Climbing Croagh Patrick, Ireland's Holy Mountain
Climbing Croagh Patrick takes three to four hours from Murrisk, and the view over Clew Bay repays every step. Route, boots, Reek Sunday and where to stay.
Climbing Croagh Patrick starts in the village of Murrisk on the southern shore of Clew Bay, roughly ten minutes by car west of Westport, and it remains the most famous mountain walk in Ireland. Tradition holds that St Patrick fasted on the summit for forty days, which is why pilgrims have been walking this path for well over a thousand years, long before anyone did it for the view.
What climbing Croagh Patrick involves
Climbing Croagh Patrick means an ascent of 764 metres over a round trip of roughly seven kilometres, which most walkers complete in three to four hours. The pilgrim path leaves the car park at Murrisk beside the statue of St Patrick and rises in three distinct stages. A steady, steep pull brings you to the shoulder of the mountain, a broad ridge then gives your legs a breather, and the final cone rears up ahead of you for the last push to the top. The small chapel on the summit has stood there for over a century, and Mass is still said in it on pilgrimage days. None of it is technical, so no scrambling or head for heights is required, but it is a proper mountain and it deserves proper respect. People underestimate the Reek far more often than they overestimate it.
People underestimate the Reek far more often than they overestimate it.
Pilgrims climbing Croagh Patrick traditionally perform the stations, pausing at Leacht Benáin on the shoulder, circling the summit, and stopping again at Roilig Mhuire on the far side, each with its own prescribed prayers. You will see walkers doing them quietly on any weekend of the year, not just on pilgrimage days, and the mix is part of the mountain's character, hikers in expensive boots overtaking pensioners with rosary beads and both getting the same welcome at the top. Nobody expects a casual walker to observe any of it. Knowing what the piles of stones and the small signs mean makes the climb richer, because this is a working pilgrimage route first and a hillwalk second, and it has been one since before Ireland kept written records.
The path is rocky, and proper boots matter
The path up Croagh Patrick is rough underfoot from the start and becomes loose, sliding scree on the cone, where every second step slips back half a step. Trainers and flat-soled shoes are the single biggest cause of trouble on the mountain, so wear boots with ankle support and a real tread. A walking pole helps far more than most people expect, particularly on the way down, because the descent of the cone is where nearly all the slips happen. Bring water and a warm layer whatever the forecast says, since the summit is often ten degrees colder than Murrisk and the weather coming in off the Atlantic changes fast. The visitor centre at the base has toilets, food and gear, but once you pass the statue there is nothing until you are back down.
Murrisk is ten minutes from Westport, so sleep within sight of the Reek
Before you set off
Croagh Patrick essentials at a glance
The short version of what the mountain asks of you, worth a read the evening before over breakfast plans with your B&B owner.
- 764m summit, roughly 7km round trip from Murrisk
- Three to four hours for most walkers, five with long stops
- Boots with ankle support, the cone is loose scree
- Water, a warm layer and rain gear in every season
- Car park and visitor centre at the trailhead in Murrisk
Reek Sunday on Croagh Patrick, the last Sunday of July
Reek Sunday falls on the last Sunday of July every year, when thousands of pilgrims climb Croagh Patrick in a single morning and Mass is celebrated repeatedly in the summit chapel. Some still make the climb barefoot, as pilgrims have done for generations, and mountain rescue teams line the route to help anyone who gets into difficulty. Whether to avoid it or embrace it depends entirely on what you want from the mountain. If you are after a quiet hill walk with the summit to yourself, pick any other weekend, because the path becomes a slow-moving river of people and parking in Murrisk is a battle from before dawn. If you want to witness one of the oldest living pilgrimages in Europe, there is nothing else in Ireland like it, and joining the climb among farmers, families and barefoot penitents is something you will not forget. Beds around Westport and Murrisk book out months ahead of Reek Sunday, so anyone planning to come for it should contact an owner early in the year.
The view over Clew Bay and its islands
The view from the summit takes in the whole of Clew Bay, scattered with low green drumlin islands that are said to number one for every day of the year. Clare Island guards the mouth of the bay, Achill rises beyond it to the north-west, and the Nephin Beg range rolls away inland behind Newport. On a clear day you can pick out Westport's church spires below you and follow the coast road all the way around the bay. The catch is that the summit spends a lot of its life in cloud, so if the top is clagged in when you wake, ask your host what the day is doing and consider swapping your plans around. Locals read the mountain well, and a morning of low cloud often burns off into a clear afternoon.
Owners around Clew Bay know the mountain and the weather
Browse Clew Bay B&BsWhere to stay, Westport or Murrisk
Westport is the natural base for climbing Croagh Patrick, a ten-minute drive from the trailhead with the best food and traditional music in Mayo waiting for you when you come down. The pubs along Bridge Street fill with sessions most evenings, and after seven kilometres of mountain you will have earned your place at the bar. Staying in Murrisk itself, or in Lecanvey just along the coast road, puts you within walking distance of the path and suits anyone who wants to be on the mountain at first light ahead of the crowds. The B&Bs in Mayo around this corner of Clew Bay are used to walkers, so ask your owner about an early breakfast or a packed lunch when you book, and about somewhere to dry your boots. That is the kind of thing booking direct makes easy.
Westport also carries a trip if the weather turns and the mountain day has to wait. The town was laid out in the 1700s around its tree-lined Mall and the Carrowbeg river, Westport House and its grounds sit at the edge of town, and the harbour out at Westport Quay has restaurants looking across the water towards the Reek. A wet morning of coffee and bookshops followed by a clear afternoon on the mountain is a very Mayo sort of day, and hosts here are well practised at helping visitors reshuffle around the forecast.
Making a Mayo trip of it
Croagh Patrick pairs naturally with a few more days in Mayo, and the legs you use on the mountain recover nicely on a bike. Cycling the Great Western Greenway from Westport to Achill along the old railway line is the obvious next day out, 42 traffic-free kilometres around the north shore of the same bay you admired from the summit. Achill itself deserves a full day for Keem Bay and the cliffs at its western end. Anyone drawn to the pilgrim history can walk a stretch of the Tóchar Phádraig, the old pilgrim road that approaches the Reek from Ballintubber Abbey. If the climb gives you a taste for Irish summits, climbing Carrauntoohil in Kerry, the highest mountain in the country, is the natural step up.
West of Murrisk the coast road carries on to Louisburgh and the beaches around it, with the Silver Strand further out towards Killary Harbour among the finest in the county. Ferries run from Roonagh Pier near Louisburgh to Clare Island, the humped island you studied from the summit, which makes a memorable day trip in settled weather. A rest day spent at sea level looking back up at the mountain you climbed is its own kind of satisfying.
When to climb Croagh Patrick
May, June and September are the best months for climbing the Reek, with long daylight, firmer ground and fewer people than the height of summer. July and August work well too if you start early, ideally on the path by eight, which beats both the crowds and the heat of the middle of the day. Winter ascents are for experienced, properly equipped walkers only, because ice on the cone turns an honest slog into something genuinely dangerous. Midweek is always quieter than the weekend in any month.
Whatever the season, treat the forecast as a suggestion rather than a promise, since the mountain makes a good deal of its own weather. In high summer the west of Ireland holds daylight past ten at night, which opens the option of a late afternoon start and a summit in the evening light, when the crowds have gone home and Clew Bay turns gold beneath you. Check the forecast the night before with your host, carry a head torch on any late start, and give the cone more time on the way down than you think it needs. Climbing Croagh Patrick rewards whoever gives it a clear morning, decent boots and enough time, and with a good Mayo breakfast inside you and a bed in Westport waiting, it is one of the finest days out in Ireland.
Frequently asked
Climbing Croagh Patrick, common questions
How long does it take to climb Croagh Patrick?
Most walkers take three to four hours for the round trip from Murrisk, roughly two hours up and ninety minutes back down. Fit hillwalkers do it faster, while anyone taking photographs or pausing at the stations should allow closer to five hours on a busy day.
How hard is the climb?
It is a strenuous hill walk rather than a technical climb. The first two thirds are a steady, steep pull to the ridge, and the final cone is hard work because the scree slides underfoot. Anyone of reasonable fitness who takes it slowly will get up, but it is tougher than most first-timers expect.
Do you need hiking boots for Croagh Patrick?
Yes. The loose rock on the cone punishes trainers and flat-soled shoes, and most slips happen on the descent. Boots with ankle support and a decent tread make the difference, and a walking pole or two helps more than people admit.
What is Reek Sunday?
Reek Sunday is the annual pilgrimage on the last Sunday of July, when thousands of pilgrims climb the mountain, some of them barefoot, and Mass is celebrated in the summit chapel through the morning. It is the busiest day of the year on the mountain by a distance.
Where do you park for the climb?
The main car park is in Murrisk, directly across from the start of the pilgrim path and beside the visitor centre. It fills early on fine summer weekends, so arrive before nine or come midweek. Murrisk is roughly ten minutes by car from Westport.
Can children climb Croagh Patrick?
Plenty of families climb it, and children from around eight up who walk regularly manage well. The scree cone is the deciding stretch, so many families with younger kids climb to the shoulder for the Clew Bay view and turn back there, which is still a fine walk.
Mayo, no fees
Find your Mayo B&B, book direct
Beds in Westport, Murrisk and around Clew Bay, with owners who know the mountain, the weather and where the music is. No platform fee, no middleman.