Coillte, the State-owned commercial forestry operator, is looking for an experienced adventure and leisure tourism operator to take over the running of Lough Key Forest and Activity Park in Co Roscommon, as part of a new strategic development plan.
The aim of the new strategy is to improve recreational amenities at the park, and encourage more people to visit and spend more time outdoors in nature.
Established in 2006, the park is currently run as a joint venture between Coillte and Roscommon County Council. Since its opening, it thas developed into a successful visitor destination within Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands. The tourism attraction draws about 120,000 visitors a year.
Now, the operators are looking to the future, with a strategic design plan for redevelopment, which sets out their ambitions for the park over the next 10 years. This strategy includes the provision of an improved range of facilities, in a distinctive lakeside setting.
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Funding for the Lough Key Sustainable Development Plan comes from the Government and the European Union, through the EU Just Transition Fund.
Agents Willie Norse and Hannah Dowling of TWM, acting on behalf of Coillte, are seeking expressions of interest from experienced adventure and leisure tourism operators to take over the site.
Daithí de Forge, head of recreation with Coillte, said: “We are delighted to be running this operator selection process as we move to the next stage of our Lough Key redevelopment project. We are keen to work together with established adventure tourism operators to provide best-in-class leisure experiences at the park.”
[ ‘Our purpose is to manage the State’s forests on behalf of the people of Ireland’Opens in new window ]
The park currently boasts a variety of activities, including the Adventure Play Kingdom and Boda Borg, a puzzle-solving experience suitable for all ages. Visitors seeking outdoor pursuits can choose from kayaking, boating tours, orienteering, walking paths, cycling trails, high ropes and ziplining.
There is also a visitors’ centre and cafe for food and drink options, together with a caravan and camping park, and a Waterways Ireland marina connected to the Shannon-Erne Waterway.
Lough Key is also steeped in history. The Rockingham Remembered Tour offers a self-guided tour of the park’s history, flora and fauna, taking visitors through the 19th-century underground tunnels, to the top of the refurbished five-storey Moylurg viewing tower and along a contemporary tree canopy walk.
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