Cookstown sits at the edge of two contrasting landscapes — the Sperrin Mountains to the north and west, and Lough Neagh to the east — and makes a reasonable base for exploring both. The town is also within comfortable reach of several other County Tyrone destinations.
Dungannon, 18 kilometres south, was historically the seat of the O'Neill dynasty and has good transport connections. The Ulster American Folk Park near Omagh, about 45 kilometres west, is one of the best open-air museums in Northern Ireland, documenting the mass emigration of Ulster Scots to America in the 18th and 19th centuries — a full day in its own right.
Derry/Londonderry, about 60 kilometres northwest, is reachable in just over an hour and offers the best-preserved city walls in Ireland, a compelling Bogside history trail, and good restaurants. It makes a long but manageable day trip from Cookstown.
The Sperrin Mountains themselves — accessible in 20 minutes from town — offer good hill walking on largely empty ground. The Gortin Glen Forest Park near Omagh has marked forest trails and a wildlife enclosure. Lough Neagh's eastern shore, already accessible from Ardboe, has flat walking paths along the water with birdwatching opportunities: the lough holds internationally important populations of wintering wildfowl.