Lough Key

What is kayaking Lough Key like?

A magical paddle around the wooded islands of Lough Key, centred on the fairy-tale Castle Island with its 19th-century folly perched above the trees. The Forest Park setting provides shelter on windy days, and the lake's many islands are home to herons, kingfishers, and otters. An ideal family-friendly route.

How do I paddle Lough Key? Put-in, take-out and logistics

Lough Key sits within the grounds of the former Rockingham Estate, now managed as Lough Key Forest Park, and the marina beside the visitor centre provides the easiest launch point in Co. Roscommon. There is a small fee for parking within the forest park, but the facilities — toilets, changing rooms, cafe, and a proper slipway — justify the cost. The lake itself is compact at roughly 8 square kilometres, connected to the Shannon navigation via the Boyle River, so the occasional hire cruiser passes through. Castle Island, visible from the marina, is the obvious first destination: the gothic-revival folly built by the King family in the 19th century rises above a canopy of mature beech and oak, and the island can be circumnavigated in about 20 minutes.

When is the best time to paddle Lough Key?

From Castle Island, paddle west to Trinity Island, which holds the ruins of a 12th-century Premonstratensian abbey founded in 1215 — one of only two houses of this order ever established in Ireland. The gravestones are still legible in places, and the site is atmospheric even on overcast days. The lake's many wooded islands create natural wind breaks, making this one of the more sheltered lake paddles in the midlands. Kingfishers nest along the eastern shore where small streams enter the lake, and otters are regularly seen at dusk around the reed margins near Drumman's Island. The 7 km loop back to the marina passes through narrow channels between islands where the water is rarely more than 2 metres deep — ideal for beginners who want the feel of exploration without exposure to big water.