Carrawaystick Waterfall

Glenmalure, County Wicklow, Ireland

About Carrawaystick Waterfall


Hiking Distance: at least 2.2km round-trip (2.7km round-trip for actual Miner's Way)
Suggested Time: 75-90 minutes

Date first visited: 2024-07-07
Date last visited: 2024-07-07

Waterfall Latitude: 52.96727
Waterfall Longitude: -6.38448

Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Carrawaystick Waterfall is perhaps the most conspicuous waterfall in the remote Glenmalure Valley, which is off the eastern slopes of Lungnaquilla (the highest point in the Wicklow Mountains).

Glenmalure Valley is said to be the longest glacial valley in either Ireland or Britain (hence giving rise to the possibility of tall waterfalls).

Glenmalure_050_07062024 - Carrawaystick Waterfall
Carrawaystick Waterfall

It has been the site of lead mining until 1864 as well as the Battle of Glenmalure, where a reported 800 English soldiers were defeated in the Battle of Glenmalure.

According to my topo map, the Carrawaystick Brook tumbled a cumulative height of at least 120m (though it could be more depending on where you count the start and end of the slope).

Technically, this is a roadside waterfall, but it requires hiking to see it properly because there’s no legal lay-by or pullout to make it such a convenient experience.

Of course, if you try to force your convenience upon others, you’ll likely piss off the local landowner (whose land encompasses the waterfall) by blocking their driveway or piss off other drivers by blocking the single-lane road in the valley.

Glenmalure_055_07062024 - The so-called Zig-Zag Trail does its namesake route besides the Carrawaystick Waterfall on its climb up to the Lugnaquilla Massif (the tallest point in Wicklow County), but that trail is no longer publicly accessible
The so-called Zig-Zag Trail does its namesake route besides the Carrawaystick Waterfall on its climb up to the Lugnaquilla Massif (the tallest point in Wicklow County), but that trail is no longer publicly accessible

Now although the best way to experience the Carrawaystick Waterfall is by hiking, even that comes with caveats after an incident with a visitor who actually assaulted the landowner on his own land in March 2023!

So that pretty much closed off the popular zig-zag trail, which as the name suggested, zig-zagged its way beside the Carrawaystick Waterfall as it connected the Glenmalure Valley floor with the Lugnaquilla Massif.

In any case, the way I experienced this waterfall was by starting off at the Ballinafunshoge car park (see directions below), and then hiking up part of the so-called Miner’s Way.

The Miner’s Way is actually a 19km trail that goes through Glenmalure, Glendalough, and Glendasan Valleys while going by lead mining relics.

Glenmalure_013_07062024 - The Ballinafunshoge Waterfall is near the car park and the part of the Old Miner's Path leading up to better views of the Carrawaystick Waterfall
The Ballinafunshoge Waterfall is near the car park and the part of the Old Miner’s Path leading up to better views of the Carrawaystick Waterfall

The part of the trail that concerns the Carrawaystick Waterfall goes by the Ballinafunshoge Waterfall, which is a small seasonal waterfall on the Mill Brook.

The trail then climbs rapidly along the Old Miner’s Path for the entirety of its 500m length before reaching a wider unpaved road.

At this point, I had a decision to go left and continue climbing uphill or go right and descend the unpaved road (which eventually goes back to the Glen Road that I had driven on earlier).

Since I was short on time, I ultimately decided to go right and then down the road for about 500m, but in hindsight, I should have continued going uphill for a more advantageous view without trees getting in the way.

Glenmalure_017_07062024 - Ascending the Old Miner's Path on the way up to elevated views of the Carrawaystick Waterfall
Ascending the Old Miner’s Path on the way up to elevated views of the Carrawaystick Waterfall

Nevertheless, the view that I did get was still satisfactory, and I even managed to see a faint rainbow with the Carrawaystick Waterfall before clouds took over once again.

In addition to the views of the waterfall, I could also clearly see why the zig-zag trail was so-named as it made a zig zag to the right of the Carrawaystick Brook.

Now had I gone further uphill, I could have gone at least another 1km or so to get a more direct and elevated look at the waterfall as I would be getting closer to the Mullacor Hut.

In any case, after having my fill of the Carrawaystick Waterfall from my lower position, I then returned the way I came, which made the total hiking distance about 2.2km round-trip (1.1km in each direction).

Glenmalure_063_07062024 - Following the unpaved road towards elevated views of the Carrawaystick Waterfall after having climbed the part of the Old Miner's Path providing the majority of the elevation gain of this excursion
Following the unpaved road towards elevated views of the Carrawaystick Waterfall after having climbed the part of the Old Miner’s Path providing the majority of the elevation gain of this excursion

That said, had I taken the higher route, I probably would have hiked closer to 2.7km round-trip.

I wound up spending about 40 minutes away from the car, but if I did this properly, it should have taken around an hour or so.

Authorities

The Carrawaystick Waterfall is in the Glenmalure National Forest near the town of Laragh in County Wicklow, Ireland. Although the waterfall itself resides on private land, it can be viewed from public lands across the valley. That land is administered by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM). For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, you can try visiting the Wicklow Tourism website.

Glenmalure_004_07062024 - Looking back towards Laragh and the Glendalough Valley while driving towards the Glenmalure Valley in the early morning after a storm was clearing
Glenmalure_006_07062024 - The Ballinafunshoge car park
Glenmalure_009_07062024 - Looking up at the Old Miner's Path, which was the path I was to take to get an elevated view of the Carrawaystick Waterfall
Glenmalure_012_07062024 - Checking out the small and light-flowing Ballinafunshoge Waterfall
Glenmalure_016_07062024 - Looking back at the context of the Ballinafunshoge car park from the start of the Old Miner's Path
Glenmalure_020_07062024 - On the morning of my hike, it looked like I had to contend with some patchy fog from a clearing storm as I climbed up the Old Miner's Path to earn my elevated view of the Carrawaystick Waterfall
Glenmalure_021_07062024 - Still contending with some fog on the morning of my brief excursion to the Carrawaystick Waterfall, and this was worrisome since I banked on witnessing the waterfall from across the Glenmalure Valley
Glenmalure_022_07062024 - Continuing to ascend the Old Miner's Path as I rose above the first patch of fog on my way to earn my elevated view of the Carrawaystick Waterfall
Glenmalure_024_07062024 - Looking ahead at what appeared to be the next round of patchy fog on the way to earn my elevated view of the Carrawaystick Waterfall
Glenmalure_025_07062024 - Making it up to the unpaved road where I then had to figure out if I was climbing some more or going downhill in an attempt to earn my view of the Carrawaystick Waterfall
Glenmalure_027_07062024 - Starting to see the context of the unpaved road that I had to walk on with a partial view of the Carrawaystick Waterfall through the fog
Glenmalure_028_07062024 - Context of the unpaved road and the Carrawaystick Waterfall in the distance as I was still contending with some fog
Glenmalure_031_07062024 - Looking towards the Carrawaystick Waterfall and the adjacent Zig-Zag Trail
Glenmalure_034_07062024 - The fog starting to clear around the Carrawaystick Waterfall
Glenmalure_039_07062024 - More direct look at the Carrawaystick Waterfall from near my turnaround point
Glenmalure_046_07062024 - Noticing a faint morning rainbow before the Carrawaystick Waterfall and Zig-Zag Trail
Glenmalure_053_07062024 - Portrait look at the Carrawaystick Waterfall from across the Glenmalure Valley
Glenmalure_058_07062024 - Another look at the Carrawaystick Waterfall from as direct of an angle as I could get without the trees getting in the way
Glenmalure_064_07062024 - The next round of fog starting to creep in as I got my last looks at the Carrawaystick Waterfall
Glenmalure_067_07062024 - Back at the top of the Old Miner's Path and its junction with the unpaved road. In hindsight, I should have pursued the path ascending to the right to earn perhaps a more unobstructed and more satisfying view of the Carrawaystick Waterfall
Glenmalure_068_07062024 - Looking back at the top of the Old Miner's Path in the other direction to show the difference between the two trails and what it would look like in the downhill direction as opposed to the uphill direction
Glenmalure_069_07062024 - Descending back down the Old Miner's Path on the way back to the Ballinafunshoge car park
Glenmalure_072_07062024 - Continuing to descend the Old Miner's Path through a wooded area on the way back to the Ballinafunshoge car park
Glenmalure_074_07062024 - Final approach to the clearing by the Ballinafunshoge car park
Glenmalure_076_07062024 - Finally making it back to the Ballinafunshoge car park to end off the brief Carrawaystick Waterfall excursion


The Carrawaystick Waterfall resides in Glenmalure Valley near the town of Laragh.

I’ll describe the most straightforward way of getting to the waterfall from the Dublin Airport since that was where we picked up the rental car and eventually made our way here.

Drive_to_Powerscourt_003_MingSung_07062024 - Taking the M50 toll motorway to go around Dublin and into the Wicklow Mountains
Taking the M50 toll motorway to go around Dublin and into the Wicklow Mountains

From the Dublin Airport, we promptly made our way to the nearest entrance of the M50 Motorway (toll) some 5km from the airport.

This involved going down the R132 Road south for about 500-600m to its junction with the Old Airport Road.

We then turned right onto Old Airport Road and continued for about 850m before taking the 3rd exit at the roundabout to get onto the M50 Ramp.

Once on the M50, we would then follow it for about 35km as the M50 merged with the E01/M11 Motorway.

Drive_to_Glenmalure_021_MingSung_07072024 - Driving the access road between the Glendalough and Glenmalure Valleys
Driving the access road between the Glendalough and Glenmalure Valleys

From there, we went another 7.5km to the exit 8 Roundwood/Kilmacanoge/R755, where we then kept to the far left lane as it became divided from the rest of the motorway.

After another kilometre, we then exited the motorway and followed the R755 Road for about 24km towards the town of Laragh.

Once in town, we then turned left to remain on the R755 Road for another 1.4km before turning right to go onto the road to Glenmalure.

After about 7.6km of going up then down on this access road, we then found ourselves at a four-way intersection within Glenmalure Valley.

Drive_to_Glenmalure_034_MingSung_07072024 - Driving the single-lane The Glen Road towards the Ballinafunshoge car park in Glenmalure Valley
Driving the single-lane The Glen Road towards the Ballinafunshoge car park in Glenmalure Valley

We then turned right onto the single-lane The Glen Road, and followed this road for about 4.3km to the Ballinafunshoge car park on the right.

Note that along The Glen Road, the farm fronting the Carrawaystick Waterfall is on the left, but there’s no legal lay-by or place to pull over for a clean look without trespassing or blocking traffic.

That’s why I advocate for driving all the way to the Ballinafunshoge car park, and then walk the rest of the way to your desired spots.

Overall, this drive should take a little over an hour, but the drive from Laragh to the Ballinafunshoge car park took me about 15-20 minutes.

Glenmalure_077_07062024 - The Ballinafunshoge car park in Glenmalure Valley
The Ballinafunshoge car park in Glenmalure Valley

For context, Laragh is about 26km (over 30 minutes drive) southwest of Enniskerry, about 22km (30 minutes drive) west of Wicklow, about 51km (about 90 minutes drive) southwest of Dublin, 106km (about 90 minutes drive) northeast of Kilkenny, and 101km (about 90 minutes drive) north of Wexford.

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Checking out the Ballinafunshoge Falls in low flow near the trailhead


Checking out a semi-elevated view of the Carrawaystick Falls from a lower road as I was running out of time

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Tagged with: ballinafunshoge, waterfall, glenmalure, valley, old miners path, laragh, leinster



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Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
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