Mullaghcleevaun is a bulky mountain in NW Wicklow, just a few km E of Blessington Lakes. Commanding 360 degree views of the Wicklow uplands, its steep NE corrie is home to Cleevaun Lough. Navigational ability is a must in mist as the top is fairly featureless and there is dangerous ground to its NE.

NW. Mullaghcleevaun can be reached from the NW via Black Hill starting from O04384 10845 A. There is a good track initially but after Black Hill it can be quite boggy esp. after rain. (3.5h+ 12k round trip)

SE. Park near O10271 05243 B under Carrigshouk and, avoiding the very steep eastern side of Carrigshouk, head on a feint trail in a NW direction until you get to the ridge that connects M with Carrigshouk. It's a straightforward ridge walk after this although care should be taken in the mist as the path is not always well defined before East Top. (2h+ 9k round trip)

NE. Start at the Sally Gap [O13028 10994 C] and start by following directions for Carrigvore. It's a much walked route but tracks aren't always easy to find [3 to 4 hrs one way and over 12k]

E. Park at O11313 07381 D and follow directions to Duff Hill before joining the previous trail.

If linking M with Tonlegee beware that the Barnacullian ridge can be very soft - it's best to walk on the E side of this. Be aware that the Glenmacnass River may become impassable quickly in rain.

Short return tracks include track/2370 and track/1729
See track/2355 for a long loop and track/2293 for a long A to B. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/20/comment/4780/

Climbed Mullaghcleevaun via Carrigshouk and the East Top on the 26th September 2009. Decided to traverse across from Carrigshouk to Ballyknockan. There is a nice pub called the Lakeview Lodge where I parked my car in the morning and got a lift back to the start point of Carrigshouk at O102 050 E

The climb to Carrigshouk itself was relatively straightforward, the ground on the day was dry and made climbing a lot easier. From the summit I took a moment to get my bearings and then proceeded north-west to Mullaghcleevaun east top. The cloud had descended around me by the time I was nearly at the summit but thankfully the ground was easy to walk along.

For those of you who geocache there is one hidden not far from the east top summit so I spent a few minutes looking for this. From here I then went due west trying to avoid descending too much ground before heading to Mullaghcleevaun itself. Due to the thickness of the cloud at this time I was at the summit in no time as the hike over from the east top is relatively straightforward .

Mullaghcleevaun was busy on the day as I ran into a walking club on the summit so I didn't hang around too long, sadly due to the cloud cover the views were hidden on the day. From here headed down to Billy Byrne's gap before heading upto Moanbane summit. The clouds had dissipated at this point and the view of the reservoir by now was excellent.

Took the relative short walk across to Silsean which due to the broken nature of the ground took longer than anticipated. The route up and indeed most of the summit has been destroyed by quad bikes making the hike a tougher slog than it would normally have been. Be sure to take care if the weather is wet.

From here it is descent all the way to Ballyknockan. Its a long descent and I found it tough on the feet so take a little extra time. Refer to the Mullaghcleevaun traverse on the walks list of this site for more info. Overall start to finish took 4.5 hours and well worth a little preparation with a 2 car set up. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/20/comment/4151/

Cleevaun Lough frozen solid during our recent arctic weather Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/20/comment/6265/

Mullaghcleevaun at 849 metres is the second highest mountain in Wicklow, after Lugnaquillia. Claude Wall said "[it].. commands the great plains to the north and west for an immense distance, the northern half of Leinster and the distant heights of Connaught and Ulster being visible on a clear day." On the north-east side of the summit, there is Cleevaun Lake. Often this is shrouded in mist, its wet surrounds making a cold place to rest before the steep ascent onto the summit. The day the picture was taken, at the end of an Indian Summer in Sept 2002, the clear view can be seen. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/20/comment/149/