The Sallins Greenway runs along the Grand Canal from Hazelhatch to Sallins, a distance of 13Kms. From Sallins one can cycle to Naas town on a spur of the the Grand Canal. This is 4Kms in length. Additionally work is underway to extend the greenway by 5Kms from Hazelhatch back towards Dublin to Lock 12 of the Grand Canal at Lucan.   

​​

Hazelhatch is a townsland close to Celbridge which is a large suburban area in Co. Kildare, west of Dublin. 

Take look at the Canals page here to see how the canals of Ireland evolved. The Grand Canal flows from Grand Canal Dock in Dublin city running west to Lock 12, close to Lucan, to Hazelhatch and on to Sallins. From there it runs to Robertstown and a little further on, to Lowtown where it splits between the Grand Canal greenway proper and the Barrow Way. The section from Robertstown to Lowtown and on to Athy is open for cyclists and is designated on this site as Barrow Way Greenway. The section from Lowtown to Edenderry is not yet open to cyclists. But the section from Edenderry to Shannon Harbour is open and is designated as the Grand Canal Greenway on this site.

​​

The Sallins greenway will ultimately become part of the Grand Canal/ Barrow Way as the cycle paths are developed to Robertstown and onwards to Edenderry. In addition the greenway will be extended north east towards Dublin. The work on the link to Lucan is already underway. The other greenway connections are in the planning or construction stage. 

It is currently possible to walk along the bank the Grand Canal from Sallins to Robertstown but currently the terrain is not suitable for road bikes as the under foot condition is too rough. Click here to open a map showing the sections of the Grand Canal that can be cycled.

​

As can be seen on the Maps Sallins page here, Robertstown/ Lowtown is at the crossroads of the Grand Canal Greenway and the Barrow Way. The Grand Canal runs west to Shannon Harbour in Co. Offaly from Lowtown. It also runs south to Athy in Co. Kildare. In past times the canal allowed the transportation of goods and people connecting the midlands and the south of the country to Dublin's docks. The canal connected with the Barrow River at Athy and with the Shannon River at Shannon Harbour. This opened up a route that connected the port of Dublin with Limerick City in the west and with Waterford City in the south and greatly improved the economy of the countery in the late 18th and early 19th century. 

​

See here a map of the of the Sallins Greenway from Kildare Co. Co.

​

​​​See below a short video here of the section from Sallins to Hazelhatch.​​