The Leixlip Spa Waterfall sits within the Leixlip Spa complex near Louisa Bridge, where water overflows from the Royal Canal and cascades down a series of terraces before joining the Rye Water below.

Visitors descend a flight of steps to reach the falls, which illustrate just how dramatically the land drops between the canal level and the river basin — the same topography that made the nearby Ryewater Aqueduct such a significant engineering undertaking when the canal was constructed in the late 18th century.

The waterfall shares its setting with the broader Leixlip Spa site, a hydrogeological complex that includes warm mineralised springs discovered during canal construction in 1793.

The spring seepage flows down the terraced slopes toward the Rye Water, creating a distinctive wetland ecosystem that forms part of the Rye Water Valley/Carton Special Area of Conservation.