Snowdon Paths and Sherpa Bus Service

Snowdon’s so big and so varied in terrain that it would be a real shame to walk up and down the same path in a day! The Snowdon Sherpa bus network is your passport to total freedom. Why not hike up one path and come down another? Or take the bus from your accommodation and walk back? It’s easy with the Sherpa service. The Snowdon Sherpa shuttles around the base of Snowdon connecting all 6 main footpaths and the surrounding villages.

Llanberis Path

Originally, tourists were
carried up this path on ponies and mules, and to this day it continues to be a pony path. (There is a voluntary
agreement with mountain bikers to keep off this path in busy times of the year.)

Distance: 9 miles (there and back)
Total Climb: 975m (3,198 ft)
Time: Approx 6 hours
(there and back)
Start and Finish: (SH 582 598 / LL55 4TY)
Map: Explorer OL17 OS
Parking: (SH 582589 /LL55 4TY)
Numerous car parks in Llanberis.
Sherpa Bus Stop: Llanberis Interchange

Miners Path

Following the opening of the Llanberis pass in 1832, the Miners Path was built to carry copper from the Britannia Copper Works near Llyn Glaslyn to Pen y Pass, where it was then transported to Caernarfon. The mining came to an end in 1916, remains from the work can still be seen on the path to this day.

Distance: 8 miles (there and back)
Total Climb: 723m (2,371 ft)
Time: Approx 6 hours (there and back)
Start and Finish: Pen y Pass Car Park (SH 647557 / LL55 4NY)
Map: Explorer OL17 Ordnance Survey
Parking: If Pen y Pass car park is full, you can park in Nant Peris (SH 607582 / LL55 4UF), and catch the Sherpa Bus back up to Pen y Pass.
Sherpa Bus Stop: Pen y Pass Car Park

Pyg Track

There is some uncertainty about the origin of the word Pyg. It is believed that the path was named after Pen y Gwryd Hostel by climbers who stayed there. Another possible origin is that the path was named after Bwlch y Moch (the pass of pigs) since the path crosses it, as it is sometimes spelled as Pig in English. Or it could have been named Pyg due to the fact that this was a path used to carry pyg (black tar) from the Britannia Copper Works in Cwm Glaslyn. The guessing continues!

Watkin Path

This path was named after Sir Edward Watkin, Liberal Member of Parliament and a railway entrepreneur. Watkin had a summer house by the start of the path and he was responsible for creating the path from South Snowdon Slate Quarry to Snowdon’s summit. Officially opened in 1892 by William Gladstone, the Prime Minister, on a boulder by the path which has been named after William Gladstone he addressed a crowd of over 2,000 people.

Distance: 8 miles (there and back)
Total Climb: 1,015m (3,329 ft)
Time: Approx 7 hours (there and back) 
Start an Finish: Bethania Bridge, Nant Gwynant (SH 628507 / LL55 4NL) on the A498 turning towards Hafod y Llan Farm 
Map: Explorer OL17 Ordnance Survey
Parking: Pont Bethania, Nant Gwynant car park (SH 628507 / LL55 4NL)
Sherpa Bus Stop: Nant Gwynant Car Park

Rhyd Ddu Path

This path used to be known as the Beddgelert Path since it was from this village that walkers started their journey to the summit.

 
Distance: 7.5 miles (there and back) 
Total Climb: 895m (2,936 ft)
Time: Approx 6 hours (there and back) 
Start and Finish: Rhyd Ddu Car Park (SH 571526 / LL54 6TN)
Map: Explorer OL17 Ordnance Survey
Parking: Rhyd Ddu Car Park (SH 571526 / LL54 6TN)
Sherpa Bus Stop: End of Rhyd Ddu Car Park

Snowdon Ranger

The path begins near the ‘Snowdon Ranger’ youth hostel, near Llyn Cwellyn.
John Morton the self
proclaimed 'Snowdon Ranger' used the path to guide Victorian tourists to the summit. He also opened a tavern where the youth hostel site stands today, and called it the ‘Snowdon Ranger Inn’.

Distance: 8 miles (there and back)
Total Climb: 936m (3,070 ft)
Time: Approx 6 hours (there and back) 
Start and Finish: Snowdon Ranger YHA, Llyn Cwellyn (SH 564551 / LL54 7YS) 
Map: Explorer OL17 Ordnance Survey
Parking: Llyn Cwellyn Car Park (SH 564551 / LL54 7YS)
Sherpa Bus Stop: Llyn Cwellyn Car Park