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County Dublin

White Rock Beach

White Rock Beach is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Dublin, 0.6 km east of Killiney. The Environmental Protection Agency classified it excellent for water quality for the 2025 season. The register records toilets, parking, bins, a lifebuoy and an information board.

Excellent
water quality, 2025
No
Blue Flag
No
lifeguard
0.6 km
from Killiney
Water quality
Excellent, 2025
Seasons before
2024 Excellent, 2023 Excellent, 2022 Excellent
Water testing
Tested by the EPA sampled through the season and given a water quality grade
Season restriction
None in place
Pollution after rain
Prone to short term pollution
Awards
None
Managed by
Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council
Nearest town
Killiney, 0.6 km east of it, in a straight line
From that town
0.9 km by road, about 2 min drivingor 1.2 km on foot, about 15 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard
No
Toilets
Toilets on viewing platform Vico Road
Parking
There is on road Pay and Display parking
Access
No
Dogs
Allowed on a lead
Cars on the beach
No
Public transport
Killiney Dart station nearby
Position
53.2660° N, 6.1067° W
Record changed
2026-03-25
White Rock Beach from the train
White Rock Beach from the train·Gareth James, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The Beginning Of A New Day White Rock Dalkey Ireland (95342125)
The Beginning Of A New Day White Rock Dalkey Ireland (95342125)·Giuseppe Milo, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

White Rock is a small sandy cove accessed down approx. 100 steps from Vico Road. It can also be accessed from Killiney beach at low tide.

White Rock Beach is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. White Rock Beach has achieved an Excellent Water Quality rating for the four consecutive years 2022 to 2025. Annual water quality ratings are generally calculated using monitoring results over a four-year period and are assessed against stringent bacterial limits to protect bather health.

The EPA’s own beach profile

Where it is

White Rock Beach, and the other places to swim in County Dublin. Share your position and the map will show how far each one is from you.

Getting to White Rock Beach

Your journey, your way

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About these directions

Public transport times come from National Transport Authority. Timetables cover 2026-09-18 to 2027-09-19. These are scheduled services; check with the operator for cancellations and changes before travelling.

Walking and driving times are estimates. A town search starts at its centre; choose your location or a point on the map for a more precise starting point. Eircode search is not available.

How journey planning works
Destination, access and nearby stops

White Rock Beach is in Killiney, County Dublin. Routes here end at the point the map records for this place. The entrance has not been verified, so the last few metres are for you to judge.

The nearest settlement is Killiney, 0.6 km east of the beach. The register records parking here. Getting to the town is not getting to the beach, so the journey below is worked out to the beach itself and the last stretch on foot is measured rather than left out.
Stops near it

The nearest scheduled stop is Killiney Hill Park (3098), 550 m away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

  • Killiney Hill Park 550 m
    bus 59
    Scheduled departures from this stop
  • Victoria Road 580 m
    bus 59
    Scheduled departures from this stop
  • Wyvern Estate 710 m
    bus 59
    Scheduled departures from this stop
  • Killiney Road 730 m
    bus 59
    Scheduled departures from this stop
  • Killiney Grove 930 m
    bus 59
    Scheduled departures from this stop

Getting to Killiney covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Dublin

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at White Rock Beach?
The EPA classified it Excellent for the 2025 season, which is worked out from four years of samples. White Rock Beach is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. White Rock Beach has achieved an Excellent Water Quality rating for the four consecutive years 2022 to 2025. Annual water quality ratings are generally calculated using monitoring results over a four-year period and are assessed against stringent bacterial limits to protect bather health. A classification is a record of seasons that have finished; it is not a reading of the water today.
Is swimming restricted at White Rock Beach?
The register records no season-long restriction. That is about the season, not about today: a short notice after heavy rain would not appear here, and this water is recorded as prone to short term pollution. Check with Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council before swimming.
Does White Rock Beach have a Blue Flag?
No. A beach without one can still have excellent water: the Blue Flag also asks for facilities, lifeguards and information boards, which a quiet strand may not have.
Is there a lifeguard at White Rock Beach?
No. The register records no lifeguard here, so nobody is watching the water.
How do you get to White Rock Beach without a car?
The nearest stop in the national timetable is Killiney Hill Park, 550 metres from the beach in a straight line, and bus 59 call there, run by Go-Ahead Ireland. The planner on this page works out the walk from that stop over real footways, and the whole journey from wherever you are starting, for the day and time you pick. Where no footway joins the stop to the beach it says so rather than making a number up.
Where does this come from?
The Environmental Protection Agency's list of places people swim, which it calls the bathing water register, read on 2026-09-20, where this record was last changed on 2026-03-25. Water quality, awards, lifeguards and facilities are the EPA's own fields, and a field it leaves blank is shown as not recorded rather than as a no. The distance to the nearest town is this site's own measurement, in a straight line.

Water quality, awards, lifeguards, toilets, parking and access are the Environmental Protection Agency’s own fields, from its bathing water register, read 2026-09-20. The classification covers four years of sampling and is not a reading for today: after heavy rain the water can be worse than the classification suggests, and the EPA and the local authority post notices when it is. Positions are the EPA’s grid references, projected to latitude and longitude. Journeys are the National Transport Authority’s published timetable.

Beaches and bathing waters in Ireland·Beaches in County Dublin