Things to do in Co. Sligo
11 places
1.Benbulben Forest Walk
Arctic-alpine flora found nowhere else
An easy, family-friendly 5.5km looped gravel trail circling beneath Ireland's most distinctive table mountain, with sweeping views across Donegal Bay to the Slieve League cliffs.
- Highlights
- Dramatic close-up views of Benbulben's limestone cliffs
- Panoramic vistas over Donegal Bay to Slieve League
- Cashelbaun early-medieval ringfort on the trail
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Dog-friendly · Wheelchair access
2.Gleniff Horseshoe
Ireland's highest cave steeped in legend
A dramatic 10km single-lane loop through a glacial valley in the Dartry Mountains, where towering limestone cliffs, myth-laden caves, and views of Donegal Bay create one of Sligo's most exhilarating drives — or walks.
- Highlights
- 10km glacial valley loop through the Dartry Mountains
- Diarmuid & Gráinne's Cave — Ireland's highest cave, steeped in legend
- Magic Hill optical illusion
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Dog-friendly
3.Hazelwood Forest
a flat 3.2km Yeats-favourite loop on Lough Gill
A flat, waymarked lakeshore loop through 250-year-old woodland on Lough Gill, just 5km from Sligo town and a favourite walk of W.B. Yeats.
- Highlights
- Flat 3.2km lakeshore loop, ~1 hour, buggy-friendly
- Island views over Lough Gill from Half Moon Bay
- 250-year-old trees on a nature trail with info panels
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Dog-friendly · Wheelchair access
4.Knocknarea Cairn
5,500-year-old tomb older than the pyramids
A steep but rewarding climb to the 5,500-year-old cairn of Queen Maeve atop Knocknarea — the largest unopened passage tomb in Ireland — with panoramic views over Sligo Bay, the Atlantic, and the Dartry Mountains.
- Highlights
- Largest unopened Neolithic cairn in Ireland (55m wide, 10m high)
- 500+ wooden steps and raised bog bridge through forest
- Legendary burial site of Queen Maeve of Connacht
5.Tobernalt Holy Well
an ancient holy spring with St Patrick's fingerprints
A woodland holy well near Lough Gill where a natural spring, a Mass Rock said to bear St Patrick's fingerprints, and candle-lit shrines have drawn pilgrims since early Christian times.
- Highlights
- Natural spring gushing from beneath a cliff in a primeval woodland
- Mass Rock said to bear St Patrick's fingerprints
- Life-size crucifixion scene and Stations of the Cross
- Facilities
- Wheelchair access
6.Keshcorran Caves
Ice Age bear and wolf bones discovered
A dramatic horizontal line of 16 limestone caves carved into the cliff face of Keshcorran Hill — rich in Irish mythology, Ice Age archaeology, and panoramic views over three counties.
- Highlights
- 16 limestone caves in a dramatic horizontal line on the cliff face
- Ice Age animal bones found here: brown bear, wolf, Arctic lemming, red deer
- Linked to the legends of Fionn Mac Cumhaill, Cormac Mac Airt, and the Tuatha Dé Danann
7.Roslee Castle
climb a hidden stair to the Sailor's Bed
A ruined O'Dowd stronghold on a rocky ledge beside Easkey pier, on the Wild Atlantic Way. Only the tower stands, but a hidden spiral stair still climbs to the Sailor's Bed for sweeping coastal views.
- Highlights
- Hidden spiral stair to the Sailor's Bed
- Gun-looped 17th-century bawn
- Fossil-rich rock shore and tidal pools
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Wheelchair access
8.Rosses Point Beach
Metal Man statue guiding sailors since 1821
A Blue Flag sandy beach on Sligo Bay with views of Benbulben and Knocknarea, backed by a lively seaside village of pubs, cafés, and a scenic coastal walking trail.
- Highlights
- Blue Flag beach with excellent water quality
- Views of Benbulben, Knocknarea, Coney Island & Oyster Island
- Metal Man statue guiding sailors since 1821
- Facilities
- Wheelchair access
9.Sligo Abbey
Bram Stoker's Dracula and 1832 cholera
A remarkable 13th-century Dominican priory in the heart of Sligo town, home to one of Ireland's rare surviving sculpted 15th-century high altars, exquisite Gothic and Renaissance carvings, and a cloister love knot said to grant wishes.
- Highlights
- Rare surviving 15th-century sculpted high altar
- O'Crean Tomb (1506) with nine carved figures
- Cloister Love Knot — said to grant wishes
10.The Model. Home of The Niland Collection.
free entry to the Jack B. Yeats Niland Collection
Sligo's contemporary art centre and home of the Niland Collection, housed in a grand 1863 Italian-Romanesque former Model School on The Mall, with the largest showings of Jack B. Yeats in the region and free admission for everyone.
- Highlights
- Extensive Jack B. Yeats collection in the Niland Collection
- Free admission to all galleries
- 1863 Italian-Romanesque former Model School building
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Restrooms · Wheelchair access
11.Lisadell House and Gardens
childhood home of Countess Markievicz
A magnificently restored 1830s neo-classical estate on Drumcliff Bay beneath Benbulben, Lissadell was the childhood home of revolutionary Countess Markievicz and her suffragist sister Eva Gore-Booth, and was immortalised in the poetry of W.B. Yeats.
- Highlights
- Childhood home of Countess Markievicz and Eva Gore-Booth
- House restored to its 1890s heyday, celebrated in Yeats's poetry
- Victorian rose garden and 1740s seaside Alpine Garden
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Wheelchair access