All the Walking Routes up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) 2023
By Dave Roberts 
Posted as a walk in – Best Mountain Walks in Snowdonia, Europe, North Wales, Snowdonia National Park, Wales, Winter Hill Walks in Snowdonia, Wyddfa - Snowdon
All the Walking Routes up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) 2023
Facts and Figures about Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon)
Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) Facts:
- Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) is the highest mountain in Eryri / Snowdonia and Wales
- Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) distinctive cymoedd (corries) were formed by glaciers during the last ice age.
- There’s the annual Snowdon Race – Râs Yr Wyddfa to the summit every July.
- Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon)’s summit has a visitor centre – Hafod Eryri – but it isn’t a hotel.
- There were buildings on the summit from the early 19th century, ramshackle wooden huts that were ill designed to survive the summit conditions.
- The Snowon summit hotel, described as a carbuncle by HRH Prince Charles was surprisingly designed by Clough Wiliams-Ellis the architect of the most beautiful village of Portmeirion.
- It was built in the 1930s and replaced in the late 2000s by the new Hafod Eryri building.
- There’s a railway to the summit, but you can’t just buy a ticket on the summit if you don’t fancy walking down.
Where is Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon)?
Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) is found in Eryri / Snowdonia, North Wales.
How High is Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) in metres / feet?
1085 metres or 3560 feetHow long will it take to walk up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) ?
We’ve walked up and down in well under 3 hours, but that’s at peak fitness. You need to allow around 3 hours for the ascent and the descent – unless you’re walking at quite a lick.
How Far is it to the top of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon)?
The shortest walk is the PYG track at 5km (3 miles), while the longest path is the Llanberis path at 7km
How hard is it to climb Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) ?
Depending on the path, you’ll need a reasonable level of fitness to complete the walk. Crib Goch and Y Lliwedd require you to have scrambling and hill walking experience, as well as a head for heights.
What’s the best walking route up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon)?
The Snowdon Horseshoe is the best route, but we’ve also got a soft spot for Snowdon South Ridge.
Which is the easiest walking route up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) ?
Generally accepted to be the Llanberis Path , though note that’s easiest and not easy. It can be one of the routes to avoid in the winter owing to a treacherous stretch known as the Killer Convex.
Map showing all the routes up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon)
All the Walking Routes up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) 2023 Introduction
Yr Wyddfa* , or Snowdon, (it’s never Mount or Mt Snowdon ) is one of the most popular mountains in the United Kingdom, let alone Eryri / Snowdonia. It’s sometimes climbed as one of the National 3 Peak Challenge, the Welsh 3 Peaks or during the 14/15 Peaks. With the coming season people will be flocking to ascend Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) which is the highest mountain in Wales. But which path should they choose to climb? Here’s our quick rundown of the more popular walking routes up Snowdon – as featured on Walk up Snowdon – the only online guidebook to Snowdon. There, you’ll find all the popular walking routes up Snowdon as well as some less well known ones to the summit. NOTE – Times and distances are for the ASCENT only! You’ll need to choose a descent route and factor in an extra 3 hours or so.
Public Transport for Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon). It’s much easier to use the Sherpa’r Wyddfa bus service to plan your walk up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), and definitely cheaper than parking. You can also plan a linear route, which opens up a lot more options than your usual up and down route. It’s usually a cheap option with a daily pass costing around the price of a pint of beer (around £6 – and yes, beer prices around here are expensive).
Parking for Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon). Parking at Pen-y-pass has become nigh on impossible and the prices over summer prohibitive and pre-booked only. We can’t even find the prices on the Eryri NPA website or their parking app, which does at least note the number of free spaces at some of the car parks but don’t currently provide any of the othe useful information you’d need to know. Be prepared to pay upward of £6, depending on location with Pen-y-pass prices in the region of £10 (Winter 22/23) and £18-40 during the summer. You’ll need to pay by card, and the Pen-y-pass parking needs pre-booking in season and the luck of a lottery winner at all other times.
What’s in a name? The mountain was often known under the english name of ‘Snowdon’ – but is now officially known by the welsh name of Yr Wyddfa. Likewise, Snowdonia is now Eryri. For clarity, and because we still need people to find this page and the information upon it, we shall refer to them as Yr Wyddfa (Snowon) and Eryri (Snowdonia). Either way, the english name of Snow Dun – is basically Snow Hill / mountain. Yr Wyddfa is archic welsh for a burial place, as it is the legendary burial spot of Rhita Gawr.
How Long will it take to Walk up Snowdon? see the FAQ above.
What Should I Wear to Walk up Snowdon? Not pants, that’s for certain. By that, we don’t mean going commando – but wearing more than just your pants like one guy did recently. You’ll need decent waterproofs, boots, clothing and a pack as well as a map and compass and how to use them. See our Summer Hill Walking Kit List for more information.
What’s the Easiest Route up Snowdon? see the FAQ above.
Can I use an app to walk up? Apparently, the official line is that you can download an app – but while that’s fine for planning, you should never depend on apps on the mountain and you should always have map and compass as your primary means of navigation and any electronics are just a bonus.
What’s the best route up Snowdon in Winter? You’ll need to be fully kitted up with your winter kit – check our kitlist – as well as being up to speed on your winter skills. You’ll still see many who are not – and it’s testament to the power of human stupidity that there aren’t even more fatalities on this mountain every year. The least technical route up in winter would probably be the Miner’s Track, but the final section can be corniced over and tricky (fun!) to top out. The Snowdon Ranger is also reasonably straightforward. The Rhyd Ddu Path has the complication of the steep sided Bwlch Main to traverse, making it tricky in winter. The final section of the Watkin is likewise rather challenging in snow, with a small slip having serious consequences.
What pubs are good for Snowdon – Our partner site for Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) has put a summary of them all here – All the best Pubs for Snowdon.
Recommended Snowdon Maps: OS Explorer OL17 Snowdon & Conwy Valley, Snowdonia BMC (British Mountain Map) , Snowdonia North XT25, Landranger 115 Snowdon & Caernarfon
*Yr Wyddfa, or Snowdon, is the tallest peak in Wales at 1085m , though you often hear quoted “England and Wales”, however England has a perfectly fine highest point, Scafell Pike. Neither is it preceded by ‘Mount’ or ‘Mt’ as that would just be silly considering that the ‘don’ part of the name already refers to it being a mountain (Mount Snow Mount?) Anyone professing to knowing about the mountain and writing a guide to the routes online and calling it ‘mount’ clearly don’t know their arete from their Eilio…
All The Walking Routes up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon)
The Llanberis Path – Llwybr Llanberis
Height Gained 945m, Distance 7km, Time 3 hrs.
Main Difficulties Avoiding other walkers and tourists.
The Llanberis Path is the most popular and easiest walking route to the summit of Wales’ highest mountain. In normal weather, it poses no problems for the fit walker, with even the navigation being reasonably easy. On a fine day, you’ll be able to follow the hordes of other people who have also decided to follow the Llanberis Path – aka the Motorway. As mentioned above, it’s a different proposition in winter conditions! There are plenty of easier walks from Llanberis if the weather is too foul to walk it safely.
Pyg Track – Llwybr Pyg
Height Gained 705m, Distance 5km, Time 2 hrs 15 min. Starting point – Pen-y-pass
Main Difficulties – The Zig Zags are an accident blackspot when iced and the path can be difficult to follow in places between the Pyg and Miner’s Path junction and the zig zags.
The Pyg Track from Pen y Pass is both the shortest walking route up Snowdon, and the one that involves the least amount of ascent. Despite this, it’s not the easiest path up as it can be steep and rocky in places but the paths are generally very good all the way and reasonably straightforward to follow. It is 5.5km in length and involves around 800m of ascent. If you’re reasonably fit, you should make it up in three hours. Remember to allow time for breaks and stopping to take in the sights, of which there are plenty. Often chosen as a National 3 Peaks route as it’s the shortest route.
Miner’s Track – Llwybr y Mwynwyr
Height Gained 765m, Distance 6km, Time 1 hrs 50 min. Starting point – Pen-y-pass
Main Difficulties – as for PYG
The Miner’s Track from Pen y Pass is a less challenging walking route that starts in Pen y Pass, but stays low by following a wide track as far as Glaslyn. It then pulls up some rocky steps to join the PYG to the summit. It’s still a tough walk with the section shared with the PYG track being particularly rough underfoot. Combined with the PYG Track, this is the best circular walk up Yr Wyddfa from Pen-y-pass
Crib Goch
Height Gained 760m Distance 5km, Time 3 hours. Grade 1 Scramble Starting point – Pen-y-pass
Crib Goch is an exposed grade one scramble that should only be attempted if you’re confident in your abilities. This is without a doubt one for experienced mountain goers only, though you wouldn’t think so by looking at the typical conga crossing the crib on a summer’s day. Other than that, Crib Goch is the iconic Eryri/Snowdonia route – the must do route. Descend via Lliwedd in order to complete the famous Snowdon Horseshoe.
The Snowdon Horseshoe
Height Gained 1060m, Distance 12km, Time 6 hours Starting point – Pen-y-pass
Main Difficulties – Exposure on Crib Goch and Y Lliwedd
While technically this isn’t a ‘route’ up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), but a combination of two – it seems odd not to include a route of such high quality. It initially ascends the knife edged ridge of Crib Goch before continuing over Crib y Ddysgl, on to Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) summit and descends via Y Lliwedd. One of the best mountain days you’ll have, and the summit of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) isn’t one of the highlights!
The Watkin Path – Llwybr Watkin
Height Gained 1,000m, Distance 6km, Time 3 hrs. Starting point – Nant Gwynant
Main Difficulties Scree at top is an accident black-spot and is an unpleasant surprise towards the end of the walk.
The Watkin Path opened in 1892 as a donkey track, but the Watkin Path was never truly finished. Of all the official ascents up Snowdon it starts nearest to sea level and so has more ascent than any other direct route, but the Llanberis Path starts off only 50m higher and involves a little more distance. Swings and roundabouts really.
The Watkin Path is also the most scenic of all the routes up, starting off through some ancient woodland before passing a spectacular waterfall and ultimately ascending to Bwlch Ciliau and Yr Wyddfa. A pleasure to walk for most of its distance, the final eroded scree chute up to the summit rather detracts from the path’s overall appeal. However, no other path can boast a Prime Minister, commandos and a Carry on Film among its myriad claims to fame.
Rhyd Ddu Path – Llwybr Rhyd Ddu
Height Gained 860m, Distance 6km, Time 1 hrs 45 min Starting point – Rhyd-ddu
Main Difficulties Some exposure on Bwlch Main
The Rhyd Ddu Path is a lesser known path, but still has it’s share of walkers. The route offers fine views towards Crib Nantlle and Llyn Cwellyn, but is a bit of a plod. That is, until you reach the cliffs above Cwm Clogwyn and the airy walk across Bwlch Main, which is shared with the South Ridge ascent.
Snowdon South Ridge Path
Height Gained 850m, Distance 6km, Time 2 hrs 45 min Starting point – Rhyd-ddu or Nant Gwynant
Main Difficulties Some exposure on Bwlch Main
The South Ridge path usually elicits a blank expression on most walkers when you mention walking routes up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon). It isn’t even classed as one of the ‘official’ routes! Those in the know however, realise that this is an absolute gem of a route that stands modestly in the shadows, shunning the limelight. In comparison, the PYG, Miners and Watkin are cheap, talentless reality TV z-listers desperately seeking endless attention. The South Ridge knows it’s good, and is happy to stand back a little until you realise just how good it is. It’s in no rush.
Snowdon Ranger – Llwybr Cwellyn
Height Gained 895m, Distance 6km, Time 2 hrs 45 min Starting point – Snowdon Ranger YH
Main Difficulties Steep in places.
The Snowdon Ranger path is a quieter walking route up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) from the ‘far’ end if you’re travelling in from the East. Starting off from the tranquil Cwellyn, it initially gains some rapid height by way of the zig-zags before some well earned respite. Then you reach the proper zig zags and this is a relentless pull to the top that has enough interest to keep it from being a pure slog. Can also be walked from Llanberis via Maeswgwm or by walking up Moel Eilio for a satisfyingly long loop.
Via Lliwedd from Pen-y-pass
Height Gained 895m, Distance 6km, Time 2 hrs 45 min Starting point – Snowdon Ranger YH
Main Difficulties Steep and scrambly in places
Quite often, this route is relegated to a descent and a mere afterthought on the Horseshoe route. Were it on any other mountain, it would have pride of place. Topping out at 898 metres, Y Lliwedd offers easy scrambling and good mountain walking without the crowds associated with the other walks from Pen-y-pass, joining the Watkin for the final section. The walk offers, what are in our opinion, some of the best views towards Yr Wyddfa of any of the routes up (comparable to those from Crib Goch)
Via Llechog Ridge
Height Gained 990m, Distance 8km, Time 4hrs Starting point – Llanberis
Main Difficulties Pathless
Many people are unaware that there’s another route from Llanberis. It avoids the worst of the lower sections of the Llanberis path, including the laborious Allt Moses and only joins the Llanberis path from Clogwyn station. The Llechog ridge offers a pathless, mainly grassy route which you’ll usually have all to yourself.
Via Cwm Clogwyn
Height Gained 960m, Distance 8.3km, Time 4 hrs Starting point – Snowdon Ranger YH
Main Difficulties Navigation
Another quiet route is via Cwm Clogwyn. This is basically a cross country yomp to join the Ranger and Rhyd Ddu path that’s probably best done as a loop from the Snowdon Ranger, and descending by that route. The walker will need to find their own way from the Ranger towards Llyn Ffynnon Gwas before ascending into the hidden Cwm Clogwyn. We say hidden, but it’s the cwm that is most visible from Hafod Eryri as well as from the South Ridge. The walker needs to make their way towards Llyn Coch initially, before heading path Llyn Nadroedd and up the blunt Llechog ridge (not to be confused with either of the other Llechog ridges!) to join the Rhyd Ddu path to the summit.
Via Y Gribin
Height Gained 780m, Distance 6.5km, Time 3 hrs Starting point – Pen-y-pass
Main Difficulties Steep scramble
Yet another ridge that can easily be confused with another – but this Gribin climbs from Glaslyn up to Bwlch y Saethau in a deliciously short scramble. For a shorter day, you can just ascend this and over Lliwedd – which we did on race day one year to avoid crowds.
Via Crib Goch NE Ridge
Height Gained 895m, Distance 6km, Time 2 hrs 45 min Starting point – Blaen-y-nant Main Difficulties Tough Grade 1 scramble.
This is a quieter ascent to the main ridge, involving a bit more scrambling and route finding than the more popular route from Pen-y-pass. Starts from cromlech. – COMING SOON!
Bonus routes to consider. Cwm Glas via Gyrn Las to Garnedd Ugain – this one’s a bit of a slog and one that might well form part of a wild camp (as it did for us) or a descent. Another to consider is ascending Gallt Y Wenallt – that can be ascended via the mines in Cwm Merch from Nant Gwynant, or via a sketchy path in Cwm Dyli. More experienced scramblers also have the option of more technical scrambles such as the Clogwyn y Person Arete.
Local Information and Recommended Maps and Guidebooks
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Dave Roberts
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