Beach · County Mayo
Silver Strand Louisburgh
Can I swim here? Outside the bathing season
The bathing season runs from 1 June to 15 September. Outside it the water is not tested weekly and lifeguards are not on duty. The last sample, on 2 September 2026, was excellent. Live status on beaches.ie, which the EPA updates hourly in season.
Silver Strand beach is located approximately 21km south of Louisburgh town. It is a large sandy beach with a gentle slope approximately 400m in length and situated in a sheltered inlet to the west of the foothills of Mweelrea Mountains. Silver Strand beach forms part of the Mweelrea/Sheefry/Erriff Complex Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and proposed Natural Heritage Area (pNHA). The site was selected for the wise range of habitats it supports including blanket bog, lagoons, machair, decalcified dunes and springs which are all priority habitats under Annex I of the EU Habitats Directive. It also supports populations of rare and threatened plant species. Activities include walking, fishing, swimming and windsurfing.
The record, year by year
| Year | EPA classification | Samples | Excellent | Good | Sufficient | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | — | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | — | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | — | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | — | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | — | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | — | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2020 | — | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | — | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Facilities
| Lifeguards | No | |
|---|---|---|
| Toilets | Yes | |
| Parking | Yes | |
| Wheelchair access | No | |
| Beach wheelchair | No | |
| Public transport | No | |
| First aid | No | |
| Lifebuoy | Yes | |
| Information board | No | |
| Activity zones | No | |
| Litter bins | Yes | |
| Recycling | No |
Dogs and cars
- Dogs are not allowedDogs not allowed on beach during the bathing season (1st June to 15th September) between the hours of 12pm and 6.30pm
- No cars on the beach
Latest sample (2026-09-02): E. coli 20, intestinal enterococci 2 (cfu/100 ml).
Outdoors in County Mayo this week
Best day outdoors: Sun, 11 Oct — dry by day, breezy, up to 14°C
Status Yellow - Rain warning for Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo
From Thu, 8 Oct, 09:00 until Fri, 9 Oct, 04:00
Heavy spells of rain.
Be aware of potential impacts:
- Difficult travelling conditions
- Localised flooding possible
Issued by Met Éireann · met.ie/warnings
- Fri, 9 Oct12° / 8°Medium rain showers
- Sat, 10 Oct12° / 7°Sun with light cloud
- Sun, 11 Oct14° / 13°Sun with light cloud
Make a day of it
The nearest trails, beaches, woods and heritage within 25 km.