Carlingford Lough Greenway
About 6.5 to 7 km each way from the marina to Omeath · Flat elevation
About
The greenway runs north from Carlingford Marina along the shore of the lough to the pier at Omeath, about 6.5 to 7km one way on a sealed, mostly flat surface with one short section on a public road. It follows the line of the old Dundalk, Newry and Greenore Railway, which carried passengers through Carlingford from 1876 until 1951 and is the reason the village had a tourist trade at all in the Victorian period. It is the most accessible thing to do here: usable with a buggy or a wheelchair, fine for a child on stabilisers, and with the Mourne Mountains across the water for the whole length of it. Beyond Omeath the route continues to the border and on to Victoria Lock and Newry, making a cross-border corridor of roughly 19 to 20km in total, completed in 2025. That continuation north of Omeath is closed from 1 September 2026 to 28 February 2027 while the Narrow Water Bridge is built, so for this winter the ride is Carlingford to Omeath and back. If you are only doing the Carlingford end, the marina is where to start.
Highlights
- ✓A flat, sealed, off-road path with the lough on one side the whole way
- ✓Built on the line of the Dundalk, Newry and Greenore Railway, which closed in 1951
- ✓Genuinely usable with a wheelchair, a buggy or a child on stabilisers
- ✓Bike hire on site at the marina end
Tips
- →Start at Carlingford Marina rather than in the village; the first 1.3km from the village is on the road.
- →OnYerBike hire bikes at the marina end. Book ahead at weekends and in school holidays.
- →It is exposed to wind off the lough, which is a bigger factor here than rain.
- →The Carlingford to Omeath section is open. Louth County Council carried out renewal works on it in autumn 2024, and that notice is still the top item on the greenway's own news page, so do not read it as a current closure.
- →The continuation north of Omeath is a different matter: it is closed from 1 September 2026 to 28 February 2027, between a point 650m northwest of the L7051 junction and a point 2.4km southeast of Victoria Lock, for the Narrow Water Bridge works. If you wanted to ride the whole cross-border corridor this winter, you cannot; turn at Omeath.
- →Check the greenway's own notices before setting out, and check the date on any notice you find there.
Best Season
More Walk Activities
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