I’m based in Dublin so a lot of my hiking and walking takes place in and around the Wicklow Mountains. I feel blessed to have such a beautiful part of the world right on my doorstep. For many of these Wicklow hikes, I drive through the picturesque village of Roundwood to get to the chosen trailhead of the day. Indeed I have even stayed a night in Roundwood after completing Day 2 of the Wicklow Way. Every time I pass along the road coming into Roundwood, I think to myself that I must do the Vartry Reservoir Loop.
Well finally I have!! And to be honest, the Vartry Reservoir Loop lived up to my high expectations. The paths are well maintained throughout with lovely waterside views for almost the entirety of the 15km route.
Three Trails in Vartry Reservoir
You actually have three different trails to choose from within the Vartry Reservoir.
- The Green Upper Vartry Trail – 6.4km – which loops around the Upper Vartry Reservoir. Highlights are the nice views available of Djouce and Sugarloaf Mountains.
- The Pink Woodland Trail – 3km – which takes in the wooded area in between the upper and lower reservoirs. I found the Upper Draw Tower and other water works buildings along here strangely fascinating.
- The Blue Lower Vartry Trail – 7.2km – finally the loop around the lower reservoir.
You can just pick which of the above three options you think you’d prefer. However, the really great thing about the Vartry Reservoir walks is that you can very easily link them all together into one large 15km loop. The latter is definitely my preferred option and as such forms the topic of this article.
Vartry Reservoir Loop Walk Details
- Distance: 15km
- Elevation Gain: The Vartry Reservoir Loop walk is relatively gentle. Aside from a few short climbs and undulating forest sections, there are no major hills to contend with. It’s just over 100m of elevation gain which is not a whole lot over 15km of walking.
- Time Required: 3.5 – 4 hours should be enough for most people to complete the Vartry Reservoir Loop.
- Difficulty: Moderate purely due to the length of the walk.
Map of the Vartry Reservoir Loop Walk
The signposts and maps located at the Vartry Reservoir split the trail into the three distinct routes noted above. I found it handy to instead use the alltrails map which combines the three. Overall, this is relatively straightforward to navigate – just keep following the lake! The map available on alltrails is still useful to have.
Where to Start the Vartry Reservoir Loop Walk?
The best place to start the Vartry Reservoir Loop is the Vartry Trails Car Park. The car park is on the approach to Roundwood from the Dublin side. The drive from Dublin takes about 45 minutes but timing is very dependent on traffic conditions.
Saint Kevin’s Bus Service runs daily between St. Stephen’s Green and Glendalough and stops in the village of Roundwood (among other places along the route). So this walk is reachable via public transport.
If coming from Roundwood Village, you can join the trail as the R765 bridges the Lower Reservoir.
Setting Off On The Vartry Reservoir Loop
I parked up the car on a quiet Monday morning. While I noted plenty of spaces available, I’d say this isn’t always the case over the weekend. The trail begins at the opposite end of where I entered the car park.
The first 800m or so of the trail brought me along a gravel path through a pine forest. This felt a little disappointing as I was looking forward to seeing the Reservoir.
Getting to the Water’s Edge
Finally, I crossed a bridge over a little river and got my first glimpse of the lake. Crossing the bridge also marked the start of the Ogham Tree Trail section of the Vartry Reservoir Loop. Rather than plantation of Scot’s Pine, the trail now passed by more open scrubland with a wider variety of trees, shrubs and bushes on display.
I admired the work of the Roundwood Men’s Shed who had carved the names of 10 native Irish Trees in Irish, English and Ogham on oak stakes beside where the trees are growing.
Crossing The Reservoir
After about 1.8km of walking, I came to the L5054 road. I turned right along the road and crossed the bridge over the Reservoir. Thankfully, the trail turned right and off the road straight after the bridge.
The trail ran pretty much beside the lakeshore until the 4.5km mark. I found this section of the walk beautifully peaceful and really enjoyable.
From Upper to Lower Sections of the Vartry Reservoir
The southern boundary of the Upper Reservoir marks the first place you get to see some of the cool waterworks infrastructure on display as part of the Vartry Reservoir Loop walk.
First you have the Vartry Reservoir Spillway. As I walked along the trail, I began to hear a sound of powerful water up ahead. This piqued my curiosity enough to peer over a fence and see a perfect circle of cascading water disappearing into the ground. The structure operates as an overflow system ensuring water doesn’t go higher than designated reservoir levels.
Next you have the Draw Off Tower building. This acts as a control station for taking water from the reservoir and bringing it to the water treatment plant. It looks very cool standing there surrounded by water and what looks like a drawbridge leading up to it.
Then, you have the Upper Reservoir Outlet Headwall. My (very) basic understanding is that this is the entrance to the pipe works that carry water from the reservoir. The heavy stonework also act as a foundation to keep everything in place. It looks like something you would see in a castle and looks very out of place surrounded by the trees and woods. Definitely something that makes you stop in your tracks.
These structures date back to the 19th century. The entire area feels a bit like an open-air museum of Victorian engineering. I hadn’t expected to find myself so fascinated by water treatment infrastructure, but it’s actually very cool – different from my usual walks.
The Woodland Trail
I walked past the imposing masonry through a brief woodland section along the reservoir link waterway that connects to the lower reservoir. Built in the 1860s, the Lower Vartry Reservoir is the older of the two man-made lakes. A second dam, completed in the 1920s, later created the Upper Vartry Reservoir.
I needed to cross the R765 road after about 5.5km of walking.
Around the Lower Reservoir
The underfoot conditions aren’t as well maintained in this section – more dirt tracks than gravel paths. I actually thought this added to the charm of the walk though.
The route followed the perimeter of the Lower Reservoir for almost 7km before eventually emerging back at the bridge (this time on the other side of the water).
I found this a lovely section of the Vartry Reservoir Loop. It included a small bit of road walking. Just before getting to the road (after 8km or so of walking), I stopped at a nice little bench for my packed lunch. I really enjoyed the views while I ate.
The small section of road walking along the R764 offers a nice opportunity to see the Vartry River. I took the opportunity to walk down to the edge of the river. The current is quite strong as the water exits the reservoir. I thought it was nice to watch the water rush by for a while.
Returning to the road I passed another Draw Off Tower on my right with extensive water works facilities on my right.
I then took a right turn off the road and back along the shore of the lake. From there, I really enjoyed the view back to the Draw Off Tower and connecting walkway.
Completing the Vartry Reservoir Loop
I spotted two large Cormorant’s just before returning to the bridge over the R765. We have them on the Royal Canal beside where I live but it is somewhat unusual to see them in pairs.
The bridge marked 12.5km of walking. The closing stretch of the Vartry Reservoir loop lay before me. The last 2.5km of the walk felt similar. I continued close to the waters edge – the trail alternated between woodland and more open ground.
The last section brought me back through the other side of the Pine forest and then back to the carpark.
Overall, I found the lakeside walk very calming. While not your typical Wicklow walk through mountains and rugged landscape, the Vartry Reservoir loop definitely does have its own charms – particularly the engineering features along the way. Perfect for when you are looking for a more chilled out walk.
It will definitely bring back fond memories every time I drive through Roundwood in future!