page_title: Snowdon
section_title: Paths
hierarchical_section_title: Snowdon / Leisure activities / Paths
caption_attribution_description: English: Crib Goch, Pyg track, Miners track, taken from Yr Wyddfa Snowdon
context_page_description: Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales, at an elevation of 1,085 metres above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside the Scottish Highlands. It is located in Snowdonia National Park in Gwynedd. It is the busiest mountain in the United Kingdom and the third most visited attraction in Wales; in 2018 it was visited by 558,000 walkers, with an additional 140,000 people taking the train. It is designated as a national nature reserve for its rare flora and fauna.
  The rocks that form Snowdon were produced by volcanoes in the Ordovician period, and the massif has been extensively sculpted by glaciation, forming the pyramidal peak of Snowdon and the arêtes of Crib Goch and Y Lliwedd. The cliff faces on Snowdon, including Clogwyn Du'r Arddu, are significant for rock climbing, and the mountain was used by Edmund Hillary in training for the 1953 ascent of Mount Everest.
  The summit can be reached by a number of paths and by the Snowdon Mountain Railway, a rack railway opened in 1896 which carries passengers the 4.7 miles from Llanberis to the summit station.
context_section_description: The first recorded ascent of Snowdon was by the botanist Thomas Johnson in 1639. However, the 18th-century Welsh historian Thomas Pennant mentions a "triumphal fair upon this our chief of mountains" following Edward I's conquest of Wales in 1284, which could indicate the possibility of earlier ascents.
  The six main paths were mapped by the Google Trekker in 2015. The elevations and gradients given here are for the start point on a public road, based on Ordnance Survey mapping.  Other definitions are possible so alternative figures can be found (e.g. ).
  Llanberis Path
  Length: 6.8 kilometres (4.2 mi). Elevation gain: 965 metres (3,166 ft).  Overall gradient: 1 in 7.1 (14.1%).
  The Llanberis Path is the longest route to the summit. It follows the line of the railway and being the easiest and least interesting, it is the route used by the annual Snowdon Race, which has a record time of less than 40 minutes recorded from the start to the summit.
  The section of the Llanberis Path beside the railway near the summit has been called the "Killer Convex"; in icy conditions, this convex slope can send unwary walkers over the cliffs of Clogwyn Du'r Arddu. Four people died there in February 2009.
  Snowdon Ranger Path
  Length: 6.3 kilometres (3.9 mi). Elevation gain: 935 metres (3,068 ft).  Overall gradient: 1 in 6.7 (14.9%).
  The Snowdon Ranger Path (Welsh: Llwybr Cwellyn) begins at the youth hostel beside Llyn Cwellyn, to the west of the mountain, served by the A4085 and Snowdon Ranger railway station. This was formerly the Saracen's Head Inn, but was renamed under the ownership of the mountain guide John Morton. It is thought to be the oldest path to the summit.
  The route begins with zigzags through turf, before reaching a flatter boggy area in front of Llyn Ffynnon-y-gwas. The path then climbs to Bwlch Cwm Brwynog, and then snakes along the ridge above Clogwyn Du'r Arddu towards the summit. This path meets the railway, the Llanberis Path, the Crib Goch path, and the combined Pyg Track and Miners' Track all within a short distance, just below the summit.
  Rhyd Ddu path
  Length: 5.8 kilometres (3.6 mi). Elevation gain: 905 metres (2,969 ft) or 896 metres (2,940 ft) depending on exact start point.  Overall gradient: 1 in 6.4 (15.7%).
  The Rhyd Ddu path, also called the Beddgelert Path, leads from the village of Rhyd Ddu, west of Snowdon, gently up on to Llechog, a broad ridge dropping west from the summit. It is considered one of the easier routes to the summit, with the advantage that the summit is visible from the start, but is one of the least used routes. It climbs at a shallow gradient to Bwlch Main, shortly southwest of the summit, from where it climbs more steeply, meeting up with the Watkin Path at a site marked with a large standing stone a few hundred metres from the summit.  An alternative start begins at Pitt's Head on the A4085 road.
  Watkin Path
  Length: 6.2 kilometres (3.9 mi). Elevation gain: 1,025 metres (3,363 ft).  Overall gradient: 1 in 6.1 (16.5%).
  The Watkin Path is "the most demanding route direct to the summit of Snowdon", since it starts at the lowest elevation of any of the main routes and has the steepest overall gradient. It was first conceived by Sir Edward Watkin, a railway owner who had attempted to build a railway tunnel under the English Channel, and had a summer home in Nant Gwynant near the start of the path. It was originally designed as a donkey track and opened in 1892.
  The start of the Watkin Path has been described as "the prettiest beginning" of the routes up Snowdon. It begins at Bethania on the A498 and climbs initially through old broadleaved woodland. After leaving the woods, the path climbs past the waterfalls of the Afon Llan to the glacial cirque of Cwm Llan, crossing a disused incline from an abandoned slate quarry. It then reaches Plas Cwmllan, formerly the home of the quarry manager for the South Snowdon Slate Works beyond, and later used for target practice by commandos during the Second World War. Near Plas Cwmllan is the large boulder known as Gladstone Rock, which bears a plaque commemorat
caption: The Pyg Track (above) and Miners Track (below) merge above Glaslyn. Crib Goch is visible at the top
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