About O’Sullivan’s Cascade
O’Sullivan’s Cascade is a modestly-sized waterfall tumbling into the western shores of Lough Leane (on the opposite side of the lake to the bustling Killarney).
The waterfall resides in the forested Tomies Wood, which recently re-opened in December 2020 and is one of Ireland’s oldest oak forests.
The woodland resides within the boundaries of Killarney National Park, but it feels more like a more understated and serene waterfall excursion, especially when you compare it to Torc Waterfall.
In fact, I’d argue that this relative tranquility is the main appeal of the O’Sullivan’s Cascade, especially when you consider that you have to hike to earn your sighting of this waterfall.
That said, the hiking involved to access O’Sullivan’s Cascade also includes teasing glimpses of Lough Leane as well as accessing its shores further downstream of the waterfall itself.
Speaking of the waterfall, it’s said to be only 20ft tall, but I’d say maybe about 33ft (10m) in cumulative height is probably more accurate since it does have quite a bit of run in its overall descent.
As for accessing the falls, I had the option of doing a 6km loop trail or a more straightforward 4.4km round-trip out-and-back hike (according to my GPS logs).
The longer loop hike encompassed both the so-called high road and low road portions of the Tomies Wood, while the out-and-back hike stayed on the low road portion.
For the record, I ended up doing the shorter out-and-back option, and that’s what I’ll describe in the trail description next.
O’Sullivan’s Cascade Trail Description
From the Tomies Wood car park (it opens from 08:00 to 18:00 daily; see directions below), I went past the vehicle barricade and followed a fairly wide and established path.
I kept right at the initial fork (the path on the left was a false path), then I continued another 250m to a signed trail fork, where I then kept left to stay on the so-called “low road”.
From there, I continued about another 1.5km on a gently ascending path passing between the old oaks as well as some shrubs while obscuring teasing glimpses of Lough Leane throughout this portion of the hike.
Eventually, the trail reached another signed junction, where a narrower trail descended more steeply to the left towards the O’Sullivan’s Cascade.
About another 250m along a wooden railing path and down some steps, the trail reached another junction.
From here, the path on the left descended another 50-60m to the shores of Lough Leane while the path on the right followed another 100m along the stream towards the O’Sullivan’s Cascade.
After having my fill of this spot, I went back the way I came in and didn’t continue doing the longer loop so I can’t say what the highlights of doing that would be.
Nevertheless, when all was said and done, I spent about 90 relaxing minutes away from the car encompassing both the lake shore and the waterfall.
Authorities
O’Sullivan’s Cascade is in Killarney National Park near the city of Killarney 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 Killarney National Park website.
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