Ballycroy National Park is located on the western seaboard in Northwest Mayo. It comprises of 11.000 hectares of Atlantic Blanket Bog and mountainous terrain, covering a vast uninhabited and unspoilt wilderness dominated by the Nephin Beg Mountain Range. Prior to their purchase by the State, the National Park lands were used for turbary, agriculture and recreational uses including fishing, shooting, and hillwalking. There is evidence of previous human habitation along the Bangor Trail, near the Owenduff and Tarsaghaun rivers, where the remains of stone buildings and traditional cultivation ridges can be seen. People have fished and hunted game in the area for a long period. Fishing and hunting lodges, still present outside of the Park, were bases for these activities. Native red deer, which formerly roamed the Nephin Beg Mountains were one of the species hunted.
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