The Cloonee Lakes: Walking Through Kerry's Hidden Heart

Tucked behind the village of Sneem, where the Kerry road dips and rises between heather and stone, three long sheets of water lie folded into the hillside. Locals simply call them the Cloonee Lakes, though old maps reach for grander names like Lough Cloonee Upper, Middle and Lower. For many travellers, particularly those arriving from the other side of the world, the lakes offer something the busier stops on the Ring of Kerry do not: stillness, with a clear path to follow.

Walking here feels unhurried. Wooden planks cross wet bog, gravel tracks thread through sessile oak woodland, and the only traffic noise comes from a distant tractor or a snipe drumming overhead. Australians accustomed to the bushland tracks around Hobart or the coastal cliffs of the Great Ocean Road will recognise the rhythm, yet the air here carries the Atlantic's salt rather than the Southern Ocean's spray, and the woods are old in a different, slower way.

A Valley Between Kenmare and Waterville

The Cloonee Lakes form a chain in a narrow valley that runs roughly northeast to southwest, parallel to the main N70 road but hidden from it by a low ridge. The upper lake is the smallest and most enclosed, ringed by alder and rowan. The middle lake opens into a broad sheet of brown water where little islands of bog-myrtle float in summer. The lower lake, longest of the three, stretches almost two kilometres and runs down toward the Sneem River.

Drainage from the lakes eventually joins the Kenmare River, which meets the sea at Kenmare Bay. Because the catchment sits on Old Red Sandstone, the water is naturally soft and slightly peaty, stained the colour of weak tea after heavy rain. That stain is a sign of healthy upland bog, and trout anglers in Tasmania or New South Wales will recognise it as a marker of clean, acidic waters that favour wild brown trout.

For a walker arriving from Sneem, the valley feels unexpectedly close. The village itself, with its brightly painted bridges over the river, sits only a short drive south, and from there a series of boreens, the local word for narrow country lanes, lead up toward the lakes. Park at the small forestry entrance and the woods begin almost immediately.

Echoes from the Bronze Age

Long before any path was marked, people lived around these waters. Field systems and ringforts cling to the slopes above the middle lake, and the stones of much older structures lie half-buried in the heather. Archaeologists working along the Iveragh Peninsula have found evidence of human activity stretching back more than four thousand years, much of it tied to the lakes, rivers and sheltered valleys that the Skellig Coast still depends upon today.

The valley's name itself, Cloonee, is thought to come from the Irish Cluainí, meaning little meadow or pasture. For early farmers, the lakes would have offered water, fish, and peat for fuel, while the surrounding slopes provided grazing in summer. The modern walking trails follow the same logic: they take the line of least effort between villages and water, threading along old drovers' roads and the edges of long-cleared fields.

A bronze-age settlement site has been recorded on the high ground above the upper lake, and there are hints that the lakes were once connected by a rough trackway linking the Cloonee valley to the broader Kerry blackwater system. Visitors interested in deeper historical context often combine a walk here with a visit to Staigue Fort, the famous stone fort further west along the peninsula, or with a climb up to Derrynanena, an early Christian site associated with Saint Finian.

The Woodland Boardwalk and Beyond

The Cloonee Lakes walk is best known for its wooden boardwalk, a long, gently curving structure that runs along the southern shore of the middle lake. Built by Coillte and the local community, the boardwalk keeps walkers above the wettest ground and lets the bog regenerate on either side. In spring, the surface is busy with returning migrants: sandpipers, common sandpipers and the occasional greenshank. In summer, dragonflies hover over the dark pools at the boardwalk's edge.

Beyond the boardwalk, the trail continues as a rougher gravel and earth path into mixed woodland. Sessile oak dominates, with birch, hazel and holly beneath, and a mossy carpet that feels almost tropical in damp weather. Sydney-based bushwalking clubs who have tackled trails in the Blue Mountains will find the gradient familiar, but the species mix is unmistakably Atlantic European.

There are two main loops. The shorter route, often called the Cloonee Lake Loop, takes in just the middle lake and the boardwalk and runs for about four kilometres. The longer route, sometimes called the Cloonee and Derrycarhoon Loop, climbs a little higher and joins with a second lake system to the south, taking the total distance closer to eight or nine kilometres. Both routes share the same start point at the forestry entrance and use the same boardwalk for their opening stretch.

Trout, Salmon and a Quiet Fishery

The Cloonee Lakes have been fished for generations, mostly for wild brown trout, though sea trout and the occasional Atlantic salmon push in from the lower river. The fishery is small and local, with rods limited and a season that runs from April through to early October, depending on the year. Local tackle shops in Sneem and Kenmare hire rods and sell day tickets, and a handful of ghillies still work the water.

For Australian anglers, the trout here will feel familiar. Wild browns were first introduced to Tasmania in the 1860s from European stock, and Tasmanian rivers like the Tyenna and the Little Tyenna still hold strong populations descended from those same lineages. The Cloonee fish tend to be smaller, often between half a pound and a pound and a half, but they are sleek, hard-fighting and well-conditioned. Fly patterns that work in Tasmanian streams, such as traditional wets, small nymphs and dry attractors like the March Brown, often work here too.

Bank fishing is the rule, with most of the productive water reached by wading along the soft edges or by stepping quietly along the gravel points where streams enter the lake. There is no boat hire on the upper two lakes, and only limited use on the lower one. Anglers are asked to follow catch-and-release practice for salmon and to keep no more than two trout a day on the middle and upper lakes.

Seasons Along the Cloonee Valley

The valley shifts noticeably through the year. Spring brings loud birdsong and a flush of wild garlic along the path edges, while early summer turns the woodland floor blue with bluebells in the better-drained corners. By August, the rowan berries begin to colour and the first migrant swallows gather over the middle lake before heading south.

Autumn is gentler, often the driest stretch of the year and a favourite with photographers looking for low light on still water. Winter brings short days and the chance of snow on the higher slopes, though the lakes themselves rarely freeze. After storms, fallen oak limbs sometimes block the rougher sections of the longer loop, and walkers are wise to check the local trail notice before setting out.

Wildlife watching rewards patient visitors. Otters use the lake edges at dawn, kingfishers flash along the lower river, and hen harriers quarter the bog in late afternoon. Badgers are common in the oak wood, though rarely seen, and fallow deer occasionally wander down from higher ground to drink.

Comparing the Two Main Routes

Feature	Cloonee Lake Loop	Cloonee and Derrycarhoon Loop
Total distance	About 4 km	About 8–9 km
Estimated walking time	1.5 to 2 hours	3 to 4 hours
Terrain	Boardwalk and gravel path, mostly level	Boardwalk, gravel path and one short climb
Best for	Families, casual walkers, photographers	Fit walkers, birdwatchers, longer day
Fishing access	Direct access to middle lake shore	Access to middle and lower lakes
Surface when wet	Stays dry underfoot on boardwalk	Some muddy stretches possible

The shorter loop is a natural choice for visitors based in Sneem or for those spending only a morning on the peninsula. The longer loop suits a full day and rewards walkers who want quieter ground; the higher sections look back over the middle lake and, on clear days, out toward the Caha Mountains across the Kerry-Cork border.

Planning a Visit from the Southern Hemisphere

Reaching the Cloonee Lakes from Australia takes a little planning. Most visitors fly into Dublin or Cork, then transfer by train or hire car to Kerry. The drive from Cork Airport to Sneem runs around two and a half hours, and the road itself passes through some of the country's most photographed scenery. From Dublin, allow closer to four and a half hours, or break the journey with a night in Cork or Killarney.

Travellers from Melbourne or Sydney will find direct services to Dublin during the European summer, the same months when Kerry weather is at its mildest and the bog is least likely to be waterlogged. June and July bring the longest evenings, with sunset well after ten o'clock and good chances of dry walking days. August tends to be busier, with peak-season traffic on the Ring of Kerry, while September offers a quieter feel and good wildlife viewing as migrant birds begin to gather.

Basic kit is enough: sturdy waterproof boots, a light rain jacket, and a small daypack. Sunscreen is rarely needed on the trail itself, but midges can be lively around the lakes in still weather. Several Sneem-based guesthouses and the local information point can supply printed maps, and the Skellig Coast visitor network keeps an updated trail condition notice online.

Walking the Cloonee Lakes is, in the end, a small thing. The path is not dramatic, the views are not sweeping, and the lakes themselves are quiet rather than grand. Yet for travellers used to busier circuits, the valley offers something rare: a few hours of unforced attention, where every step returns a small, layered reward, and where the heart of the Skellig Coast is felt more clearly than from any viewing point. Plan a few nights in Sneem through the Skellig Coast listings, pack the waterproofs, and let the valley do the rest.