Muckross House & Traditional Farm
Spend some time pottering around the beautiful Muckross House, restaurant and traditional farm.
The farm has a petting zoo & play area so is a good option with younger children. There are also plenty of pathways that are buggy friendly if you fancy a walk.
Entrance Fee applies to Muckross House and the traditional farms – but the grounds around Muckross House are free and also parking is free.
While a dry or sunny day is the best time to visit to experience all that’s on offer here, it’s also a good option on a rainy day (ie a tour of Muckross House and the traditional farms which have some shelter too).
Make sure to keep an eye on the their social media for upcoming camps, workshops and events. See Me & The Moon for details for upcoming art and crafts events. Seasonal events at Easter, Halloween and Christmas.
Getting here: Large on site car park for anyone driving. You can also get here from town through the park. A walk with children is doable but would not be for the faint hearted! But it would make a lovely cycle (predominantly off road through the park). You can also get here by jaunting car.
We come regularly just to go for a walk. So much space for kids to run around with coffee, food, bathrooms etc all close by.
My ExperienceÂ
Summer 2022: We visit here regularly but I think my favourite trip was with our then 3 and 1 year old in July 2022. We drove out early during the heat wave and parked up in the car park. Walked out to Muckross Abbey (the walk is buggy friendly the Abbey itself is not) and then back to play in the green area around Muckross House. Warning: Some steep climbs up winding stairs in the Abbey. We then took a small boat from the boathouse (Dundag) at Muckross House (left buggy on the pier) to sail over the lake to Dinis Cottage. Kids loved this. Spent some time there at the BBQ, kids play area and trad session. Then back for lunch in Muckross House cafe. We finished off the day back in Killarney with an hour at Birds Amusements (who are in Killarney every year for the month of July).
Summer 2024: We finally got around to visiting the traditional farms on a warm, dry overcast day in August with a 5 & 3 year old. It’s a 2km loop walk with lovely little cottages throughout that you can look around. ‘Residents’ are in situ to give some information on life in Ireland at the time those types of dwellings were lived in. The cottages are very realistic, smoke filled  and furnished in keeping with the time with chickens roaming around. There’s also a school house towards the end of the loop that had a live trad band playing the day we were there. We watched a blacksmith making tools. Think my husband would have happily watched him all day. Saw another lady making butter. There’s a little toddler play area (with little trikes) half way around alongside a small petting zoo. Plus there’s another really good playground towards the end of the loop. We ate in the cafe at Muckross House and went for a walk around the grounds too. A great day out.