Tollymore Forest Park

Hmm … so difficult to give a rating as it depends on what I’m reviewing, so here goes.
Positive - the forest was amazing! Great trails, lovely scenery and clear signage. An absolute delight.
Could be better … we stayed at the Tollymore Camp Site. Great location but, facilities etc were disappointing. We use a lot of sites and were quite surprised. Access to water and electric were good, pitches were good, location was great.
However - the toilets, particularly the gents were poor. There was a lot of flouting of guidelines / rules with respect to noise, loud music, car usage and late driving / ball games near caravans/ motorhomes and this didn’t seem to be policed. There were also so many cars everywhere with most people having at least two and up to 4 cars. The real pinnacle was at the chemical disposal point where there was a heap of 💩 and toilet paper on the grid over the disposal.
Such a shame as we loved the forest park and it was an amazing location. Just needs a bit of TLC and more ‘policing’.

We LOVED our walk through this beautiful park. We went primarily to explore the Game of Thrones filming locations, which were really cool (though you have to know what you're looking for as there are no markers or indicators), but we ended up truly relishing in the beauty of the park. The walk of the Game of Thrones sites was about 2 miles in total (with a few photo stops along the way). I would highly recommend this park even if you're a GOT fan or not.

This place is simply magic. You can go and spend the day with family by lounging on the many grassy areas. You have BBQ areas, wooden benches, Riverside areas. There is normally is food and drinks truck supplying various but bring a lunch, flask etc to keep you going for the day. There are several designated walking routes to suit ages and abilities. The River Walk is just under 6Km which was ideal for the family and you can stop off and enjoy the water and waterfalls. I've also booked a pitch with electric power point for overnight stay in the park which was excellent. You need to book in peak and busy times but worth the visit, great place.

Beautiful area of County Down with easy hiking, old forest and scenic walks around the Shimna River. My wife and I spent a little over an hour hiking around and taking pictures of old bridges and some ruins. An unfortunate storm had made several of the longer trails inaccessible but what we saw was great. Plenty of parking too!

Having visited this area many times in the past, I took a friend who had never been before. It was a hot, sunny day and we were looking forward to a pleasant walk under the trees. Having paid for admission and been duly given a site map, we selected the River walk, however, within a few minutes we began to encounter blocks on this path and diversion signs. It became clear that there were several places where erosion had taken place and paths were having to be restored. As a result, we had to find a different way back and ended up getting lost. What was intended to be a refreshing walk under the trees turned out to be an exhausting experience leaving us hot and disappointed. What we could not understand was that we had been given our copy of the map on entrance without any comments to warn us that at least one of the walks was no longer possible. Had this happened we could have planned a different walk and had a more enjoyable experience. Having returned to the car park at last, we looked forward to having a cool drink or ice cream under one of the trees and so approached a van which was advertising refreshments with a very large replica of an ice cream cone nearby - however, even though the van was open, we were unable to find anyone to serve us. Some nearby workmen informed us that they 'had been there', however after waiting for some time, we were forced to leave without anything, and eventually managed to find some refreshment in Dundrum on the way home. The car park was well filled and it was incredible to see such a lack of facilities at such a famous site.

Really pleasant afternoon walk by the river with the kids. We took the 5k walk and it wasnt crowded and parking fees are currently suspended. Felt like being in Scotland with the tall pines and mountain backdrop

Was a lovely day, weather was very warm and we enjoyed a lovely walk and ice-cream, you can choose from a few different length walks so there is some for the beginners and others for the more experienced walkers. There is not many rest places on the longer walks for be warned if you choose this you will have to sit on the ground if you want to rest. We were lucky enough to find a few tree stumps that had been cut to make a seating area and table to enjoy our lunch in the shade. These is some viewing spots to locate on your walk that provide some nice photo opportunity's. If you go on a very warm day you can take a dip in the river that flows through the forest. All in all is was a love day out.

Tollymore Forest is a lovely place to visit, you can decide if you want to do a long 7-8 mile walk or the much shorter lovely routes. Sneakers are suitable for the mountain trail. Lots of picnic tables.
£5 entry fee.

On a fine morning we visited this ancient estate and walked about three miles on a suggested walk which took us through wooded landscape following the river uphill towards the Mourne mountains. The river was in spate, the trees in their autumn colours, the pathways easy to walk with firm surface. Our five year old grandson was fascinated by all he saw and all ffiur of us revelled in a beautiful, peaceful and memorable stroll which delighted our senses.

This review is more about the caravan site than the forrest which is always amazing to visit.

I stay here a lot as i love the place but i do feel the need to mention some things on here regarding the campsite. Since the council have taken over the site i have noticed changes in the cleanliness massively.

When i was here in december the shower block and toilets definately were not cleaned properly once during my visit. I left a few bits behind to see if it was to be cleaned prior to coming here in december and my surprise at coming across these items disgusted me. The toilets havent been cleaned once this week and are disgusting and totally unhygienic. The showers are filthy. The sluice on the bottom ring of the site hasnt been cleaned in dear knows how long and is absolutely disgusting. Some bright spark has decided to put a grill over the hole which then stops all toilet paper and waste (💩) getting down i was actually sick emptying my toilet waste as i had to look at someones waste in front of me 🤢🤢. These issues really need addressed. Before the council took over the site the forrest staff kept them as clean as they could there wasnt an issue. The cleanest toilet up there is the one i cleaned before i used it!