Parking
Start at Crone Wood Car Park beside the Wicklow Way. There is no public transport to this location.
Overview
About Crone Woods Mountain Access Route
Why go
- Short access to the open Wicklow Mountains
Heads up
- Steep climb for its distance
- No finished loop or viewpoint destination
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Wicklow Mountains map
Full mapElevation179–453 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
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 Crone Woods Mountain Access Route, 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 trailhead
Crone Woods and Ride Rock0:00 / 0:19
“Crone Woods is coming up, with a forest walk that climbs to the open slopes of Maulin. For the views, choose the red-marked loop to Ride Rock, looking across to Powerscourt Waterfall and the Great Sugar Loaf.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Wicklow Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Powerscourt Waterfall
- Glencree's Refuge for Children
- Cloon Oak Glen
- The Bird Beneath the River
- 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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Crone Woods Mountain Access Route
What this route isThis is the mountain access route from Crone Wood Car Park up through Crone Wood to the gate at…
This is the mountain access route from Crone Wood Car Park up through Crone Wood to the gate at the edge of open mountain on the flanks of Maulin. It is a linear point-to-point line, recorded as 2.4 km one way (about 1.49 miles). Most walkers return along the same corridor, so plan on roughly 4.8 km of walking in total. It is a separate, shorter outing from the marked Crone Woods Maulin Mountain Loop, which starts from the same car park and covers different ground.
Time and effortOfficial timing is about 1 hour one way, so allow around 2 hours for the there-and-back walk…
Official timing is about 1 hour one way, so allow around 2 hours for the there-and-back walk before any stops. The route is graded strenuous: total height climbed is about 300 m, the official highest point is 475 m, and the gate at the top is described at about 450 m. It is short in distance but a hard climb almost the whole way, with little in the way of flat recovery.
The sequence and footingFrom the car park the line rises through forest and keeps climbing steadily until it reaches…
From the car park the line rises through forest and keeps climbing steadily until it reaches the gate onto open mountain. Underfoot it is forest trail throughout. Expect a sustained uphill gradient on the way up and a consistently steep descent on the way back, which is harder on knees and ankles than the distance suggests. Boots with grip and a walking pace you can hold uphill will serve you better than trying to rush it.
Where it ends, and what lies beyondThe gate is the end of this route.
The gate is the end of this route. Beyond it, open mountain is a separate and more demanding undertaking: anyone continuing needs proper equipment, hill clothing, and the ability to navigate in poor visibility without relying on a marked path. If you are not equipped for that, treat the gate as your turning point and head back down the same way.
Access and dogsStart at Crone Wood Car Park.
Start at Crone Wood Car Park. There is no public transport to this location, so you will need your own transport. The route runs on Coillte forest land adjoining Wicklow Mountains National Park. Dogs are welcome but must be kept on a lead at all times.
What to bringWaterproofs and warm layers, since conditions at the top of the climb differ from the car park
- Waterproofs and warm layers, since conditions at the top of the climb differ from the car park
- Water and a snack for a short but demanding ascent
- Footwear with grip for a steep forest trail in both directions
- A map and compass, plus the skills to use them, if you intend to pass through the gate
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.
