“The ocean on one side is wild with foam and glitter, and inland among stones the surface of a slate-grey lake is lit”
Seamus Heaney
History of the Park
Burren National Park was established in 1991 by the state for nature conservation and public access and is Ireland’s fifth National Park. While the Burren itself stretches across approximately 360 square kilometres, the park is located in the southeastern corner of the region and covers around 2,000 hectares.
The park comprises 2–3% of the Burren and contains examples of all its major habitats: limestone pavement, calcareous grassland, hazel scrub, ash/hazel woodland, turloughs, lakes, petrifying springs, cliffs and fen.
Learn more about how you can explore the park through our trails, which are designed to give visitors a sense of the unique landscape, while also protecting nature by deterring footfall in the Burren’s sensitive habitats.