Conor Pass Waterfall

Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland

About Conor Pass Waterfall


Hiking Distance: roadside
Suggested Time:

Date first visited: 2024-07-11
Date last visited: 2024-07-11

Waterfall Latitude: 52.187
Waterfall Longitude: -10.18986

Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Conor Pass Waterfall is by itself not a very remarkable, but you don’t need to work for it physically as it’s right by the car park for it.

It’s why I consider this waterfall to be more of an excuse to explore the popular Conor Pass (An Chonair in Irish Gaelic) on the Dingle Peninsula.

O_Connors_Pass_028_07112024 - The Conor Pass Waterfall
The Conor Pass Waterfall

In addition to the roadside panoramas you get from the established Conor Pass area, exploring the nearby waterfall also provides additional panoramas as well as glacial lakes.

One of these lakes is the Lough Doon (Pedlar’s Lake), which is surrounded on three sides by granite walls as well as being the source of the flow of the Conor Pass Waterfall.

In any case, driving up to the Conor Pass and the Conor Pass Waterfall (1.5km to the east of the pass) is an exercise in patience.

That’s because this part of the Wild Atlantic Way is both well-traveled as well as precariously single-lane while hanging on a cliff ledge.

O_Connors_Pass_018_iPhone_07112024 - Panoramic look back down at the car park by the Conor Pass Waterfall with the context of the road leading up to Conor Pass
Panoramic look back down at the car park by the Conor Pass Waterfall with the context of the road leading up to Conor Pass

Once at the car park for the waterfall (see directions below), you’ll see that the waterfall is just right there.

However, to linger a bit longer, you have the option of scrambling up the granite slopes and boulders (you’ll likely see other people doing this).

The reward for doing this is to see some of the upper cascades of the waterfall as well as the source of the waterfall at Lough Doon (also called Pedlar’s Lake).

This scramble took me less than 15 minutes in each direction, but I did have to be careful as the surface was slippery in parts.

O_Connors_Pass_014_iPhone_07112024 - Broad look towards Lough Doon (Pedlar's Lake), which was the source of the Conor Pass Waterfall after ascending an informal scramble up above the waterfall
Broad look towards Lough Doon (Pedlar’s Lake), which was the source of the Conor Pass Waterfall after ascending an informal scramble up above the waterfall

So good shoes and dry weather are recommended for attempting this, especially when you consider that this is not an official trail.

Overall, I spent about 35 minutes away from the car, but the optional Pedlar’s Lake took most of that time.

Authorities

The Conor Pass Waterfall is near the town of Dingle in County Kerry, Ireland. It is administered by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, you can try visiting the Dingle Peninsula Tourism website.

O_Connors_Pass_010_07112024 - The lay-by next to the Conor Pass Waterfall
O_Connors_Pass_003_07112024 - First look at the modestly-sized Conor Pass Waterfall
O_Connors_Pass_012_07112024 - Context of the car park or lay-by and the Conor Pass Waterfall
O_Connors_Pass_013_07112024 - Looking down at some lakes off the north side beneath the Conor Pass Waterfall
O_Connors_Pass_023_07112024 - Another contextual look at the Conor Pass Waterfall with some parked cars and road traffic on the narrow one-lane road leading up to the Conor Pass
O_Connors_Pass_003_iPhone_07112024 - Focused look at the Conor Pass Waterfall
O_Connors_Pass_032_07112024 - Looking down at the context of the car park or lay-by and the Conor Pass Waterfall on my scramble up to Lough Doon
O_Connors_Pass_033_07112024 - Checking out some upper cascades around a jumble of boulders upstream of the Conor Pass Waterfall
O_Connors_Pass_040_07112024 - Portrait look at one of the upper parts of the Conor Pass Waterfall seen on the scramble up to Lough Doon
O_Connors_Pass_046_07112024 - Broad look across one of the upper tiers of the Conor Pass Waterfall on the scramble up to Lough Doon
O_Connors_Pass_048_07112024 - Looking back down at the R560 Road from higher up the scramble towards Lough Doon
O_Connors_Pass_050_07112024 - Checking out more of the uppermost parts of the cascade upstream of the Conor Pass Waterfall
O_Connors_Pass_055_07112024 - Finally making it up to the Lough Doon (also known as Pedlar's Lake or Peddler's Lake)
O_Connors_Pass_060_07112024 - More direct look across Lough Doon backed by some impressive peaks
O_Connors_Pass_063_07112024 - Looking down at the narrow R560 Road in the direction of Conor Pass as seen from around Lough Doon
O_Connors_Pass_073_07112024 - Looking down in the other direction at the Conor Pass Waterfall and road bridge with lay-by as seen from around Lough Doon
O_Connors_Pass_087_07112024 - Scrambling back down the jumble of boulders after having had my fill of Lough Doon
O_Connors_Pass_091_07112024 - Making it back down to the R560 Road and lay-by right in front of the Conor Pass Waterfall
Drive_to_Dingle_105_MingSung_07112024 - After having had my fill of checking out the Conor Pass Waterfall, we then drove up to Conor Pass via this narrow and cliff-hugging road
Drive_to_Dingle_107_MingSung_07112024 - Continuing towards the Conor Pass via this narrow and cliff-hugging road
O_Connors_Pass_092_07112024 - Looking way down towards Dingle as seen from Conor Pass
O_Connors_Pass_098_07112024 - Looking down towards some small lakes from the lookout at Conor Pass
Drive_to_Dingle_111_MingSung_07112024 - After having had our fill of Conor Pass, we then made our way down to Dingle


The Conor Pass Waterfall resides close to the town of Dingle.

The quickest way to get to the waterfall would be to route to Dingle, and then drive up the R560 Road to Conor Pass for about 7km before continuing another 1.4km to the lay-by in front of the Conor Pass Waterfall.

Drive_to_Dingle_076_MingSung_07112024 - Following the Wild Atlantic Way towards Conor Pass via the R560 Road
Following the Wild Atlantic Way towards Conor Pass via the R560 Road

This drive should take roughly 15 minutes or so (though it could be longer depending on how often and for how long you stop).

However, we actually drove up from Killarney though we had to fight the GPS, which always wanted to take us on some sketchy roads.

So I’ll describe how we should have driven to the Conor Pass Waterfall via the Wild Atlantic Way from Tralee (about 32km north of Killarney via the N22 Road).

From where the N70 and N86 intersect in Tralee, we’d follow the N86 west as it went towards Tonavane Cross and onto the Wild Atlantic Way (WAW).

Drive_to_Dingle_096_MingSung_07112024 - Approaching the lay-by next to Conor Pass Waterfall as we followed the Wild Atlantic Way towards both Conor Pass and ultimately Dingle
Approaching the lay-by next to Conor Pass Waterfall as we followed the Wild Atlantic Way towards both Conor Pass and ultimately Dingle

We’d pretty much follow the N86 for about 15km before keeping right to go onto the R560 towards Conor Pass.

After another 15km, we’d eventually reach the lay-by right in front of the Conor Pass Waterfall.

Overall, this drive would take between 30-60 minutes depending on the number of stops as well as slower drivers along the way.

Again, keep in mind that Conor Pass is another 1.4km west of the lay-by for the Conor Pass Waterfall, and it traverses a single-lane stretch that essentially hugs a cliff ledge.

Drive_to_Dingle_101_MingSung_07112024 - Going up the very narrow and cliff-hugging stretch between the Conor Pass Waterfall and the Conor Pass itself
Going up the very narrow and cliff-hugging stretch between the Conor Pass Waterfall and the Conor Pass itself

So I’d imagine this road can be subject to congestion as well as the odd closure if something happens to the road.

For context, Dingle is about 48km (under an hour drive) west of Tralee, about 64km (over an hour drive) northwest of Killarney, 105km (over 90 minutes drive) northwest of Kenmare, 150km (over 2 hours drive) northwest of Cork, about 149km (about 2 hours drive) southwest of Limerick, and 341km (about 4 hours drive) southwest of Dublin.

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360 degree sweep from the car park in front of the waterfall while also soaking in the views of the valley on the east side of O'Connors Pass


360 degree sweep with an upper tier of the O'Connors Pass Waterfall with some surrounding scenery


360 degree sweep from Lough Doon showing a panorama of the east side of O'Connors Pass while also showing a small bit of the tier of the waterfall nearest to the car park

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Tagged with: an chonair, conor pass, dingle, kerry, ireland, munster



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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

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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