Days Out NI
Play Park Gortin

Gortin Glen Play Park

The Sperrins' destination play park — a big frame with a long tunnel slide, in a forest with a giant wooden guardian on the hill above.

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Open daily6.30am–9pm summer, 6.30am–6pm winter
FreeFree parking too
GortinPlay Park
Get directionsOfficial website
1–2 hoursHow long
Toddlers to teensBest for
FreeEntry
FreeParking
OutdoorsSetting

Gortin Glen Play Park — the Sperrins' destination play park, a big-frame playground with a long tunnel slide, in a forest with a giant wooden guardian standing on the mountain above it.

  • What you'll do: A tall multi-activity tower with a long steel tunnel slide coming off it, climbing frames, climbing nets and a climbing wall, swings including pod and nest swings, roundabouts, springers and rockers, an in-ground trampoline and sensory panels.
  • Ages: Toddlers right through to teenagers — that span is rare, and it's why this one earns the drive. The council says much of the equipment is accessible to children with a disability.
  • Cost & parking: Free, and parking at the forest park is free as well.
  • Food & toilets: Café and toilets on site — you're not rationing snacks in a lay-by.
  • When: 6.30am–9pm from 1 April to 30 September, and 6.30am–6pm from 1 October to 31 March.
  • It's part of something much bigger: The council rebuilt Gortin Glen around this — a trim trail, 13km of mountain bike trails, walking and horse trails, and the scenic forest drive.
  • The giant on the hill: Thomas Dambo's Darach the Guardian stands on Mullaghcarn above the forest, reached on the walking trail from here. That's a real mountain climb, not a stroll — brilliant for older kids, too much for little legs.
Plan your visit

A destination play park, and a mountain behind it

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council did not tinker with Gortin Glen. They rebuilt it — a destination play park, a trim trail, 13 kilometres of mountain bike trails and extra parking, all added to a forest that already had a five-mile scenic drive and a network of walking trails through it. The play park is the piece that brings families up the Sperrins road, and it was built to hold their attention rather than fill ten minutes.

The tower is what you see first: a tall green and timber multi-activity frame with a long steel tunnel slide snaking down off it, set on dark surfacing with a pale blue river painted through it, running past the swings and out towards the trees. Around the tower are climbing frames, climbing nets and a climbing wall, roundabouts, springers and rockers, a trampoline set flush into the ground, and pod and nest swings — the kind you can lie back in and watch the tops of the conifers move. Sensory panels cover the children who want something quieter, and the council says much of the equipment is usable by children with a disability.

What lifts this above a very good playground is the range of ages it holds. Most play parks lose a child at about ten. This one has kit that a teenager will still climb, which means a family with a four-year-old and a fourteen-year-old can actually stop in the same place — and when the fourteen-year-old is finished, there are 13km of mountain bike trails and a mountain to walk up.

That mountain is Mullaghcarn, and on top of it stands Darach the Guardian: a giant wooden figure by the Danish artist Thomas Dambo, part of the Sperrins Sculpture Trail, holding a staff and looking out over the whole valley. You reach him on the Mullaghcarn walking trail from this forest park. Be honest with yourself about it — it's a proper hill walk, not a woodland amble. But if you have children old enough for it, finishing a day at the playground by climbing up to meet a giant is a hard day out to beat.

Free Free parking Long tunnel slide Pod & nest swings In-ground trampoline Sensory panels Café & toilets on site 13km mountain bike trails
Where the play park sits:

The playground is right beside the car park and the road that runs through the forest, with fencing between the two — handy for carrying picnic bags, worth a word to the children on the way in. The café and toilets are on site, and the forest drive and walking trails start from the same place.

Before you set off

What to bring

  • 🚲BikesThere are 13km of mountain bike trails here, and a trim trail as well.
  • 🥾Walking bootsIf you're going up Mullaghcarn to see Darach, this is a mountain walk and needs proper footwear.
  • 🧥LayersIt's the Sperrins — the weather comes in and goes out again, and the forest is lovely in all of it.
  • 🥪A picnicThere's a café on site, and picnic spots through the forest if you'd rather be outside.
Good to know

Everything before you go

Cost
Free.
Opening
6.30am to 9pm from 1 April to 30 September, and 6.30am to 6pm from 1 October to 31 March.
Best for ages
Toddlers to teenagers — an unusually wide span for a play park.
What's there
Multi-activity tower with a long tunnel slide, climbing frames, climbing nets and wall, swings including pod and nest swings, roundabouts, springers and rockers, in-ground trampoline and sensory panels.
Also in the park
Trim trail, 13km of mountain bike trails, waymarked walking trails, horse trails, the scenic forest drive and viewpoints over the Owenkillew valley.
Toilets
On site.
Food
Café on site.
Parking
Free.
Accessibility
The council says much of the play equipment is accessible to children with a disability.
Dogs
The council doesn't publish a specific rule for the play park. Dogs on leads through the forest, and keep them out of the fenced play area.
Worth knowing
Darach the Guardian, Thomas Dambo's giant wooden sculpture, stands on Mullaghcarn above the forest and is reached on the walking trail from here. It's a mountain walk, so judge it against your own crew.
How long to allow
One to two hours at the play park, or a full day with the forest drive, the trails and Mullaghcarn.
Address
Gortin Glen Forest Park, Gortin, County Tyrone — about six miles from Omagh.
Contact
Fermanagh and Omagh District Council — 0300 303 1777 · [email protected].
Questions

Before you go

Is it free? Is the parking free?
Both free. There's no charge to use the play park and no charge for the car park.
Are there toilets and a café?
Yes, both on site.
What ages does it suit?
Toddlers right up to teenagers. That range is the reason it's on our list — most play parks stop being interesting at about ten.
Is it any good for a child with a disability?
The council says much of the equipment is accessible to children with a disability, and there are sensory panels for children who want the volume turned down.
What time does it open and close?
6.30am to 9pm from April to September, and 6.30am to 6pm from October to March. Early opening, which is a gift on a bright summer morning.
How do we get to the giant wooden sculpture?
Darach the Guardian stands on top of Mullaghcarn, and you walk up to him on the Mullaghcarn trail from this forest park. It's a mountain walk rather than a woodland stroll — great for older children, too much for small ones.
What else is there to do?
A trim trail, 13km of mountain bike trails, waymarked walking and horse trails, and the scenic forest drive with viewpoints over the Owenkillew valley.
Can we bring the dog?
There's no specific published rule for the play park. Dogs on leads through the forest, and out of the fenced play area.
Getting there

Gortin Glen Forest Park is at Gortin in County Tyrone, about six miles from Omagh on the Sperrins road. Parking is free, and the play park is beside the car park. Tap below for turn-by-turn directions.

Directions on Google Maps See it on our map Official website

Phone 0300 303 1777 to check anything before you travel.

Nearby

Make more of the day

Gortin Glen Forest ParkThe full guide to the forest park Darach the GuardianThe giant on the mountain above The best play parks in NISee the full list Open the mapFind what's near you
The story

About the park

Gortin Glen is one of the big Sperrins forest parks — conifer woodland running up the slopes above the Owenkillew valley, with a five-mile scenic forest drive climbing through it to viewpoints that take in a very large amount of Tyrone. For years it was a forest drive and some walking trails, and that was it.

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council changed that with a full redevelopment, turning it into what they describe as a family-friendly outdoor facility: the destination play park, a trim trail, 13 kilometres of mountain bike trails, additional parking, a café and toilets, all layered onto the existing walking and horse trails. The play equipment was chosen to run from toddlers to teenagers, with much of it usable by children with a disability, which is a more thoughtful brief than most councils write.

Above the forest stands Mullaghcarn, and on its summit is Darach the Guardian — a giant wooden figure by the Danish recycled-materials artist Thomas Dambo, part of the Sperrins Sculpture Trail. He is built from timber shingles, holds a lantern-topped staff and stands facing out over the valley. The walk up to him starts from this forest park, with the parking, toilets and café here at the bottom. It is a real climb and worth being straight about that, but for a family with older children it turns an afternoon at a playground into a day people remember for years.

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