I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m actually not a huge fan of the Snowdon summit. It’s just too busy for me. I love the fact so many people are choosing to hike up mountains but I personally like quieter routes.
That said, the walks up to Snowdon, regardless of the summit itself, are stunning. My personal favourite is Crib Goch. This is one of the UK’s finest scrambles but is an incredibly exposed ridge and certainly not suitable for those looking for a relatively simple hike up!
So let’s take a look at all the popular routes up Snowdon.
Map Showing All Routes Up Snowdon
In summary, here are all of the most popular routes and paths up Snowdon from the 5 main starting points.
It’s worth saying before we go any further:
- I mapped all these paths on Google Maps for ease of seeing the options. I would not, however, recommend Google Maps for navigation when hiking. At all. Like, ever.
- It’s not exhaustive. There are other routes but generally most start and end at these 5 points
- Always do your research before setting out on any route and assess whether it meets your own needs
Summary of All Routes Up Snowdon/Yr Wyddfa
Let’s summarise these routes and then get into a bit more detail:
| Route | Start Point | Facilities at Start Point | Estimated Length | Estimated Elevation Gain | Difficulty* |
| Pyg Track and Miner’s Track | Pen Y Pass Car Park | Parking, toilets, café | 12.1km | 752m | Moderate to difficult |
| Crib Goch and Miner’s Track | Pen Y Pass Car Park | Parking, toilets, café | 11.9km | 882m | Difficult. Exposed grade 1scrambling |
| Watkin Path (Out and back same way) | Pont Bethania Car Park, Nant Gwynant | Parking, toilets | 13.2km | 1107m | Difficult – care needed on loose scree section towards the top where hands may be required (ungraded scrambling) |
| Llanberis Path (out and back same way) | Snowdon Mountain Railway Car Park, Llanberis | Parking, toilets (plus cafes in Llanberis itself) | 14.6km | 989m | Moderate to difficult |
| Ranger Path (out and back same way) | Ranger Path Car Park by YHA | Parking, toilets | 12.9km | 964m | Moderate to difficult |
| Rhyd-Ddu Path (out and back same way) | Rhyd Ddu Railway Station Car Park | Parking, toilets | 12.1km | 913m | Difficult with some scrambly bits |
*HUGE caveats here. While I’ve done some of these paths, the difficulty assessment is based on my experience and/or the technical requirements or requirements for things like scrambling. You should always do you own research before making a call.
Do also bear in mind that these routes will all be strenuous and require fitness. At a minimum, there’s 752m of elevation gain required.
In addition, the weather can make a relatively straightforward route much more difficult on the day.
Yr Wyddfa/Snowdon Starting Points
You’ll notice that all of the routes above start from 5 different places:
- Pen Y Pass
- Pont Bethania car park in Nant Gwynant
- Snowdon Mountain Railway car park in Llanberis
- Range Path car park near the YHA
- Rhyd Ddu railway station car park in Rhyd Ddu
The car park with the most facilities is Pen Y Pass, but this requires booking in advance in peak season. If you don’t get booked, you can park in Llanberis and take the Sherpa bus up to Pen Y Pass.
Llanberis itself has plenty of facilities including accommodation, cafes and so forth.
I’ve collated the route maps for the routes above:
Pyg and Miner’s Track
I’ve done this route myself and found it a tad laborious, the truth be told.
It has the lowest amount of elevation gain of any of the paths but is not the easiest! The views are beautiful though:
@staceyhikesStunning Yr Wyddfa. Not going to lie though – I much prefer looking at Snowdon from Crib Goch or from by the lakes like here than I like being on the summit. Always so busy! But always a stunning hike regardless♬ оригинальный звук – sophia
This little video was taken on the Miner’s Track by the side of the lakes on descent.
The final ascent up the Pyg Track is really steep and tiresome on the legs. It’s quite uneven terrain too.
Coming back down, some people consider the Miner’s Path to be a bit dull but I enjoyed the walk around the lakes and enjoyed it very much towards the end when the path became quite even and easy to walk on!
Personally, this wouldn’t be my first choice for an up and down.
Crib Goch
This IS my first choice. Up Crib Goch, back down Pyg until Pyg meets miner’s and then finish on the Miner’s.
This is the way I would always choose to ascend Snowdon. However, Crib Goch is a knife edge ridge. There is a scramble up to the summit of Crib Goch, then a scramble across the ridge and some more light touch scrambling up to Garnedd Ugain so this is not a walking route.
But look how spectacular it is! 👌
Without a doubt, this is my personal favourite route up Snowdon but it’s not beginner friendly. You start and end at Pen Y Pass car park.
Ranger Path
Now, I’ve included estimated above for the out and back, but it’s perfectly possible to ascend one way and then come back down another as long as you have transport between your start and end points.
I’ve never personally hiked the Ranger path before. I know it is often regarded the second easiest route.
I had scheduled a trip to walk this path but ended up switching for the Watkins path at the last minute (because waterfalls) so if any of you have done it and want to share some photos on this page, drop me an email!
Llanberis Path
The Llanberis path has the distinct benefit of starting and ending in Llanberis which has lots of facilities and accommodation options.
The Llanberis path is largely considered the easiest route up Snowdon as well.
Personally, I quite enjoyed this and feel that if you were going to hike this as one of your first big mountain hikes or with less experienced walkers or children, that the Llanberis path would be a great option.
Watkin Path
Or…the one with the waterfalls. Honestly, this is one of the most beautiful routes up Snowdon, in my humble opinion.
You start in beautiful ancient woodlands, then pass pools and waterfalls. You then pass lots of abandoned slate mine buildings.
After the abandoned buildings, the path becomes steeper and a little rougher terrain. The route ends with quite a tough scree slope. It’s not a graded scramble but might need a little bit of hands on work at points.
For the last couple of hundred metres, there’s a relatively newly laid path again which makes the very final part a tad easier.
It’s a quieter route than many others!
Rhyd-Ddu Path
The Rhyd-Ddu path is the quietest of the routes up Snowdon I’ve ever taken.
There’s a small scrambly section requiring care, but the South Ridge perspective of Snowdon really is beautiful. On a clear day the views are wonderful.
This path starts with a well maintained and easy to find and follow path from Rhyd-Ddu train station.
Right up to the final ascent along the ridge line, this is a really straightforward hiking path. It becomes a little more rocky at the top and in some area you may require a little bit of hands on help (ungraded, not technically a scramble). But the views are wonderful.
Personally, I think this route is easier than the Watkins path but both would be more difficult, in my view, than Llanberis or Ranger paths.
What’s the Best Route up Snowdon?
My personal favourite is Crib Goch, followed by Rhyd-Ddu.
But everyone will have a different opinion on that!
What’s the Best Way Up Snowdon with Kids?
This depends.
My middle son, who doesn’t like scrambling and hasn’t done much of it, wants to hike up and my plan is to take him up the Llanberis Path.
My eldest son loves a bit of scrambling but I’m not ok with him (currently 9 years of age) on an exposed route like Crib Goch yet. So I’ll take him up the Watkin Path so he can experience a little bit of hands on hiking!
Whichever way you go…
It’s a stunning mountain, without doubt. And if you time it right, you might avoid the crowds!
