whereas Jacob’s Inn has that newfangled fancy vibe. I liked both. Abbey Court is right on the River Liffey and Jacob’s Inn is right by the train station and major bus stops.

When you get back to Dublin, don’t forget to visit the National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology where they have artifacts on display that were discovered at Glendalough! This is a great way to add more context to your trek and bring things full circle. I wrote about my favorite relics from the museum here. I’ve also written about archaeological sites you can visit from Dublin without a car, like the famous UNESCO passage tombs.

I’m not particularly interested in writing a trail report of the Wicklow Way considering how well documented it already is by so many other hikers and talented writers, but I hope my guide to camping the Wicklow Way has been a helpful supplement to the planning process if you’re a backpacker hauling a tent. If you’ve camped the Wicklow Way, what was your experience like? Did you use these sites or find other creative solutions?

If you’ve never hiked in Ireland before, I would highly recommend checking out my guide to the Kerry Way too. Both trails have something to offer and provide perspective on totally different regions of the country, but the Kerry Way offers more variation (in my opinion) and less road walking. What’s your favorite thru-hike in Ireland?

🏨 Search budget hostels in Dublin or standard hotel options Dublin. If you’re craving a luxurious place to stay at the end of your hike to recuperate, check out Huntington Castle in Clonegal or one of these unique places to stay in Dublin.
🚌 If you have a few extra days to spend in Ireland, check out city tours or day trips from Dublin! Or if you didn’t see everything you wanted to during your Wicklow Way trek, book a Wicklow Mountains day trip.
✈️ Coming to Ireland from further afield? Use an Airalo eSIM for affordable international cell data and don’t forget to protect your investment with travel insurance.

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