OPW publishes no hours for this unguided site; the Queen Maeve Trail crosses private land by permission of the landowners and is closed for one day each December for essential maintenance. Allow two and a half to three hours for the 6 km loop with 327 m of ascent. OPW warns that care and caution should be kept throughout a visit to its unguided sites.
A strenuous mountain trail: steep and rugged above the kissing gate, well-worn rocky steps slippery when wet, and a boardwalk descent through the forest; bring sturdy boots, fluids, snacks and a phone, expect rapidly changing weather, and in an emergency dial 999 or 112 for Mountain Rescue. The cairn is a sacred burial place: do not climb it. No toilets or facilities. Start early for quiet.
Dogs: Dogs are allowed on a lead and under control outside the lambing season, with no dogs on the mountain from February to April; Sligo Walks also says dogs are not permitted on the sections crossing the open farmland above the wood because of grazing sheep and lambs, which conflicts with its fact box.
Photo: Queen Medb's cairn, a great mound of limestone rubble, on the heather-covered summit of Knocknarea. Jacknow, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Queen_tomb.JPG. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.
