Kick start your visit to Roscommon with an adventure in Lough Key Forest and Activity Park. This massive area of mixed woodland, lake and islands is one of Ireland’s most picturesque forest parks, stretching across 350 hectares.

The Caravan and Camping Park at Lough Key is a great base to explore all the nearby attractions that Roscommon has to offer. It has 46 landscaped, secluded pitches with electricity points and three large areas for tent space. 

Enjoy the 8km traffic-free woodland cycle path whether you’re walking or biking around the forest and activity park. There’s plenty to explore throughout the park and your kids can keep their eyes out for foxes, hares, squirrels and stouts along the journey. 

Rockingham Remembered Tour

With so much on offer in Lough Key, choosing where to begin is a tough choice. Book into the Rockingham Remembered Tour to get a survey of the full forest park. On this self-guided trail, you'll discover how humans shaped this landscape by visiting two 19th-century servant tunnels, climbing the Moylurg Viewing Tower and walking through the woods on the Tree Canopy Walk.

The contemporary canopy walk is a 300m-long timber and steel creation that rises 9m above the woodland floor and is both wheelchair and pram accessible. The kids will love seeing nature from above as you weave through the treetops with panoramic views of the islands of Lough Key.

Boda Borg Challenge

The Boda Borg Challenge is a family favourite in Lough Key Forest Park. Head into the two-storey building and work together to solve fun puzzles and get through physical activities across its 47 innovative rooms.

You need a minimum of three and maximum of five per team, and it’s suitable for kids aged seven and up – you can’t ask for better fun than this when it comes to family bonding.

Lough Key Boat Tours

Get out on the water with Lough Key Boat Tours to explore the island-studded lake. The Walsh and McGreevy family has been welcoming visitors since 1984 and know the lake like the back of their hands. Listen along as your local guide shares stories of this fascinating landscape, while the boats chug through the water and around one of the greatest lakes in Ireland.

Zipit Forest Adventures

Whizz through the sky with Zipit Forest Adventures within the forest park. This is a must for adrenaline-seeking families – you’ve never felt the wind in your hair as you will when you zip through the air on this thrilling adventure.

Zipline through the trees, ride a BMX on a treetop bridge, head across suspended ladders and swing into cargo nets. For the truly fearless, there’s also a base jump to test your nerve. With 750m of ziplines to enjoy for kids aged seven and up, the only issue might be convincing them to follow you back down to the ground.

Head to the village of Rathcroghan and grab a bite at the Táin Café, themed around the epic ‘Cattle Raid of Cooley’. Enjoy fresh local produce and herbal teas in this community-run café and grill. Indulge in the all-day breakfast, tuck into a few sandwiches or treat the kids to a choice of desserts.

Rathcroghan Visitor Centre

See history come to life at the Rathcroghan Visitor Centre, where interactive exhibitions covering more than 240 archaeological sites will walk you through Stone Age tombs and ring forts. There’s a wealth of mythology, archaeology and history in the area, and kids will be enthralled by the ancient stories of old with Queen Medb and the epic tale of Táin Bó Cuailnge. 

Roscommon Castle 

Roscommon Castle saw many battles in its time and has lots of stories within its walls. It's changed hands many times throughout the years, from Connacht King Aodh O’Connor’s siege over the Normans, to the British garrison who restored it. Now a ruin, you can explore the castle that once was and let the kids run free around Loughnaneane Park which surrounds it. 

The castle is a perfect spot for a picnic – enjoy the view from the deck out over the 14-acres of unique flora, fauna and wildlife that call the park home. Relax in this beautiful green space, run through the wildflower meadow and make sure to see the crannóg known locally as the "Hill O’Bones" before you go.

Unlike its neighbour Kilronan Mountain, the Arigna Mining Experience requires you to go below the surface to admire its unique scenery. Bring the kids through 400 years of mining history on the ground level exhibition, with real mining equipment on display.

Don a hard helmet and follow your tour guide, a former coal miner, into the once active mines and listen as they regale you with stories of the good ol' mining days. With the intense darkness and cramped spaces, coal mining was no picnic – and you'll find out how coal miners really lived underground.

When you resurface, make a beeline for the onsite café for a tasty snack or lunch for you and the kids. Or, if the weather is a tad chilly, stop off at The Miner's Bar to enjoy a cup of coffee by an open fire.