Fancy a fun day out that gets everyone off their screens and outdoors? A trip to a maze is a brilliant way to spend a few hours as a family — part adventure, part puzzle, and always good for a laugh when someone ends up back where they started. Ireland has a great spread of mazes to choose from, from grand hedge mazes on historic estates to indoor puzzle rooms that test teamwork rather than direction.
Here’s our round-up of some of the best mazes in Ireland to puzzle your way in and out of.
As with all attractions and venues, please check before travelling for the latest opening hours, details and availability.
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Mazes in Ireland
Russborough House, Blessington, Wicklow
Russborough House is home to an amazing 2,000m beech hedge maze. A statue of Cupid stands at the centre of the maze to help you puzzle your way in — but will you find your way back out again?
If you fancy attempting the Russborough House & Park maze, make sure you get a token and map at reception, and bring your mobile phone with you just in case you lose your way.
Maze tokens are available from reception as part of an Outdoor Family Ticket, or sold separately.
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Boda Borg at Lough Key, Roscommon
Not a maze in the traditional sense, but a series of indoor puzzle rooms you have to work your way out of to earn a stamp for your team. Boda Borg is made up of 20 puzzles, each one consisting of between 2 and 5 rooms.
There are no instructions, and teams of 3 to 5 people have to work together to figure out how to move onto the next room. It’s an adrenalin-fuelled adventure for all the family!
Read here what one family thought of their trip to Boda Borg.
Doneraile Wildlife Park, Cork
Doneraile Wildlife Park is free to enter and a lovely spot for a family walk. There are marked walking trails, and you’re sure to spot deer and other wildlife along the way. Next to the house, there’s a low-level garden maze to enjoy.
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The Kildare Maze
The Kildare Maze in Naas offers a choice of two maze experiences: a hedge maze and a wooden maze. At the centre of the hedge maze there’s a viewing tower, so you can plan your exit route!
Other on-site attractions for families include crazy golf, a pets corner, an adventure trail and zip wires, with picnic benches and play units suitable for younger children.
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Greenan Maze, Wicklow
Greenan in Wicklow has two mazes to choose from. The Celtic maze spans half an acre and stands 7 feet tall. It’s a tricky puzzle maze, with a stream flowing through it that leads you to a pond in the middle. There’s a viewing tower overlooking the maze where you can get your bearings, or simply watch the action below!
Set within a stone circle, the Solstice maze is a gentler pathway suitable for all ages. It’s a relaxing maze with 21 outer stones and 4 larger standing stones representing the seasons.
Greenan also has nature trails, animals and a farm museum for you and your family to enjoy, along with a tea room for refreshments.
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The Peace Maze, Castlewellan, NI
The Peace Maze is the centrepiece of Castlewellan Forest Park, covering over 3 acres and made up of 6,000 yew trees with almost 3 miles of pathways.
The design was based on ideas from thousands of children who submitted design suggestions when the maze was first commissioned. At the centre of the maze is a bell that you ring once you’ve puzzled your way in.
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Dunbrody Castle, Wexford
Dunbrody Castle sits next to Dunbrody Abbey in Wexford. On the castle site, there’s a visitor centre with tea rooms, craft shops, pitch and putt, and an intricate yew hedge maze.
Created from around 1,500 yew trees, the maze has gravel paths and a large stone plinth at the centre. As one of the few large-scale mazes in Ireland, it may take a while to puzzle your way in and out!
The Maze of Ireland, Rathwood
This really is an amazing maze! The Maze of Ireland has been planted in the shape of Ireland, so you can puzzle your way through all 32 counties in one go.
It doubles up as an outdoor geography lesson — each county has a plaque with the name of its main town and the river that runs through it.
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Smugglers Cove Maze, Cork
Smugglers Cove in Rosscarbery, Cork has two mazes to choose from: a clever wooden maze with towers, bridges, dead-ends and confusing turns, and an impressive maize maze — Ireland’s largest corn maze.
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Leahy’s Open Farm, Cork
Set on one acre, Dun’s Mystery Maze at Leahy’s Open Farm in Cork stands at approximately 4ft tall, making it perfect for kids of all ages to puzzle their way through.
There’s a viewing stand overlooking the maze, but the real challenge is getting around it without peeking first. Interestingly, kids tend to find their way through quicker than adults!
Aistear Park Maze, Mountshannon, Clare
A visit to the Aistear Park Maze in Mountshannon takes you on a journey through time. The park covers more than 4 acres and has in excess of 3,000 trees. It’s a fun, peaceful and safe place to visit with kids. The maze sits within the play area and incorporates seven spaces, each displaying artefacts and relics reflecting the beliefs of the past — making it a fascinating heritage walk for all ages.
The Crystal Maze, Meath
The Crystal Maze features a series of 100+ physical, mental, skills and teamwork challenges to solve as you make your way around a vast hedge maze, competing to win crystals along the way.
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Carnfunnock Maze, Antrim
Carnfunnock Country Park in Larne, Co Antrim is home to a large hedge maze where families and children can puzzle their way around with specially designed educational worksheets. You can download the sheets in advance of your visit and take part in fun activities covering maths, English and the arts.
The maze was created as the result of a Design a Maze competition and is shaped like Northern Ireland. It’s made up of seven spaces — one for each of the six counties of Northern Ireland, plus a seventh to represent Lough Neagh. Planted from 1,500 hornbeam hedge plants, you’ll have to navigate dead-ends and numerous paths to find your way into each space.
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The Celtic Maze & Wildflower Meadow at Ballymaloe Cookery School, Cork
Visitors to the Ballymaloe Cookery School in Cork can enjoy a trip around the impressive Celtic maze, which covers just over an acre. It’s a genuine puzzle, with dead-ends and clever pathways, and truly Celtic in design.
Visitors can collect a kids’ trail map from the farm shop before entering, with questions and tasks for children to follow as they make their way around. Afterwards, take a ramble through the wildflower garden to look for butterflies, insects and other wildlife that thrive among the flowers.
Iveagh Gardens, Dublin
The Iveagh Gardens, right in the heart of Dublin city centre, are home to a small maze with a sundial at the centre — perfect to explore on your next visit, or during a lunch break in town.
Visitors can also enjoy the rose garden and take in the cascade, pictured above. An oasis of calm in the busy city centre, the Iveagh Gardens are open year-round and free to visit, except on dates when ticketed events are taking place.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Are mazes in Ireland suitable for young children?
Many of the mazes on this list are family-friendly, with lower hedges, wider paths or gentler pathway mazes (like the Solstice maze at Greenan) that suit younger children. Taller, more complex hedge mazes such as Russborough House or Dunbrody Castle are usually more of a challenge and better suited to older kids and adults. It’s worth checking with the venue directly if you have very young children in the group.
Do I need to book in advance to visit a maze?
This varies by venue — some mazes are included in a general park or attraction ticket, while others, like Russborough House, use a separate token system. Booking policies and opening times can change, so it’s always best to check directly with the venue before you travel.
What should we bring with us on a maze visit?
Comfortable shoes are a must, along with a fully charged phone in case anyone needs a hand finding their way out. For outdoor hedge mazes, a light rain jacket is never a bad idea in Ireland!
Are indoor puzzle experiences like Boda Borg similar to mazes?
Not exactly — Boda Borg is a series of physical puzzle rooms rather than a traditional maze, but it offers the same problem-solving, teamwork and sense of achievement that makes maze days out so much fun.
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