Close to Dublin, Djouce is the exposed, rocky-topped high point of the N Wicklow uplands and has good access from many sides. Great views include Great Sugar Loaf, much of NE Wicklow and the Irish Sea. Because of its attractions it is much walked and cycled and, despite the efforts of Mountain Meitheal, the associated erosion is extensive.
N. Park at Crone Wood Car Park O19257 14187 A. Follow the Wicklow Way through woods, up above Powerscourt waterfall, over the Dargle river and on up to O18646 10429 B before heading steeply W for the summit. Allow 2 hrs+
From this car park you could also include Maulin, Tonduffs and War Hill in a 4-5 hr circuit.

SW. The quickest way up is from the R759 to its SW where there are several car parks such as one at O16328 08444 C. Head for the boardwalk which will bring you over White Hill. Shortly after this the boardwalk swings NE - leave it here and head steeply up the S spur to the summit. Allow 1.5hrs.

E. From the Old Coach Road (L1036) on Long Hill to the E there are also various places to start such as O19391 07596 D and O21027 10894 E. For the former, take a right soon after entering Ballinastoe woods and follow trails roughly W to exit the forest near the top of White hill. Allow 2hrs
For the latter, from hte forest entrance, head left and follow tracks before exiting the trees near O20836 10725 F. Follow the obvious trail until you meet the WW. Allow 90 mins+

Notable tracks incl. track/2113, track/943, track/2330 and track/2363. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/91/comment/4851/

Just back from a quick hike up Djouce, on a very cold February Friday with snow clouds covering the higher Wicklow Mountains. I started at Ballinastoe Woods carpark and took a right just after the maps. Continuing on the road till I reached a telegraph pole - where I took a short cut up the side of the woods. Following this trail brings you eventually to the wooden board walk which traverses Djouce, White Hill and down to the J.B. Malone memorial. I headed right here and followed the board walk until it took a sharp right. It's a simple matter of following the trail directly up from the board walk till you reach the Tors, and the Trig Pillar. A fair few people where up here already, huddling behind the rocks for shelter. It was at least -10 with wind chill. Most had approached from the Djouce woods side. I headed down that way, back towards the Wicklow Way, headed right around the Mountan until I picked up the board walk again. I took a bearing for the edge of the woods in Ballinastoe and trekked back to the car, across the Heather Deserts. Bad views today, but definitely try again when it's clearer. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/91/comment/4407/

The OSI map indicates the presence of a cairn on Djouce, slightly north of the trig pillar, but any trace of it would seem to have been obliterated. Since the Irish word ‘dioghais’, from which Djouce is derived, is usually taken to mean a fortified height, perhaps it might not be implausible to see in that a reference to the old cairn that once stood on top. More interesting today is the so-called ‘Coffin Stone’ on the lower NW flank of the mountain (O 1719 1050 G). In the OSI map (and also in the Harvey map of Wicklow), for some unknown reason this feature is indicated as a Standing Stone, but any source I have consulted speaks of a Portal Tomb at this point. The enormous coffin-like slab is a capstone that would have rested on two tall stones or portals at one end, forming an entrance, and would have sloped down to a back stone, providing support at the other. The chamber formed in this way would then have been walled in with side slabs compacted with big stones and might or might not have been enclosed in a cairn. Today the portals appear to have fallen outwards, but perhaps they were not very high to begin with. What strikes me as unusual about this tomb is that it is almost hidden away among the hills, whereas so many of the megalithic monuments we are familiar with in Dublin and Wicklow are well within view of the fertile plains or valleys where the people would probably have lived. A boggy track leads from the top of Djouce down to the Coffin Stone and on to War Hill, but its start can be difficult to find in mist and fog. Here and there, the rusty iron posts of an old deer fence serve as a handrail, too, when you can see them.

The photo of the Coffin Stone is a HDR image, which managed to capture the scene despite very dense fog at the time. That’s just my little plug in favour of the technique! Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/91/comment/3444/

Saturday 22 Dec 2002 desperate to get a walk in before Christmas took over I approached Djouce from the boardwalk on the southern side, parking in the car park above the Pier Gates.
The day was very overcast with heavy mist and cloud with occasional breaks for fleeting glimpses of Luggala and the Sugarloaf. As I approached the summit the sun briefly appeared in the south creating the magical Brocken Spectre in the low lying cloud just under and north of me. Then the mist rolled back for a minute to reveal the reassuring summit trig point. A short enjoyable winters walk.Returning by the same route will take about 2 hrs in total. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/91/comment/251/