Powerscourt Waterfall
Powerscourt Waterfall
4
9:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Monday
9:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Tuesday
9:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Wednesday
9:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Thursday
9:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Friday
9:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Saturday
9:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Sunday
9:30 AM - 5:30 PM
About
Powerscourt Waterfall is Ireland's highest at 121m (398ft). It is set in North County Wicklow just outside Enniskerry Village. The magnificent Waterfall cascades down over the granite rocks from the peatlands above. The crystal clear water flows down to the river below where it continues on its journey out to sea at Bray. The valley itself was carved out by a glacier during the ice age! Today Powerscourt is a haven for some of Ireland's wildlife, flora and fauna. The Sikka deer were first introduced here by Lord Powerscourt in 1858. The Waterfall is best seen just after heavy rain and the sheer volume of water and noise is certainly a sight to behold. The Waterfall is an ideal location for summer picnics and barbecues. There is a vast amount of space to keep children entertained. There is also a playground for younger children. Don't fret if you forget your picnic as there is a kiosk on site that serves everything from coffee and tea to hot-dogs and ice-cream. The kiosk is open everyday from the 1st June to the end of August and year round at weekends, if weather permits. There is ample car parking and toilet facilities at the waterfall. Dogs are welcome but they must be on a leash. Take time to explore the pathways that meander through the flora and fauna, walk along the woodland pathways and listen to the birdsong.
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
Tours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Top ways to experience Powerscourt Waterfall
See what travellers are saying
  • Sketch27
    33 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Beautiful area but experience RUINED with all the BBQ's etc.
    Waterfall is beautiful and the walks, etc. equally as beautiful. Shame to have the experience ruined by an invasion of people drinking and BBQ-ing all around the area you have to walk through to get to the actual waterfall. Unbelievable, this is allowed in such a scenic area. Wouldn't bother going back if this is the norm and wouldn't recommend it to anyone either. There are plenty of places to BBQ and drink without ruining a lovely area like this. Management, get a grip. They're destroying it. Avondale Forest Tree Top Walk is amazing if anyone is interested.
    Visited May 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 6 May 2024
  • Sharon M
    Windham, New Hampshire653 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    It is a Nice Waterfall - Enjoyable for Us!
    There seem to be a lot of mixed reviews here, but we enjoyed it. We were not there to see any of the BBQ's that people are writing about, however, we did see the firepits for them. The falls are pretty and it really isn't an activity that takes a lot of time. Perhaps people are paying a fee and wanting to hang around for awhile to get their money's worth - We must have been there on a good day, timing may be everything! We stayed at the hotel so it worked for us!
    Visited May 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 10 June 2024
  • F&O Mon
    Ireland79 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Lovely to see
    Lovely to see. Very impressive and a lovely scenic setting. Very reasonable entrance price given all we could do. Nice walks and scenery and a lovely picnic area. Be prepared for insects and midges but you have to expect that where there’s water and peat. Also have good footwear as area around the fall is rocky. All part of the experience. If you expect anything different from nature, stay in your kitchen.
    Visited July 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 12 July 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles1,213 reviews
Excellent
517
Very good
365
Average
190
Poor
73
Terrible
68

danny2013do
Mullingar, Ireland48 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
July 2020
€6.50 per person is a scandalous price to pay just to see a waterfall, have access to some woodland and a stream that for the majority is overcrowded, and lacks much infrastructure. Sure the location is great if you like crowded sites, where folks have plenty of smokey BBQs that I pondered if I was in a forest or the burning man festival. In the lower portion of the park where it’s less crowded, you have access to a woods and a human-made dam that is a botched job of concrete overlay. Sure the waterfall is pretty, the mountains and open space, but it is ridiculously overcrowded to the point I got what it feels like to be in a coffin ship. (This is during the COVID-19 pandemic.) No Social distancing set in place. Max outdoor is 200 odd people, here there was over 2000. Regardless, I can imagine it being a popular location outside of this. Plus, the entrance to the site is narrow and has a ridiculous backup, that could be sorted by widening the entrance gate. Overall, the location is nice, but I don’t get how they charge people €6.50 for a natural outdoor attraction. People happily pay for it. I thought the cliffs of Moher were bad, but at least they charge by the car and not person, and it grants you access to the entire site, unlike Powerscourt Estate. If you want value for money head to Blarney Castle, parking is free, but you get access to a castle as well as the gardens for a fraction of the price.
Written 6 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

rita
2 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
June 2021 • Family
Everything was great, views were lovely. Really did enjoy the day here with my family. I had decided to buy ice cream for my family at the cafe, the line was moving slowly and it took a while to wait for ice cream, when my number was called I couldn’t hear it properly because everyone was obviously talking but i heard it the second time and when I got to the lady who was giving me what I bought she started talking bad about me right in front of me?!!!, shouting at me saying I was holding up the entire line and how I was slow when I literally got to her in two seconds. I even apologized but then she started talking bad about me to one of the other workers who clearly didn’t want any part in that, this all happened while I was right in front of her. I was absolutely appalled by her rude attitude. Thought good customer service was supposed to be a thing...
Written 27 June 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Brandon F
Murrieta, CA56 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2019
The waterfall is special, beautiful, tall and majestic but the scenery around you and up to the waterfall is almost as spectacular. I recommend going right after a heavy rain so you can really see the beauty of the fall. Can be quite cold due to it's location tucked back in the mountains.
Written 27 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

RichieIreland
5 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
July 2020 • Family
Booked family entry ticket online, after arriving out to entrance after a queue of cars it was closed as there were too many people in there we were told. A lot of cars turned away. Don't bother booking entry online as we were turned away anyway. Pointless paying online to be turned away. Disappointing for kids. Looking for refund from them out of principle not getting much confidence back from them. After 3 different email addresses.
Written 15 July 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Richie, We no longer take online bookings for the Waterfall and we encouraging visitors to arrive early, especially at peak times at weekends as we ensuring that during these times visitors can adhere to social distancing. Your refund would have gone through in July, please direct message if you want. We regret the experience you had in July at the Waterfall, since your visit we have removed online bookings for the waterfall to avoid any disappointments. Like all outdoor attractions across the country, safety is paramount for us and we are learning during these constantly changing challenging times.
Written 21 August 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Colette S
Cork, Ireland113 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
July 2020
After a leisurely afternoon in Powerscourt House and Gardens, we felt we might as well be thorough and visit Powerscourt Waterfall down the road.

Ireland's tallest waterfall is majestic, beautiful, mesmerising and a peaceful place to while away an evening and get some great photographs. We came on a summer's evening so we seemed to avoid a lot of the crowds mentioned in previous reviews. It does appear to be the perfect place for a romantic picnic or bbq.

We weren't overly impressed with being charged to go in and see a natural feature but I guess the site does need to be maintained and I can't say we didn't have a good time.
Written 19 July 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

gallagher959
Derry, UK21 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
June 2021 • Couples
Our family spent an afternoon near the waterfall where we sat at a picnic table and had our snacks bought in the nearby shop. Several ducks kept us company and in the calm warm sunshine we enjoyed the stunning sights. Loved it!
Written 16 June 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sharon D
Dublin, Ireland15 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2021 • Family
Unreal views,fabulous place to visit but BRING A PICNIC!!!! I’ve never seen a busy tourist place with such a bad set up for food. Unorganised and unfriendly,we waited over 20 mins for ice cream,when we enquired were told the machines busy and needs to cool down,that’s fair enough but could have been told when buying. We had ordered food earlier in the day and again no proper system in place,and left waiting for ages! BYO for sure,and enjoy the stunning views
Written 29 June 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

PaulineAllen
Newry, UK157 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2022
This waterfall is well worth a visit. The shop/cafe is a bit disappointing as there is no where to sit inside if it is cold or wet. There is plenty of space for picnics etc and for children to play and have fun. The waterfall itself is spectacular and very unspoiled.
Written 18 January 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Harley-blu D
1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2022 • Family
Paid a family ticket today of €16.
As we drove in near the parking area , we contacted our friends who we were due to meet and were told we were ment to be at the gardens. We did a loop and drove straight back down and explained the situation to the man. As we paid cash we thought we could just get a simple refund. He refused to give us a refund on what was a 2 minute loop of the car park. Completely disgusting
Written 2 January 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Rom.F
London, UK106 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2022 • Couples
I don’t understand why this place has an entrance fee just to see the falls, possibly it gets crowded during summer days but it’s nature why an entrance fee? Mother Nature gave it for free. Anyway the restaurant here is great and good quality and toilets are clean. The place is clean too. There are rubbish bins everywhere so please don’t throw your rubbish anywhere. Amazing place, serene and there is a good parking space too.
Written 22 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

…
Showing results 1-10 of 1,063
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing

Powerscourt Waterfall - All You MUST Know Before You Go (2024)

All Enniskerry HotelsEnniskerry Hotel DealsLast Minute Hotels in Enniskerry
All things to do in Enniskerry
RestaurantsFlightsTravel StoriesCruisesRental Cars