Closure of Avondale Forest Park to Facilitate Works

Friday, 6th May 2022: Coillte has today announced that Avondale Forest Park will be closed to visitors from Monday 9th May until mid-June of this year to ensure the health and safety of all visitors while construction works are underway on the site.  The closure is required to facilitate necessary works as the Forest Park approaches its opening date.

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 (c10 storey high) wooden viewing tower, offering visitors spectacular 360-degree views of Coillte’s Avondale Forest Park
• A unique 1.2km Treetop Walk with breath-taking views of Avondale’s diverse forests
• A Visitor Centre  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, and as the forest park approaches its opening date, the level of construction on site has increased. We regret having to close the park but it is necessary to ensure the safety of all visitors and workers on site. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused and kindly ask people to refrain from visiting the forest park until its opening next month.”

Construction works on site are expected to continue into June after which the park is expected to open to the public. People are politely asked not to visit the park while works are underway, to respect all closure notices and not seek out alternative access points into the park.

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.