Snowdon via Llanberis path - detailed guide

There are six main routes up Snowdon (1085 m), the tallest mountain in Wales. The easiest and most popular is the Llanberis path. This path takes you through farmland and  high above the village of Llanberis, with wonderful views towards the village and the vast lake next to it. The path rises up, circling past the majestic Clogwyn Du'r Arddu cliffs and then becomes steeper, following the Snowdon Railway to the summit along the main ridge of Snowdon, with mind-blowing views on either side.

See below for tips on how to tackle Snowdon via the Llanberis path.

How to get there 

The Llanberis path starts from the village of Llanberis, near Snowdon Mountain Railway station. You can get to Llanberis by bus from the coastal cities of Caernarfon and Bangor (where we stayed). Bus number 88 runs from Caernarfon and bus number 85 from Bangor. Bangor is further connected by trains to the rest of the UK. See here for bus timetables.

 

There is a large car park next to Snowdon Railway Station, but it is better to aim to be there early in the morning before it gets filled up. 

If coming to Snowdonia from elsewhere in the UK, you'll probably want to stay at least a few days to explore the scenery and to ensure that you'll experience some reasonable weather. Llanberis as well as Bangor (on the northern coast of Wales) are good bases for this. 

Finally, if you don't feel like hiking all the way, you can take the Snowdon Mountain Railway to Clogwyn station (750 m) or to the top. The train only runs in the summer months, check the operating times. Or if you made it to the top but don't feel like doubling your hiking distance, you can take the train back. Note though that the train has a limited number of seats, and can be fully reserved by those with return tickets, so if you hike up, be prepared to hike down as well! 

What's the weather like? 

The weather on Snowdon changes constantly, so do check it in advance and be prepared for different outcomes. We hiked this route in early May, and witnessed all the four seasons on our way to the top! In Llanberis the weather was clear and sunny, some 12 degrees, and we got hot during the early part of the climb. After Clogwyn station, at the height of 750 metres, the weather became cooler, and it started raining sleet, just a tiny bit. Only a hundred metres before the summit it started to properly snow. Some people who made it up to this point in t-shirts must have felt pretty cold. Snowdon's summit has a climate of its own!  

Snowdon is one of the wettest places in the UK, so be prepared for precipitation (either as rain or snow). There can be snow on the ground on Snowdon any time between October and April depending on the day -- if you see the Llanberis path after Clogwyn station covered in ice or snow, it may be best to turn back unless you're fully equipped for a winter climb with crampons and ice axe. While this steep section of the Llanberis path causes no difficulty in summer conditions, it becomes very dangerous in slippery conditions.

 

Beginning of the Llanberis path

 

 

 

Higher along the path you could see some snow

 

How long does it take?

We spent 7 hours on this 16 km route, with an hour on the summit to enjoy the view and another hour to venture off from the main path to admire the scenery. How long it takes greatly varies depending on how much you wish to stop for resting, eating and pictures. But it's best to set off at least 7 hours before sunset to ensure you get back before dark. I would recommend you get an OS Explorer Active map. It comes very handy if your phone dies.

Click here for a detailed description.

Things to know

The Llanberis path gets sometimes quite busy (being the most popular path up the most popular mountain in the UK).  But if you set off in the afternoon, there will be fewer people -- and you can ask those already coming down what the weather is like on the summit.

 

On the Llanberis path there is Halfway House, a café selling snacks and refreshments just about halfway up the mountain. It's a good place to rest and to have something to eat. There is also a café in the station building on the summit, it's open when the railway runs.

Halfway café

 The Llanberis path follows the railway for about half of the distance. While it may seem tempting to walk along the railroad, it's best not to do that. Even if there are no trains on that day, the railroad gets steep. Also, if a train did come, you would have nowhere to yield.  

 

The railway

There is a cairn to mark the summit of Snowdon, and you'll likely see a very long queue of people waiting to get their selfies on the top. At least when we went, the waiting time seemed to be well over half an hour. But it's better to give it a miss! Without waiting, you can get to a place just two metres below the summit cairn, and the views are just equally good from there.

Summit of Snowdon

 

If you find Llanberis path easy, you'll start wondering what the other paths look like. Well, just before Snowdon summit, you have a perfect view of the all the six paths extending to the horizon, so you should be able to judge yourself if you wish to take a different route down (all the starting points of the paths are connected to each other by the Snowdon Sherpa bus, so you can still get back to Llanberis).

 

The route

The path starts from the Snowdon Railway Station in Llanberis and is about 15 km in length. For the first kilometre or so, you'll walk up a steep car road -- this part is the steepest part of the whole climb, so don't let it discourage you. The path properly starts after the tarmac road, when passing through a gate to farmland. The initial part of the path, all the way to Halfway House, is a clear gravel path and is very easy to follow. You'll likely see plenty of sheep grazing on its sides, and as you ascend the view towards Llanberis gets better and better. After a couple of kilometres you cross the railway through a tunnel, and soon Halfway House becomes visible. You are now halfway up the climb, at 540 metres. 

 

After Halfway House, the path soon turns into a steep stone staircase. At the same time, you get a fantastic view towards Clogwyn Du'r Arddu (a 300 metre cliff on top of which Snowdon lies) and a small lake below it. This cliff, "Cloggy", is a favourite among fearless rock climbers that are brave enough to attempt to climb it. Luckily, though, the Llanberis path circles safely around this cliff and to its top. After some 500 metres of stone staircase, at the height of 750 m, you reach Clogwyn station (which has no proper station building). Here the path crosses under the railroad.

 

Stone staircase

Clogwyn Du'r Arddu

Clogwyn station

Right after crossing the railroad, the scenery changes completely -- a magnificent view opens in front of you with a several hundred metre cliff right next to the path. After this the path parallels the railway to the top, but you can't see the summit yet. This place after Clogwyn station is a good place to consider your options -- if the path here looks slippery, you should consider turning back. However, in good weather the steep ascent here should cause no trouble. The path is a bit rocky, but it's wide and it doesn't pass too near cliff edges. It is here a bit after Clogwyn station that you get the most stunning views towads Llanberis and the beautiful, oval-shaped Llyn Padarn lake adjacent to it.

Llyn Padarn lake

After about a kilometre after Clogwyn station, the Llanberis path evens out and becomes one with the other paths (Ranger Path, Pyg track and Miners' track). At this point you will finally be able to see Snowdon's summit, a pyramidal peak that stands on top of the rest of the mountain. Here your patience is rewarded, since you are now less than a kilometre from the summit with the goal in sight, and the views down from the cliffs here are picturesque -- you can see a number of clear blue lakes, the various paths that wind down along the slopes of Snowdon, and Crib Goch, a fearsome knife-edge arête that some brave scramblers traverse to reach Snowdon. At this point, you may wish to take a look at the weather -- the summit itself is often cloudy or foggy even if the mountain itself is not, so if you see clouds nearing the summit you may wish to hurry to get a good view from the top before they encircle it. Regardless, the view from here already is wonderful. 

Snowdon summit in sight

The final ascent to Snowdon's pyramid summit is along a busy but narrow gravel path. The path passes quite close to cliff edge at places. On the summit you will find the Snowdon Railway Station building and the summit cairn, with likely a long queue around it. If you circle to the north side of the cairn, you get the most stunning view. Here, from the highest point in Wales (and the UK south of Scotland) you can see countless of lakes, many of the highest mountains in Wales, all of Snowdonia National park, and even all the way to Ireland on a clear day! You may wish to stop for a rest and picnic on the top, and if you need protection from the wind you can enter the station building when it's open, or otherwise right next to it to an area that is also protected from the wind.

Once you have enjoyed the beauty of the summit long enough, you can head back along Llanberis path, or equally well any of the other five paths which take you to different villages but are all connected by bus. If taking the Llanberis path down, take care in the slope above Clogwyn station, as that is quite steep. Other than that, you'll find that the way back takes maybe half the time it took to ascend or less.