Avondale Forest Park Temporay Closure

Coillte announced that Avondale Forest Park will be closed to visitors on weekdays (Monday-Friday) from Monday, 14th March until May of this year to ensure the health and safety of all visitors while construction works are underway on the site.

The park will remain open at weekends and bank holidays during this period.

For Easter weekend, the park will be open to the public on Saturday 16th, Sunday 17th and Bank Holiday Monday 18th April, 2022.

Note that works will be ongoing on Good Friday 15th April, hence the park will be closed on that day.

The highly anticipated next chapter of Avondale House & Forest Park will unfold in early summer 2022 with the opening of ‘Beyond the Trees Avondale’, an exciting new visitor destination in Ireland’s Ancient East following a €16 million development project by Coillte in partnership with Fáilte Ireland and EAK Ireland.

Works are currently ongoing at the forest park to develop:

• A new 38 metre (c12 storey high) wooden viewing tower, offering visitors spectacular 360-degree views of Coillte’s Avondale Forest Park
• A unique 1.2km Tree Top Walkway with breath-taking views of Avondale’s diverse forests
• A Visitor Orientation Hub with a new café and renovated courtyard buildings and walled garden

Deborah Meghan, Stewardship, Risk & Advocacy Director, Coillte said,

“The health and safety of all visitors to Avondale Forest Park is our absolute priority. We’ve done everything we can to keep the park open for as long as possible but as works near completion, the level of construction on site has increased. We regret having to close the park on weekdays from Monday, 14th March, but it is necessary to ensure the safety of all visitors and workers on site. We apologise of any inconvenience caused and remind people that the park will remain open at weekends and public holidays during this period.”

Construction works on site are expected to take up to 10 weeks after which the park is expected to open to the public. People are asked to please adhere to all safety signage on site while works are underway.

Alternative and nearby forest walks are available at Coillte’s Ballygannon Wood, on the Laragh Road just 1km outside Rathdrum, the Avonmore Way and Jubilee Walk in and around Rathdrum.