Things to do in Co. Roscommon
9 places
1.Arigna Mining Experience
Guided by the miners who worked it
Ireland's last working coal mine, preserved as an immersive underground tour led by the very miners who once worked its narrow seams — a raw, first-hand encounter with 400 years of mining heritage in the Arigna Valley.
- Highlights
- Guided by real former miners with first-hand stories
- Ireland's last working coal mine (closed 1990)
- 400 years of mining heritage (1700s–1990)
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Restrooms · Wheelchair access
2.Rathcroghan Visitor Centre
Europe's oldest unexcavated royal site
Cruachan Aí, the ancient capital of Connacht, is Europe's oldest and largest unexcavated Royal Site — the legendary home of Queen Medb and the place where the festival of Samhain (Halloween) is said to have been born.
- Highlights
- Oldest and largest unexcavated royal site in Europe
- Home of Queen Medb and the Táin Bó Cuailnge
- Birthplace of Samhain / Halloween
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Restrooms · Wheelchair access
3.Baysports
World's tallest inflatable waterslide
Ireland's largest inflatable waterpark, set on the shores of Lough Ree at Hodson Bay — featuring the Guinness World Record tallest inflatable waterslide, plus sauna, hot tub, kayaking, and boat trips for all ages.
- Highlights
- Guinness World Record tallest inflatable waterslide
- Nearly an acre of interlinking floating obstacles
- Lakeside wood-fired sauna & hot tub with cold plunge
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Restrooms · Wheelchair access
4.Glendeer Pet Farm
Free animal feed for every child
A family-run pet farm just outside Athlone where kids can hand-feed lambs, alpacas and emus, then burn off energy on ziplines, fairy trails and indoor soft play — all for a flat €10 a head.
- Highlights
- Every child gets free animal feed on arrival
- Zipline, double obstacle course & sand barn
- Fairy trail with hobbit village
- Facilities
- Wheelchair access
5.Lough Key Forest & Activity Park
19th-century underground servant tunnels
A 350-hectare lakeside estate where woodland thrills meet heritage — Ireland's first tree canopy walk, an underground tunnel tour, quest rooms, zip-lines, and serene forest trails all on the shores of Lough Key.
- Highlights
- Ireland's first Tree Canopy Walk (300m, 9m high)
- 19th-century underground servant tunnels
- 5-storey Moylurg Tower with lake panoramas
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Restrooms · Wheelchair access
6.Boyle Abbey
a 12th-century Cistercian ruin with a Sheela-na-gig
A 12th-century Cistercian monastery that survived invasions, Cromwell's garrison and conversion into barracks, Boyle Abbey now stands as one of the best-preserved early monastic ruins in Connacht, with a restored gatehouse visitor centre in Boyle town.
- Highlights
- One of the most powerful early Cistercian foundations in Connacht, founded in the 12th century by monks from Mellifont
- Rare transitional Romanesque-to-Gothic arches of the School of the West
- Enigmatic Sheela-na-gig carvings and a Whispering Arch
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Wheelchair access
7.Roscommon Castle
the 1269 prototype for Harlech and Beaumaris castles
A dramatic 13th-century Norman ruin overlooking a wildlife-rich park — and possibly the architectural blueprint for Edward I's great Welsh castles. Free, open year-round, and a short stroll from Roscommon town.
- Highlights
- 13th-century quadrangular Norman castle with four D-shaped towers
- Twin-towered gatehouse — the best-preserved part, one tower still vaulted
- Set within 14-acre Loughnaneane Park with lake, turlough, and crannóg
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Wheelchair access
8.Lough Key Caravan & Camping Park
45 wooded pitches a 5-minute walk from a tree-top walk
A family-run campsite of 45 secluded, landscaped pitches set inside Lough Key Forest & Activity Park in Boyle, Co. Roscommon, a five-minute walk from the lake, visitor centre and the park's many trails and attractions.
- Highlights
- 5-minute walk from the lakeside visitor centre and café
- Ireland's first tree canopy walk on your doorstep
- 8km of traffic-free family cycling trails
- Facilities
- Dog-friendly · Restrooms · Wheelchair access
9.Roscommon Leisure Zone
bowling, soft play and arcade fun for all ages
A family entertainment centre in Roscommon town where kids can burn off energy in the three-level Upsie Daisies soft play, then the whole family can bowl, hit the arcade and eat in the diner — all in one fully wheelchair-accessible building.
- Highlights
- Upsie Daisies soft play with three age-zoned levels
- 6 ten-pin bowling lanes with bumpers and kiddie ramps
- Arcade with air hockey, racing and kiddie rides
- Facilities
- Wheelchair access