Walk up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon)

Welcome to Walk up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon)

Walk up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) is the most comprehensive on-line guidebook for walking routes up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon – It’s Never Mount Snowdon) and all around Eryri / Snowdonia. With free walking maps and full guides to all the routes to the summit of Snowdon it’s the only website dedicated to walking routes up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon).

What’s in a name?  The welsh name is now given presedence over the english one – and we’re still in the process of editing the terms in this site to note Yr Wyddfa / Snowdon or Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) and likewise with Snowdonia / Eryri. The site will remain on the domain WalkupSnowdon.co.uk for the foreseeable future – you can than the vagaries of Google for that. Yes, we could turf everything over to WalkUpYrWyddfa.co.uk if we wanted – but the site would likely disappear from google, and would likey be replaced by one without the respect for the language that comes from being run by native speakers. If you spot a rogue ‘Snowdon’ – don’t let us know just yet – as we’re still reviewing stuff and standardising the path names to be bilingual. We would love to post the routes bilingually as well – but we receive no funding and it’s not currently viable.

Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), at 1085 metres in height is the tallest mountain in Wales and has a number of varied walking routes to the summit. It’s also one of the mountains climbed on the National Three Peaks Challenge – Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis being the other two – with the climb up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) usually being the first or final mountain.  The mountain is also part of the Welsh 3 Peaks and the Welsh 14/15 Peak Challenge.

For those who don’t want a challenge, there’s the option of ascending on the famous Snowdon Mountain Railway that ferries the masses to the summit, rather than tacking the climb themselves. While you can climb or walk up the mountain, there are those who choose to run up  Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), and the Annual International Snowdon Race in July is world famous!

We recommend if you do not have mountain walking experience to join a guided walk up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) organised by an experienced and qualified mountain guide.

It’s also famous for the Snowdon Horseshoe scrambling route, the best way to climb the highest mountain in Wales! Ascending first up Crib Goch, the hardest route, for those with a head for heights, the route continues over Crib y Ddysgl, Yr Wyddfa and descends via Y Lliwedd. One of the best mountain days in the UK. We’ve listed the best circular routes on Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) to make choosing a day walk even easier.

More popular is the Llanberis Path, which is the most popular route of ascent. It’s generally accepted to be the easiest route in non-winter conditions, but note that’s ‘easiest’ and not easy – as there’s no easy way to walk up this mountain! In winter, it’s one of the more dangerous options as the section known as the Killer Convex means that a slip at that point can often be fatal.

You’ll need to know what you need to walk up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) -which is the right gear to start with, with the proper mountain skills just as essential. In other words, you’ll need the gear and you’ll need to know how to use it!

The Routes to Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) Summit Interactive Map has an interactive map that shows all the walking routes to the summit, with a page for each walk that shows the route and has a downloadable gpx file. The walks up Snowdon are divided into easy walks, hard walks and scrambles up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon). We have a full description for all the popular walks to the summit, from the Llanberis Path to Crib Goch and The Miners’ Tracks. We also describe the less popular, but by no means less scenic routes like Snowdon South Ridge and Y Gribin.

We know that there’s more to the area than Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) so we’ve added a Walks in Eryri – Snowdonia section for other related walks. The very best walks in Eryri / Snowdonia has been curated for you as the best easy walks in Eryri / Snowdonia and the best mountain walks in Eryri / Snowdonia, with a selection of easier hill walks on our best walks to easier summits in Eryri / Snowdonia page. We’ll be adding more routes over time.

Main Walking Routes up Yr Wyddfa / Snowdon

Route Name Starting Point Parking Post Code Distance* Ascent / Climbing Walking Time**
Llanberis Path Route Llanberis LL55 4TD  7km  945m  3-4 hours
Snowdon Ranger Route Snowdon Ranger LL54 7YS  6km  900m  2-3.5 hours
Miners’ Track Route Pen y Pass LL55 4NY  6km  800m  2-3 hours
Rhyd Ddu Path Rhyd Ddu LL54 6TN  6km  860m  2-3 hours
Watkin Path Nant Gwynant LL55 4NR  6km  1000m  3-4 hours
PYG Track Pen y Pass LL55 4NY  5km  800m  2 -3 hours
Route Name Start and
Parking Post Code		 Distance*
Ascent &
Time**
Llanberis Path Route Llanberis
LL55 4TD		  7km
 945m
 3-4 hours
Snowdon Ranger Route Snowdon Ranger
LL54 7YS		  6km
 900m
 2-3.5 hours
Miners’ Track Route Pen y Pass
LL55 4NY		  6km
 800m
 2-3 hours
Rhyd Ddu Path Rhyd Ddu
LL54 6TN		  6km
 860m
 2-3 hours
Watkin Path Nant Gwynant
LL55 4NR		  6km
 1000m
 3-4 hours
PYG Track Pen y Pass
LL55 4NY		  5km
 800m
 2 -3 hours
Route Name Starting Point Parking Post Code Distance* Ascent / Climbing Walking Time**
Llanberis Path Route Llanberis LL55 4TD  7km  945m  3-4 hours
Snowdon Ranger Route Snowdon Ranger LL54 7YS  6km  900m  2-3.5 hours
Miners’ Track Route Pen y Pass LL55 4NY  6km  800m  2-3 hours
Rhyd Ddu Path Rhyd Ddu LL54 6TN  6km  860m  2-3 hours
Watkin Path Nant Gwynant LL55 4NR  6km  1000m  3-4 hours
PYG Track Pen y Pass LL55 4NY  5km  800m  2 -3 hours

*Distance is for one way only

**Time is for one way only, and variable. Very fit walkers can walk up and down Snowdon in 3-4 hours and will know their own timings and speed. If in doubt, assume the longest duration for your ascent and add the longest for your descent, depending on route. Add a good half hour or more for the summit stop as well.

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If you want further advice on Walking up Snowdon, then visit our Mud and Routes Outdoor Forum – Walking up Snowdon. We are unable to respond by email or on every comments for advice, and this will be an easier way to ensure people’s questions are answered.

 

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