Kerry Way

My wife and I hiked the Kerry Way in October 2021. It took us 9 days and we started and ended in Killarney. Our itinerary was:
• Day 1: Killarney to Black Valley, Difficulty 5/10, 23km
• Day 2: Black Valley to Lough Acoose, Difficulty 7/10, 18km
• Day 3: Lough Acoose to Glenbeigh, Difficulty 3/10, 17km
• Day 4: Glenbeigh to Cahersiveen (Foilmore), Difficulty 6/10, 20km
• Day 5: Cahersiveen (Foilmore) to Waterville, Difficulty 7/10, 23 km
• Day 6: Waterville to Caherdaniel, Difficulty 2/10, 13km
• Day 7: Caherdaniel to Sneem, Difficulty 4/10, 18 km
• Day 8: Sneem to Kenmare, Difficulty 7/10, 34km
• Day 9: Kenmare to Killarney, Difficulty 5/10, 23km
• Overview:
o Trail Difficulty - 7/10
o Total Distance Hiked - 189kM
Overview
I’m an experienced hiker that has hiked mostly in Ireland. My trails include the Kerry Way, Wicklow Way, Slieve Bloom Way, Western Way, Duhallow Way, and the Tour de Mont Blanc.
The Kerry Way is FANTASTIC. There are some bad parts and a lot of great parts but overall there is a high level of care and thoughtfulness put into the trail. For us, it is the variety of this trail that is most impressive; you’re never walking on any surface or terrain for too long, be that road, boreen, bog track, or forest. I think this is probably the best hiking trail in Ireland (the northern half of the Wicklow Way is also excellent). Hiking trails in Ireland do not have a lot of supporting infrastructure but the Kerry Way is very well supported by Irish standards because it passes through so many lovely towns. The Kerry Way also generally stays off of main roads; when it does use road, it uses infrequent sections of back road. I would say there is less than 10km of main road on the entire trail.
The trail was very wet underfoot and we spent a lot of time with our feet sinking into bogs. I wore trail runners, and my wife wore waterproof boots; we both ended up with wet feet eventually. I’m not sure if even the best waterproof boots would keep your feet dry when the bog is that wet. Based on other reviews, I think the bog stays wet for most of the year. We brought hiking poles which was useful for the bog but also useful for a couple of technical sections.
The weather in this region always changes very quickly so you must prepare for the rain and wind. Luckily the showers are often short and pass by quickly. Some sections of the trail, particularly the Black Valley become impassable in the heavy rain; check ahead before walking. I highly recommend that you download the Met Eireann app for predicting the weather, it offers a brilliant rainfall forecast radar that shows the predicted rainfall for the coming days. As with most trails, your enjoyment will highly depend on the weather, if it’s cloudy you won’t get the best views and your enjoyment will be hindered. I’ve tried to ignore the weather conditions in this review.
Some of the highlights include:
• Walking in the Killarney National Park is stunning. Both days, from Killarney to Black Valley and Kenmare to Killarney, were some of our favourite walking.
• Walking in the Black Valley and the Bridia Valley was amazing. There are some lovely climbs and views, however you are very exposed to rain and wind.
• Blackstone’s bridge is very pleasant and just off the trail. There’s a lovely picnic bench to sit at and eat your lunch
• Windy Gap outside of Glenbeigh has lovely views back over the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks and lovely views across to the Dingle peninsula
• There is a small wood outside of Glenbeigh that is very pleasant
• The Mountain Stage between Glenbeigh and Cahersiveen is amazing
• Cahersiveen to Waterville is a long day with two big ridge walks. Stunning but very exposed and the ground is very boggy. It’s a big and tough day. Worth it if you are able
• Waterville to Caherdaniel had some lovely grass roads and forest sections. Very short and easy day.
• Sneem to Templenoe was one of the best days of hiking on the entire trail. Drastically different to the mountainous regions, this is a low-lying section with huge off-road sections varying from grassy tracks/highways, boreens, forest trails, and seaside walks. Instead of walking all the way to Kenmare, we recommend finishing at Templenoe and getting a taxi to Kenmare
• The section from Blackwater Bridge to Templenoe is one of the best sections of hiking on the entire trail
Lowlights, which are quite few:
• There is a long road section between Glenbeigh and the Mountain Stage. About 5-7km. It is pretty boring.
• The road into Cahersiveen is best avoided, I recommend getting a taxi from Foilmore church into Cahersiveen. There is a trail spur that you can walk. I didn’t walk it.
• The Sneem to Kenmare day is 34km. Some guidebooks measure it as 25-30km. From our experience, the day is 34km. The final 7km (Templenoe to Kenmare) is bad walking, after such a lovely walk from Sneem to Templenoe you are directed to walk over wet boggy hill tops before entering Kenmare. The last thing I wanted after walking 30km was to walk over another boggy hilltop. I recommend getting a taxi from Templenoe into Kenmare and skipping this section.
We stayed in B&Bs the entire way which were lovely. Wild camping is possible but you must ask permission of the land owner first. Camping is not allowed in Killarney National Park. From what I saw, most camping options were on bog and it can be difficult to find a dry spot.
Picnic Locations
• Day 1: Cores Cascade, Lord Brandon’s Cottage
• Day 3: Blackstone’s Bridge, Bench after the Windy Gap
• Day 4: Bench near the start of the Mountain Stage after the long road section
• Day 6: Waterfall in the woods near Caherdaniel
• Day 8: Benches along the sea after Blackwater Bridge

I walked from Killarney to Waterville over 5 days until the weather stopped me from finishing the loop. I camped out each night.

One criticism is that there definitely should be purpose built and maintained huts or at least camp sites for walkers on the routes same as Wicklow Way, I had to venture off the trails to find good camping spots which is not ideal.

There are some amazing views but you're really at the mercy of the weather in this part of Kerry if you want to experience the true beauty of the scenery. Beware the midges and ticks! I got savaged by midges most evenings and got a tick bite. Lyme disease is a growing threat on this trail, especially if camping, and I shall have to wait to see if my bite becomes worse. The midges are ruthless and swarm on you in this part of Kerry.

Bring Gore Tex foot wear as many sections of the trails are flooded from heavy downpours, the grass, bog, moorland and heather will also soak your feet walking through it.

A well maintained network of trails but more investment needed for camping facilities. More awareness of the risk of Lymes and the importance of how to check yourself each day.

Lastly, don't be afraid to pull the plug on a trip if the weather turns. The weather can kill /injure/debilitate people through poor visibility, torrential wind & rain leading to hypothermia on the high passes. Make sensible decisions and always remember to check forecasts and listen to local advice before setting off.
Bring adequate food/snacks as some of the stretches are quite isolated with no services. Will return to finish it some day.

What a treat this trail is compared to the Blackwater Way before. Great scenery and lovely accommodation all along the trail. Best part for me was Black Valley to Glencarr. How beautiful that was. Or Waterville to Caherdaniel. Or resting on that lovely bench after windy gap. Beautiful. Even the sections Sneem/Kenmare are lovely although lot of roadwalking. Best part of my coast2coast walk.

I walked part of the Kerry Way in early July and it was simply superb - well signed and supported thanks with board walks where at other times of the year it must be much wetter under foot and really interesting towns for the stop-overs.

There are treats everywhere en route and I just walked to Cahersiveen! which allowed me to branch off to Valentia Island and so finish the Irish Coast to Coast which was my own trail.

I didn't break day 2 at Glencar as some do and walked onto Glenbeigh instead, a decision I was pleased with - however I took the road from Cloghfune to Curraghbeg rather than adding distance and time by taking the Way to Lough Acoose.

I will, without doubt, return to complete the Kerry Way.

The Kerry Way is one of the best through-hikes (well, it’s actually a loop) I’ve ever done. The beauty and variety of the scenery are quite simply unmatched. The way is extraordinarily well marked and well maintained; where terrain is difficult, supports or alternatives are provided—we didn’t encounter any obstacles of any kind. As a 60-year-old walker I found it strenuous but not arduous or intimidating; it can be done without even poles or sticks; the stages are reasonable though we broke them up into c. 12-15-mile days. I think I’ll come back to do this hike but stay two nights in most places, to allow more time for exploring and side-trips (such as the three summits in the MacGillicuddy’s Reeks). SO glad we came.

Three of us completed the Kerry Way trail in late September early October, it was an amazing adventure along a well marked trail, boggy at times but well worth the effort required on some of the longer days, Glencar to Glenbeigh, Glenbeigh to Cahersiveen, and Sneem to Kenmare we found this the toughest day, as you are close to Kenmare but the trail keeps pulling you back up and away from your destination, which in our case was a further 2K on from Kenmare !! We downloaded and laminated the maps from the irishtrails.ie website and they were fantastic, always knew where we were.

Mark, Kerry and Karmen ( Aussies abroad)

Excellent Trail and well marked all the way.

Highly recommended for scenery and variety of terrain. Something there for everyone.



Beware the newly redirected section at Templenoe. It avoids the busy main road by taking you north on a (not particularly scenic) minor road and back down again but it does add at least an hour to an already long section into Kenmare.



Put it on your "to do list" and enjoy :-)

Stretch Parknasilla to Sneem anti-clockwise.

Excellent mixture of contrasting scenery.

Woodland road fading into open moorland with great views Kenmare bay and Mountain ridges encircling Sneem.

Leisurely walk 45 minutes