Prepare Snowdon Mount hike
You have not heard of Snowdon Mount in Wales yet? Or on the contrary you have planned to do this hike and climb the highest top of Wales? Well, we wrote for you an article with all the useful info to prepare this walk of about 6h.
A beautiful walk, a stunning landscape.
Snowdon Mount is the highest peak in Wales. It is located in the north of the country, in the Snowdonia Natural Park. It is 1035m above sea level and overlooks many beautiful lakes.
6 different paths to reach the top of Snowdon mount
There are different paths to climb this mountain. With different levels, they do not all start from the same place and on average the walk lasts about 6h round trip.
The 2 most popular trails
- Miners Track
- Start: Pen y Pass parking
- Difficulty: low / 723m climb
- Comments: very flat at first, it runs along 2 great lakes to finally climb to the top. After a while (about 2/3 of the path) the Miners and the Pyg Track meet until the end of the walk.
- Pyg Track
- Start: Pen y Pass parking
- Difficulty: low / 723m climb
- Comments: it rises a little at the beginning, then gradually until the end. It overlooks the lakes. It join the Miners Track at the end before the last climb to the top.
- And the more “sportive” declination of the Pyg Track: the Crib Goch
- Start: Pen y Pass parking
- Difficulty: between medium and high
- Comments: There is no dedicated start. You have to take the Pyg Track path which separates after a while in 2 paths. Continue on the right to walk Crib Goch. Sometimes you’ll have to climb with the hands (not ideal for people who have dizziness) and on a mountain ridge. And there are no many signs on the path.
The 4 other trails
- Llanberis path
- Start: several car parks in the town of Llanberis
- Difficulty: low / 975m climb
- Comments: climb by another mountain side, view of other lakes
- Watkin path (7h)
- Start: Bethania Bridge or Nant Gwynant car park
- Difficulty: average / 1015 m ascent
- Comments: other mountain side, no lake visible before reaching the summit
- Rhyd ddu path
- Start: Rhyd ddu car park
- Difficulty: 895m climb
- Snowdon ranger
- Start: Llyn Cwellyn car park
- Difficulty: 936m climb
Or even the little train…
Alternatively, for around 20 euro, a train can bring you directly up to the top of Snowdon Mount. You have to take it from the town of Llanberis. It’s a small train pulled by an old locomotive. It is not the quickest solution and you have to think about booking in advance.
Our Snowdon Mount hike
Choose your itinerary! For this hike, we wanted:
- Challenge: not choosing the easiest with the most common trails
- Amazing view: paths with views of the lakes everytime (or almost)
- A loop: taking a different path on the way to return to diversify landscapes
- 1 only Parking: leave and return to the same parking to avoid taking the bus with our dog, Huaca (see below)
So, we opted for:
- Go by Pyg Track > Crib Goch
- Redescent by Pyg Track > Miners Track
And we were not disappointed!
It took us about 4h30 round trip (not including breaks: lunch, videos, swimming …).
Snowdon Mount, here we go
Arrival at the Pen y Pass parking
Wake up early to make sure you have a place at the Pen y Pass Parking (more info at the end of the article). On the Pen y Pass car park, take the start of the Pyg Track trail in the upper right corner.
Join the Crib Goch path walking by the Pyg Track
At the end of a good climb, the path separates in 2. Take the small climb on the right (a stone indicates the Crib Goch path).
In the beginning, everything goes well, then after a while we climb the pebbles (not always very stable) and we use hands to climb, some rock walls. The path is not always very well indicated but it is worth it. It can’t be quite difficult for people with vertigo.
Difficult path of the hike, the “red comb”
We then arrive at the edge. This is the only passage where we put Huaca, our dog on a lead. We continue after a little break. Thee edge is quite narrow and can easily dizzy.
After 2 or 3 moments on the mountain ridge, the path become easier for a while before reaching a big stone (see below), it is almost the end!
After this stone, another few minutes walking before crossing an intersection where the different paths (Pyg Track, Miners and Crib Goch) meet.
Last climb before reaching the highest summit of Wales
Finally, the last part towards Snowdon Mount’s top starts, the highest peak in Wales. And to tell you the whole truth, this is not the nicest part. Indeed, all the roads meet and while we were almost alone in this magnificent landscape (there were very few walkers on Crib Goch), we find ourselves standing in line to climb up with the other walkers, but also the people who took the train.
So, after a brief moment at the top, where we took 2 symbolic photos trying to be visible on our own pictures, we return to have our well deserved picnic out of the crowd. To do this, we walked towards the end of the Crib Goch path.
Hike back from the highest Summit in Wales
After this short break, we go down the common path to Pyg and Miners Track.
We cross wooden poles truffled with embedded coins and many small streams (be careful it’s sliding).
We turn right (path on the right of the stone in the picture below), to follow the Miners Track trail. There was much sun, we absolutely wanted to have a swim in the lake.
After a few strides in the rocks, we arrive at the edge of the 1st big lake. Huaca and Romain throw themselves into the lake… me I go, gently but surely! The water is really fresh, but it is so beautiful. And you have a great view on the Snowdon Mount.
After this, we continue on the trail. Let’s go along the 2 big lakes, cross the 2nd, pass an old slate factory on the left, follow a pipeline on the right… to finally see the parking lot.
As expected, we arrive at the Miners Track start, just on the left of the parking lot. The circle is complete!
So, beside the Disney Land sequence, at the top of the mountain, the rest of the walk is definitely worth a trip. A beautiful scenery no matter which path you choose. Would we recommend to walk Snowdon Mount???? Yes, of course!
Useful informations
Pen y Pass parking and the Sherpa Bus network
Price: 10 € for the whole day (until midnight) or 5 € for less than 4h.
Forbidden to stay there after midnight and therefore to sleep there.
Warning ! We went there for 7am in midweek (mid-July), and at 8am the car park was full. Outside the Pen y pass parking, you still have to pay to park, except if you’re really far.
There are other car parks around (Nant gwynant, Llanberis or Llyn Cwellyn) and apparently a good bus network (find Sherpa Bus schedule) connect them (frequency about every 10-15 mins). Normally they are supposed to accept dogs, but we read that it mainly depends on the driver.
On the Pen y pass parking there are toilets (free of charge), and next door a hostel that offers hot showers for 3 euros per person.
Do not forget for hiking
- Good sneakers,
- sunscreen,
- water,
- snacks,
- and even a swimsuit if the weather is good…
Have a good hike to Snowdon Mount!
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