The beach
Coon Beach is a sand-and-shingle strand on the north-west shore of Lough Dan, a ribbon lake hemmed in by glacial slopes in the Wicklow Mountains – Knocknacloghoge rising directly behind the strand, Luggala (Fancy Mountain) beyond it across the Cloghoge valley. It is freshwater, not sea, so there are no tides and no salt, just dark cold water off a shelving lake bed. The shore and its approaches are private, and the sections below explain why it is not somewhere to plan a day out.
Access
There is no public access to Coon Beach. The routes described elsewhere online cross private farmland and the Luggala Estate, and walking them without the landowner’s permission is trespass. We do not publish directions to the shore.
The wider valley is a designated Special Area of Conservation and Special Protection Area under EU law, and its habitats and breeding birds are sensitive to disturbance. Public access in this part of the Wicklow Mountains is confined to land managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service where access is specifically provided; Wicklow Mountains National Park publishes its trail information for the signed routes.
Posts circulate online from time to time claiming the beach has ‘reopened’. Nothing changes the underlying position: the beach is private, and any access a landowner tolerates for a while is permissive and can be withdrawn at any time.
If you are looking for the view over this landscape, see Lough Tay.
Can you swim at Coon Beach?
No. It is freshwater with no tides, and no law bans lake swimming in Ireland, but the beach and its approaches are private, so there is no legitimate way to get to the water. Wicklow Mountains National Park has water safety advice for mountain lakes and rivers, and swimming in Ireland’s lakes covers the access rules and which Irish lakes are monitored bathing waters.
Wildlife
The oak woods, heather slopes and quiet water hold a fair bit of life. Sika deer graze the hillsides, feral goats work the rockier ground, and peregrine falcons hunt overhead. Along the shoreline you’ll see herons, sandpipers and ducks. The protected status of this ground rests on exactly that: ground-nesting birds and blanket bog do badly with foot traffic, which is much of the reason the land is closed to the public.
Where to go instead
For a lakeside walk, choose the signed trails at Glendalough.
- Glendalough – the monastic valley to the south, with lakes, waymarked trails and a visitor centre, all open to the public.
- Lough Tay – the classic view of this landscape, from the J.B. Malone Memorial in Ballinastoe Woods.
- Lough Bray – twin corrie lakes below Kippure, with a short walk in from the Military Road.
- Lough Ouler – a heart-shaped corrie lake beneath Tonelagee.