The Giant’s Causeway: Everything You Need To Know

One of Northern Ireland’s most famous natural attractions is the dramatic coastline of the Giant’s Causeway. This unique geological site looks like a landscape straight out of a fairy tale, with its rocky black and white stone beaches, emerald cliffs, and waves of basalt columns. It’s a rare combination, so it’s no wonder that this specific part of the country gets over 500K visitors every year.

But there’s no denying that the unique myths surrounding the Giant’s Causeway geologic formations also have a strong pull on visitors! Depending on who you listen to, the epic basalt columns may have come from giants, aliens, or an ancient civilization.

Myths aside, the Giant’s Causeway is a stunning place to visit, with plenty of opportunities to explore. So, if this stunning bit of Northern Ireland is on your list, here’s everything you’ll need to know!

The Legends & History of the Giant’s Causeway

*The legends say Finn McCool left this “boot” behind when he fled!*

The most popular Giant’s Causeway myth is often called the Legend of Finn McCool. According to this story, the Giant’s Causeway was created by Finn McCool, a fierce Irish giant. He wanted to cross the Irish Sea to fight Benandonner, another giant over in Scotland who had made a claim to Ireland.

So, he built a unique bridge by throwing boulders into the sea until he could reach Scotland. But once he arrived, he actually saw Benandonner and realized he was big–even for a giant! So he ran back to Northern Ireland and decided to trick Benandonner into relinquishing his claim. This hilarious con involves Finn McCool disguising himself as a giant baby to make Benandonner think that the father must be absolutely massive. And it worked because Benandonner ran back to Scotland and never bothered Ireland again.

It’s a great story, but not quite the truth.

Based on science and other formations like this around the world (particularly Iceland), we know that the Causeway is actually the result of volcanic activity. Lava came through cracks in the ground and covered this part of the land. When it cooled, it cracked into 40,000 of these amazing hexagonal columns. Pretty cool, right?

Because of its “exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance,” the Giant’s Causeway became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986, one of just 3 on the entire island.

Exploring the Giant’s Causeway

The Giant’s Causeway offers three main activities: the upper hiking trail, the coastline walking trail, and the visitor center.

The hiking trails (including the columns) are free to access. However, you will need to pay to park and if you want to enter the Giant’s Causeway visitor center for the Giant’s Causeway Experience. Unfortunately, we ran out of time to check out the visitor’s center and check out this experience (which also includes guided tours), so I highly recommend setting aside a minimum of 3 hours to enjoy everything.

However, I have 0 regrets about focusing on the Giant’s Causeway’s natural beauty. It was absolutely stunning, and I wish we’d had longer to explore the area.

The Clifftop Trails

When you arrive at the main parking lot, you can choose from two Giant’s Causeway walking trails or the visitor center. I recommend taking the path up the hill to access the clifftop trails for some truly epic panoramic views.

Clifftop views of the Giants Causeway — *The views from the cliffs are absolutely stunning!*

This trail winds right along the cliffs, giving you drone-like perspectives of the basalt columns and the colorful shoreline. From here, it’s easy to see the emerald greens and burnt orange colors of the foilage on the cliffs, as well as how the shore contains strips of black and white boulders.

At one point, you’ll also walk right past a farm with adorable fluffy sheep, which we felt was a clear bonus, haha!

Sheep grazing above the Giant's causeway

Eventually, you’ll descend a set of stone steps, and the path will start winding down the hillside to the main Causeway.

However, when the path forks, I recommend taking a detour to the right to see the Pipe Organs (a super-tall set of columns, and see around the side of the peninsula. It only takes about 10 minutes each way, and you’ll get another beautiful view that most people miss.

The Causeway

Eventually, the dirt path will descend to the shore and become a wider, paved path that can accommodate more foot traffic and buses. This is where you’ll find the main attraction of the Giant’s Causeway: the 40,000 hexagonal basalt columns along the shore.

These columns create stony waves along the shoreline, in colors varying from white to brown to gray. Because of the wave-like patterns, it’s fairly easy to climb the piles for great views of the area. The heights of the columns vary greatly, however, so always watch your step and choose a safe path.

This is a great spot for photo ops, but you’ll probably be competing with several hundred other people. It can get very crowded, so be smart, respectful, and safe. Whatever you do, please do not block the safest path up the rocks or hog the summits for extended periods of time. Both of these can be very dangerous for other guests who don’t have another way to go.

When you’re done here, be sure to finish off the full loop by returning to the Visitor Center via the road along the shore. You’ll get a different perspective of the views you saw from above, and they are also quite beautiful.

Tips for Visiting

Wear water-resistant sneakers with good grip to avoid slipping on the dirt paths or the columns, which are often wet.
Bring a packable rain jacket in case there’s rain.
Make sure your camera has a full battery because you will want to take tons of pictures and videos!
The earlier you can arrive in the day, the better. But if you come with a tour group, you may not have much control over that.
If you drive yourself, the address is 44 Causeway Road, Bushmills, County Antrim, BT57 8SU, for reserved parking (with a Visitor Experience Ticket), or you can use The Causeway Coast Way Car Park at 60 Causeway Road.

Things to Do Near the Giant’s Causeway

If you’re interested in spending a full day exploring this area, here are a few popular things to check out:

Dark Hedges
Belfast
Carrick-a-Reid Rope Bridge
Dunluce Castle

Closing Thoughts on the Giant’s Causeway

I highly recommend the Giant’s Causeway to anyone looking for natural beauty on the Emerald Isle! Whether you’re starting in Ireland or Northern Ireland, this natural wonder is just a few hours’ drive away and well worth a visit. It’s an amazing experience, and I can honestly say it was one of my favorite adventures from the entire year.

If you want more information about the full-day Finn McCool tour we took to visit the Giant’s Causeway, you can read my full blog review here. And if you happen to be looking for fun things to do in Dublin, be sure to check out all the posts from my Dublin mini-series.

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