A gentle, waymarked 6 km clifftop loop out of Howth village, with seabird cliffs, the Baily Lighthouse and wide views over Dublin Bay towards Ireland's Eye.
About a kilometre along Balscadden Road the route passes this hidden cove, a popular local swimming spot, with the Martello Tower (now a radio museum) and a house once lived in by W.B. Yeats nearby. The first 2 km to Balscadden Car Park is smooth and buggy-friendly.
At about the 3.4 km mark the trail reaches Louis' Point, a rocky ledge with the finest views of the Baily Lighthouse. Built in 1814, it was the last of Ireland's lighthouses to be automated. Benches and flat rocks here make a good picnic stop.
The return leg climbs to Howth Summit and follows the Upper Cliff Path along the top of the headland. Watch for the huge EIRE-6 sign laid out in stones, a Second World War marker of Irish neutrality that reads best from above.
The shortest and most popular option: a waymarked 6 km loop, roughly 2 hours, gaining 130 m. It starts at Howth DART station, follows the harbour and Balscadden Road, then returns along the Upper Cliff Path. Green arrows mark the whole way.
The cliffs hold one of Ireland's largest seabird colonies, with guillemots, razorbills, fulmars and kittiwakes, and grey seals are sometimes spotted below. Offshore you look out to Ireland's Eye and Lambay Island, with the Mourne Mountains beyond.
There is no food on the trail itself, so eat back in the village by the harbour: fish and chips at Beshoff's, traditional fare at The Bloody Stream, the beef-and-Guinness pie at O'Connells, and Howth Market at weekends.
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