You get ancient ruins, forest parks, and a solid mix of family attractions all within a short drive.
Families with young children are well served — there are three soft play centres in town, plus Cookstown Leisure Centre for swimming and bowling. History lovers can explore Tullaghoge Fort and Drum Manor Forest Park without spending a penny.
The best days out near Cookstown
Mid-Ulster Sub-Aqua Club
The Ritz Cinema Cookstown
The Burnavon Arts & Cultural Centre
Cookstown Leisure Centre
Cookstown Leisure Centre Soft Play
Gameland
Kilgad Fishery
Wee Adventurers Play Hub
The Spa at Glenavon House Hotel
Cosmic Kids Softplay & Café
Cookstown Leisure Centre — Tenpin Bowling
Killymoon Garden Centre
Killymoon Golf Club
Killymoon Castle
Cabin Wood
Egg Vending Machine - Fenella's Farm
Mid Ulster Sports Arena
Garden World Complex
Knockaconny Farm Shop & Deli
Tullaghoge Fort
Drumcairne Forest
Drum Manor Forest Park
Lissan House
Tullylagan Country House
Wellbrook Beetling Mill
Railway Karting & Adventure Park
Littlebridge Farm Fresh Ltd
Springhill House
The Garden Corner
Feel Good Therapy Garden — Dungannon
Splash Outdoor Waterpark
Cloughbane Farm Shop
The Jungle NI
Annaginny Fishery & Park Farm
Pomeroy Forest
Pomeroy Forest Play Park
Coalisland Camino
Cornmill Heritage Centre
Coalisland Canal Greenway
Craic Theatre & Arts Centre
Davagh Forest Play Area
Davagh Forest
Feel Good Therapy Garden — Pomeroy
Bardic Theatre
Donaghmore Heritage Centre
Iniscarn Forest Play Park
Iniscarn Forest
Donaghmore High Cross
What's on near Cookstown
- 18JulCoarse Angling Taster SessionsDungannon Park
- 2AugSummer Garden Tours with NaomiSpringhill
- 2AugLittle Learner toursSpringhill
- 5AugRhythm and Rhyme — Dungannon LibraryDungannon Library
- 5AugQuiet Hour — Cookstown LibraryCookstown Library
- 5AugStorytime colour Puzzles and Board Games — Cookstown LibraryCookstown Library
Days out in Cookstown — your questions
What are the best days out in Cookstown?
Drum Manor Forest Park is a favourite for families wanting open space. For history, Tullaghoge Fort and Lissan House are well worth a visit. Railway Karting & Adventure Park is great for an active session, and The Burnavon Arts & Cultural Centre rounds out the mix with live performances and exhibitions.
What free things are there to do in Cookstown?
Several places near Cookstown are completely free. Tullaghoge Fort is an ancient hilltop site open to visitors at no cost. Killymoon Castle and Tullylagan Country House are also free to visit. For outdoor space, Davagh Forest has walking trails that cost nothing at all.
Where can you go on a rainy day near Cookstown?
Cookstown has solid indoor options. Wee Adventurers Play Hub and Cosmic Kids Softplay & Café are both popular with younger children on wet days. Cookstown Leisure Centre covers swimming, soft play, and tenpin bowling under one roof. The Ritz Cinema Cookstown is another reliable choice when the weather turns.
What's good for young children near Cookstown?
Three soft play centres sit right in Cookstown — Wee Adventurers Play Hub, Cosmic Kids Softplay & Café, and Cookstown Leisure Centre Soft Play. All are ideal for toddlers and younger kids. Cookstown Leisure Centre also has a swimming pool, making it an easy half-day for families with little ones.
More about Cookstown
Cookstown is famous for its main street, a dead-straight boulevard running about 1.25 miles and up to 135 feet wide, one of the longest and widest in all of Ireland, with Slieve Gallion mountain framing the view at the end.
The area is rich in heritage. Wellbrook Beetling Mill, a National Trust site just outside town, is the last working water-powered linen beetling mill in Northern Ireland. Drum Manor Forest Park lies nearby, and so does Tullaghoge Fort, the ancient hilltop where the O'Neill chieftains, the old kings of this part of Ulster, were once inaugurated.