Iniscarn Forest
County Londonderry
Distance 2 miles
OS Map 13
Terrain Forest road, track, country road
Nearest Town Magherafelt
Route Shape Linear
Grid Reference H82499
Route Type Woodland
The walk starts from the forest entrance on the Iniscarn Road. Entering the forest you will see a forest road heading straight, follow this road as it ascends through the forest. Continue along this forest road as it sweeps through the forest you will pass on old house on your right. At this juncture take the path to the left and continue along this path as it continues to take you up towards the summit. Take time to enjoy the view. Continue along this path, it will narrow as you pass under the pylons, & follow it towards the top of the forest and Slieve Gallion. Please note that the land around the summit of Slieve Gallion is privately owned. Sheep graze these uplands and all dogs MUST be kept under control.
Iniscarn contains many species of birds and animals. Buzzards can be seen in springtime displaying over the mature hardwood areas. Occasionally hen harriers can be spotted hunting on the open moorland next to the forest
The forest is off the A29 Tobermore to Moneymore road. From here take the Iniscarn Road and continue along this road for just over 2 miles. The forest is on your left.
Translink – journeyplanner.translink.co.uk
Must be kept on a lead.
Parking is permitted at the entrance to the forest. Cars must not block the forest gates.
Grade
Comments will be reviewed and those that cause offence will be removed. This is at the discretion of WalkNI.
We want everyone to be able to enjoy the walking routes listed on WalkNI safely and easily.
If you have come across any problems whilst walking a route, please let us so we can pass on any issues to the appropriate management body responsible for maintaining the walk.
Walk Route
Iniscarn Forest
This is a fantastic walk especially now in the autumn season with the leaves changing colour and falling onto the forest floor. multiple types of mushrooms to identify, sunlight pushing through intensifying the cobwebs and raindrops on the trees.
from the car park it starts of pretty steep, then there’s a ‘chatty bench’, inviting walkers to stop for a moment before pushing on up the hill. The terrain is mixed so walking boots are recommended. Once at the top it is very windy and offers stunning views across the countryside. We stopped here for lunch before retracing our steps then turning off at a left fork to enjoy more of the forest floor and returning in a circular route to the car park. Enjoy ….
This is a beautiful walk up through mature forest, is shaded most of the way, and provides a challenging, sunny 1.5-2 hours of solid exercise along a forest trail.
It is steep for most of the way, so be prepared! 🙂 Well worth it once you get to the windy top, which has masts on private ground, a stone cairn and two crosses. Views are amazing, with the feeling that you could see almost every other mountain we have here. Have fun spotting them all.
Wear good walking boots, as though the route is well maintained, the stone parts of the path can be rough. The day we were there, it had been raining all the day before, but the path was only a little wet and mucky in places. And, the top of the mountain felt pretty dry – again, only a bit boggy in places, but mostly grassy.
There is parking just outside the forest for about 5 cars. And, there are no toilets.