I’ve had a few experiences of feeling like I haven’t got the most out of a hike after completing it. That feeling that I need to come back and try it again and complete unfinished business. My experience climbing Tonelagee to see the beautiful Lough Ouler walk definitely falls into this category.
What was especially frustrating about my Tonelagee and Lough Ouler hike is that this was the second time I’ve attempted to have the perfect experience in climbing to one of Ireland’s most famous beauty spots. My previous attempt tried a different route. You can read about how I needed to abandon that hike due to a severe hailstorm shower here.
This time, I attempted the most straightforward route to summit Tonelagee and see the best views of the nearby Lough Ouler. While I reached the top of the mountain, cloud cover obscured any views of the lake. So frustrating!
Details for Hiking to Tonelagee and Lough Ouler
- Location: Right bang in the middle of the Wicklow Mountains Range. Parking for climbing Tonelagee is at the Turlough Hill Car Park.
- Distance: 5km
- Type of Walk: Out and Back. Walk from the car park to the top of the mountain, then a further few hundred metres further to get views of the lake.
- Time Required: 1.5 – 2 hours.
- Elevation Gain: 381m
- Grade: Moderate. This is a straight up and down hike so good for beginners. Be warned though that the first couple of kilometres are quite steep. You need a decent level of fitness as these will get your heart pumping.
Map of the Tonelagee and Lough Ouler Hike
As noted above, the route up is fairly straightforward. I had a visible trail to follow for the majority of the time when climbing Tonelagee.
Alltrails have a good map online too. You just need to extend this one past the summit point to see the views of Lough Ouler.
Starting the Tonelagee and Lough Ouler Hike
I arrived at the Turlough Hill Carpark at 10.30am on a damp Monday morning in May. Usually I am one for beginning hikes as early in the morning as I can. However, due to the overcast nature of the weather, I had left this one a little bit later. I hoped the clouds would eventually clear.
Unfortunately, as I looked up towards where I should see the summit of Tonelagee, blankets of clouds were all that were visible in front of me.
Oh well, I had made the drive there so I decided I might as well try to summit the top of Tonelagee. The drive from Dublin to Turlough Hill carpark takes about 1hour and 15 minutes. Unusually for hiking in Ireland, this location is accessible via public transport. Check out the 183 local link bus between Arklow and Sallins.
Standing at 815m, Tonelagee is the 15th tallest Mountain in Ireland as per the Mountaineering Ireland listing. I wanted to summit Tonelagee as I am in the process of climbing the 40 highest mountains on this list.
Hard Yards
After parking the car, I crossed the road and headed in a north easterly direction. I found the trail easily enough.
As I mentioned, the first two kilometres really tested my fitness. I took plenty of stops on the way up. I needed to get the water in.
Reaching the Peak of Tonelagee
In no time though, I became completely surrounded by cloud. I could still see about 30-40 yards in front of me. Plus, the trail continued to prove easy to follow. As such, I made decent progress to the top of Tonelagee.
All in all, it only took 40 minutes before the trig point that marks the summit came into view.
I knew I wouldn’t get any nice views of the heart shaped Lough Ouler. Despite this, I still continued along the path (for about 5 minutes) which brought me to what should have been the viewpoint.
I stared into the cloudy abyss and cursed my luck that I couldn’t see anything other than cloud.
While I have seen the heart shaped lake before, I still hadn’t managed to summit Tonelagee and get views of the lake on the same hike.
Other Options for Climbing Tonelagee
All this means is that I will just have to try again. Next time, I think I will do a similar walk but try do the full loop of the lake before heading back to the Turlough Hill Car Park.
That’s the great thing about Tonelagee, you have loads of options for climbing it. This one described here probably suits a beginner to hiking or if you are a little short on time and want to get some bang for your buck (assuming the mountain top isn’t covered in cloud!).
Other Great Hikes Nearby
As well as plenty of options for Climbing Tonelagee, this area of the Wicklow Mountains has loads of other great hikes. Check out: