Best time to go
Call in early in the day, before your walk rather than after. Sunny weekends can bring traffic and parking pressure around the Upper Lake, so midweek and quieter seasons are the easier choice if you have the option.
Overview
About Wicklow Mountains National Park Information Office
Why stop
- Knowledgeable local guidance before the valley trails
Heads up
- Small facility with no public toilet inside
A small information office and museum sits just off the Green Road, about 100m from the Upper Lake car park, and it is a quick way to get your bearings before you commit to a walk. Staff here are knowledgeable and helpful, and the maps are a highlight. Note that this is a separate building from the larger visitor centre near the Monastic City, roughly 2km down the valley.
Parkwolf’s verdictWhy stop hereMap
Where it is
Loading the Wicklow Mountains map
Full mapPlan your stop
Before you go
Best time to go
3 active Wicklow Mountains alerts
- CautionExtreme upland fire riskDo not use solid-fuel BBQs in Wicklow Mountains National Park, and take extreme care with cigarettes and other naked flames because the hills are dry and at extreme risk of fire.Official details
- CautionGlendalough Spinc trail works and intermittent disruptionsExpect intermittent disruption on the Glendalough Spinc trails while NPWS upgrades the White Trail.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Wicklow Mountains Tour Guide
Your drive to Wicklow Mountains National Park Information Office, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Wicklow Mountains National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this place
Glendalough Upper Lake0:00 / 0:49
“You’re coming up on the access to Glendalough’s Upper Lake. If you’d enjoy a quiet detour, look for Reefert Church, tucked into the woods near the lake paths.”
Plays as you drive up to Wicklow Mountains National Park Information Office in the Parkwolf Wicklow Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Glendalough Monastic Site and Lower Lake
- Hero Mine
- Wicklow Heather Restaurant
- Brockagh Mountain
- 55 audio storiesacross Wicklow Mountains’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Sika Deer, Red Deer, Grey Heron, and 3 more
- Works offlinemaps, 34 trails, 31 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
More about Wicklow Mountains National Park Information Office
What makes it differentThe focus is the living valley rather than a big set piece exhibition: a glacial two-lake…
The focus is the living valley rather than a big set piece exhibition: a glacial two-lake landscape, woodland, upland blanket bog, mining history and monastic heritage layered on top of each other, with nine waymarked trails threading through it. This is the place to ask which of those routes suits your group, your footwear and the conditions underfoot.
What to see and doA compact display on local flora, fauna and geology, useful for quick orientation and for…
- A compact display on local flora, fauna and geology, useful for quick orientation and for children who want to know what they might spot.
- Maps, books and postcards, including trail maps worth having in hand before you set off.
- Ask about the programme of free educational activities: field trips, nature walks, lectures and workshops.
- Practical help if you need it, including visitor information, first aid with an AED, and lost property.
Practical tipsThere are no toilets inside the office.
There are no toilets inside the office. Public facilities in the valley are at the visitor centre beside the Monastic City and at the Upper Lake car park. Parking at the Upper Lake may carry a charge. Since this is a staffed office rather than an all hours facility, it is worth keeping some flexibility in your plans rather than building the whole day around a visit.
Honest drawbacksIt is genuinely small.
It is genuinely small. The confirmed offering is information, maps and books, a modest natural history display and first aid, so plan your food, drinks and toilet stops elsewhere. There is no large interpretive exhibition here. The value is the map in your hand and the advice that comes with it.
What to bringCarry a paper map, water and snacks, and wear boots or shoes with grip, since trails can be…
Carry a paper map, water and snacks, and wear boots or shoes with grip, since trails can be wet, rocky and uneven. Pack a waterproof layer whatever the forecast promises. Dogs are welcome but must be kept on leads.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Wicklow Mountains
204 sightingsSika DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
18 sightingsRed DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
15 sightingsGrey HeronMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
11 sightingsCommon RavenMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
28 sightingsEuropean Common FrogMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
11 sightingsViviparous LizardMost seen around 11 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Wicklow Mountains. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
