Most of this list sits in the north of the county, along the Tipperary shore of Lough Derg. Dromineer has the harbour, a swimming beach and a yacht club founded in 1835, and the villages of Terryglass and Portroe are a short drive around the water from it. Above them, the Arra Hills give a 12.4 km loop over Tountinna, and the Lookout car park on the R494 at Portroe is a viewpoint for anyone not walking it.
The mountain water is on the southern and western rims. Bay Lough is a corrie lake in the Knockmealdowns, reached by a short downhill walk from the Vee road above Clogheen and at its best in late May when the rhododendron is out. Lough Curra sits at about 574m under Galtymore, an 8.5 km loop from Glengarra Woods that needs no scrambling, and the Comeraghs hold their own set of corrie lakes further east.
The rivers are the connecting thread. The Suir runs through Clonmel, the Nenagh River passes the five-arch Ballyartella Bridge of about 1720 on the Slí Eala riverwalk, and the Ballyfinboy and Little Brosna both drain north into the Shannon along the Offaly border. Winter suits the Little Brosna callows and their wildfowl; summer suits the lake harbours.
The county's biggest river town, set on the Suir, where Hugh Dubh O'Neill held out against Cromwell for three weeks in 1650.
Ireland's third-largest lake, shared with Clare and Galway, with harbour villages, Holy Island's 6th-century monastery and 160 km of blueways to walk or cycle.
A strenuous 12.4 km circuit above the lake shore between Nenagh and Ballina, though the car park it starts from is a viewpoint in itself.
15 of 15 shown — tap a pin for the place.
Clonmel, tipperary
In 1650 Hugh Dubh O'Neill held Clonmel against Oliver Cromwell for three weeks, inflicting the heaviest losses of Cromwell's Irish campaign before the garrison slipped across the Suir to Waterford. The 14th-century Old St Mary's Church still bears the marks, and a charter of 1608 made the town a free borough.
Clare, clare
Ireland’s third-largest lake spreads across Clare, Tipperary and Galway, ringed by harbour villages like Killaloe, Garrykennedy and Mountshannon. Get out on the water to Holy Island and its 6th-century monastery, or walk and cycle the 68.9 km Lough Derg Way and 160 km of blueways.
Nenagh, tipperary
The Arra Hills rise between Nenagh and Ballina above the shore of Lough Derg. The Arra Mountains Loop is a strenuous 12.4km circuit taking in the Millennium Cross, the Graves of the Leinstermen and the 457m top of Tountinna. If the legs aren't up for six hours, the Lookout car park it starts from is a viewpoint in its own right.
Nenagh, tipperary
Ballyartella Bridge is a five-arch limestone crossing over the Nenagh River, built about 1720 and widened rather than demolished when the Road Act of 1727 raised the standard for road widths. It sits beside a ruined tower house, a working woollen mill and a weir, on the Slí Eala riverwalk five kilometres north-west of Nenagh.
Clogheen, tipperary
Bay Lough is a corrie lake scooped into the Knockmealdown Mountains above Clogheen, reached by a short downhill walk from the car park on the Vee road. It is free, tied to the legend of the witch Petticoat Loose, and at its best in late May when the rhododendron blooms; kayak hire runs on some summer weekends.
Southeast Ireland, waterford
The Comeragh Mountains rise inland from the Waterford coast, offering a rugged landscape of glaciated peaks, dramatic ridges and crystal-clear corrie lakes. Walkers can summit Fauscoum, trek the exposed Knockanaffrin ridge, circle the glacial lakes of Lough Mohra and Coumduala, and visit the ancient Matthewstown Passage Tomb.
Dromineer, tipperary
Dromineer sits where the Nenagh River meets Lough Derg, its harbour overlooked by an ivy-clad medieval tower house. The Lough Derg Yacht Club here, founded in 1835, is reckoned among the oldest yacht clubs in the world, and a new €1.2 million water-sports hub with full wheelchair access is due to open in late 2026. Cafés, a swimming beach and e-bike hire round it out.
Rossadrehid, tipperary
Lough Muskry fills a corrie at 493m in the Galtee Mountains, one of the range's five classic glacial lakes. The walk from Rossadrehid runs 8-9 km through forestry and open moorland to dark water hemmed by sandstone cliffs and the O'Loughnan's Castle outcrop. Folklore ties it to swan-maidens and a serpent St Patrick is said to have chained beneath the lake.
Nenagh, tipperary
Above the village of Portroe, a disused slate quarry has flooded into a deep, sapphire-blue pool that draws scuba divers, while the Lookout on the R494 gives one of the best free views of Lough Derg in north Tipperary. A 20-metre stainless-steel cross crowns Loughtea Hill.
Kilkenny, tipperary
The River Nore runs 140 km from Devil's Bit Mountain through limestone valleys, medieval castle ruins and river towns before joining the Barrow. Anglers fish it for trout and salmon, and a 10 km riverbank trail links Thomastown to Inistioge past the ruins of 13th-century Grennan Castle.
Terryglass, tipperary
Terryglass is a two-time Tidy Towns winner on the north-eastern shore of Lough Derg, better known locally for its two pubs than its monastic past. A monastery founded here in 549 produced the Book of Leinster; today a single fragment of abbey wall, two holy wells and a boating harbour are what is left to see.
Borrisokane, offaly
Cork, cork
Offaly, offaly
Galtee Mountains, tipperary
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