At 532 metres, Moylussa is the highest point in Co. Clare and a great hike for those of all fitness levels. The hike takes approximately 3 – 5 hours to complete.

Start/End

There are different options depending on the route you choose. We parked the car in Ballycuggaran Forest car park and completed the hike from there. The car park is free. No facilities available here.

What do I need?

This hike brings you along a trail before hitting a boardwalk to the end. You will definitely need some good hiking boots/shoes, water, snacks and wind proof gear for the top.

Route

Route map in car park.

From the car park, follow the red arrow. This route follows a trail and is very well signposted.

Follow the red arrows.

Continue until the red arrow points you downhill but the yellow arrow continues upwards. At this point you need to follow the yellow arrow. This is the junction;

Red goes right and downhill. You need to follow the yellow arrow and continue on from here.

From here, you continue until you see the handmade signs for Moylussa. At this stage, stop following the yellow and just go with the signs.

The hike gets tough just after this sign.

After the second sign, prepare yourself. There is a couple hundred metres of serious ascent. It is tough going (or it was for us) but it is a short distance and the views are spectacular.

This picture does the view no justice.

Once you reach the top of that section, you will see the boardwalk which brings you to the top. The boardwalk is over bog so fairly unspectacular.

Boardwalk.
Pillar stone at the top!

It took us almost exactly 1 1/2 hours to make it up. We weren’t racing up but we weren’t going slow either so 2 hours is a good time to allow. We took the exact same path back but you could return and follow the red route downhill and back to the car park. I believe that following the red route will bring you out at the main road and you have to walk back up the the forest car park. We took 10 minutes for snacks and arrived back at the car at 4pm, 3 hours after we left.

Lucky enough to catch this rainbow on the way back. Great views over Lough Derg.

This hike is for everyone, regardless of fitness level. It is a really good path all the way and there are plenty of opportunities to stop for breaks. There is only one tough section but just going at your own pace will get you through it. We saw loads of people out on mountain bikes so that is an option also. It’s a perfect weekend hike and nice to get a county top in!