Wicklow Way

The Wicklow Way (Slí Cualann Nua)
The J. B. Malone memorial at Barr Rock on the Wicklow Way overlooking Lough Tay.
Length	131 kilometres (81 miles)
Location	Eastern Ireland
Designation	National Waymarked Trail
Trailheads	Marlay Park, County Dublin Clonegal, County Carlow
Use	Hiking
Elevation
Elevation gain/loss	3,320 m (10,892 ft)
Highest point	White Hill (630 m (2,067 ft))
Lowest point	Clonegal (60 m (197 ft))
Hiking details
Trail difficulty	Strenuous
Season	Any
Sights	Wicklow Mountains Glendalough
Surface	Forestry tracks, roads, boreens and mountain paths
Website	www.irishtrails.ie

The Wicklow Way (Irish: Slí Cualann Nua, meaning "New Cuala Way") is a 131-kilometre (81-mile) long-distance trail that crosses the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. It runs from Marlay Park in the southern suburbs of Dublin through County Wicklow and ends in the village of Clonegal in County Carlow. It is designated as a National Waymarked Trail by the Irish Sports Council and is waymarked by posts with a yellow "walking man" symbol and a directional arrow. Typically completed in 5–7 days, it is one of the busiest of Ireland's National Waymarked Trails, with up to 24,000 people a year walking the most popular sections. The Way is also used regularly by a number of mountain running competitions.

The trail follows forest tracks, mountain paths, boreens and quiet country roads. Mountains, upland lakes and steep-sided glacial valleys make up the terrain of the initial northern sections of the Way before giving way to gentler rolling foothills in the latter southern sections. Much of the route follows the contact point between the igneous granite of the western side of Wicklow and the metamorphic schists and slates of the eastern side. The principal habitat of the upland sections is a mixture of broadleaf and coniferous woodland, heath and blanket bog while in the lowland sections the hedgerows marking the boundaries between fields support a variety of wildlife. The Way also passes the Monastic City at Glendalough, founded in the 6th century by Saint Kevin.