Parking
Use Upper Lake Car Park, then walk about 200 m to the National Park Information Office. The marked route starts from the nearby access there.
Overview
About Spinc and the Wicklow Way (Red Route)
Why go
- Exceptional Spinc and lake views
- Marked route with a clear forest return
Heads up
- Sustained climb with about 490 m ascent
- Exposed, wet ground and many steps
The boardwalk gives sustained, elevated views over the Upper and Lower Lakes and the Glendalough Valley, with the cliff path offering the strongest vantage points of the day. Clear, settled air makes the difference to what you see from the tops, and shorter winter daylight means an early start if you want the full loop in good light. Low cloud can shut down the views entirely, so plan the high section for the best visibility you can get.
Parkwolf’s verdictThe payoff and photographyMap & elevation
The route
Loading the Wicklow Mountains map
Full mapElevation134–605 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 Spinc and the Wicklow Way (Red 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
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 this trailhead 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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Spinc and the Wicklow Way (Red Route)
The walk in shortThis is an 11.
This is an 11.5 km closed loop that starts and finishes at the National Park Information Office near the Upper Lake, and most walkers take about 4 hours 15 minutes. Total climb is around 490 m, and the park map treats it as a hill walk while it is also graded very difficult, so treat it as a mountain day rather than a valley stroll.
How the route unfoldsA steep start climbs beside Poulanass Waterfall on a long series of wooden steps.
- A steep start climbs beside Poulanass Waterfall on a long series of wooden steps.
- At a wide junction above the waterfall you can turn left or right; the recommended line takes in the native woodland exclosure and then the Spinc cliff path and boardwalk high above the valley.
- After roughly 1.3 km along the tops, a branch leads on toward Lugduff and Mullacor.
- The descent links with the Wicklow Way and returns through forestry and forest road, retracing the shared approach back to the Information Office.
Difficulty, footing and exposureThe climb is sustained and the ground varies from engineered steps and boardwalk to boggy,…
The climb is sustained and the ground varies from engineered steps and boardwalk to boggy, uneven open mountain. Sections of the Spinc run close to exposed cliff edges, and the high ground is fully open to wind and rain. The loop is marked with colour-coded arrows, but pay attention at the junction above Poulanass and again at the branch toward Lugduff and Mullacor. Park guidance is clear: wear hiking boots and bring rain gear.
WildlifeDeer are often seen on the open ground and forest edges, and ravens, merlins and kestrels may…
Deer are often seen on the open ground and forest edges, and ravens, merlins and kestrels may be spotted along the cliffs and higher slopes. The woodland exclosure is worth slowing down for as an example of protected native regeneration.
Getting there and parkingStart at the National Park Information Office near the Upper Lake, which is about 200 m from…
Start at the National Park Information Office near the Upper Lake, which is about 200 m from the Upper Lake Car Park. Park at the Upper Lake Car Park and walk to the Information Office, where the route begins at the nearby marked access point.
DogsDogs are welcome in the national park only on a lead at all times, including on the boardwalk,…
Dogs are welcome in the national park only on a lead at all times, including on the boardwalk, the cliff path and the forest road return.
Want something shorterIf you mainly want the boardwalk and the Upper Lake views without the full mountain commitment,…
If you mainly want the boardwalk and the Upper Lake views without the full mountain commitment, the shorter blue Spinc route (6 km) covers the scenic high section in a much shorter outing.
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.
