10 Best Hikes in Snowdonia (2025)

Nantlle Ridge

The best ridge walk in Wales that almost nobody does.

While everyone queues on Snowdon, the Nantlle Ridge delivers a genuine mountain traverse with scrambling, exposure, and views across to the Llŷn Peninsula and Cardigan Bay. It's long, committing, and you'll likely see fewer than a dozen people all day. The section over Y Garn and Mynydd Drws-y-Coed is properly airy. This is what Snowdonia hiking should feel like.

Snowdon Horseshoe

The ultimate Snowdonia day out — Crib Goch, Snowdon summit, and Y Lliwedd in one brutal loop.

The full Snowdon Horseshoe is the single finest mountain day in Wales. Crib Goch's knife-edge ridge, the summit of Snowdon, the quieter traverse over Y Lliwedd — it packs in everything Snowdonia has to offer. Yes, it includes the most famous mountain in Wales, but done as a horseshoe it earns every inch of the hype. Expert-only: people die on Crib Goch every year.

Tryfan North Ridge

The most fun you can have with your hands on a mountain. Pure scrambling joy.

Tryfan looks like a mountain drawn by a child — a proper rocky pyramid shooting straight up from the A5. The North Ridge is hands-on scrambling from bottom to top, with the famous Adam and Eve stones at the summit. Less terrifying than Crib Goch but arguably more enjoyable. The Ogwen Valley setting is incomparable, and the route-finding is obvious once you're on the rock.

Cadair Idris via Minffordd Path

Snowdonia's most underrated big mountain — dramatic, quieter, and steeped in legend.

Cadair Idris would be the star of any national park that didn't have Snowdon in it. The Minffordd Path climbs through ancient oak woodland to Llyn Cau — a dark, cliff-ringed glacial lake that's genuinely atmospheric — before a steep pull to the summit ridge. Legend says sleeping on the summit sends you mad or makes you a poet. The views south to Cardigan Bay are stunning, and you'll see a fraction of Snowdon's crowds.

Cwm Idwal & Devil's Kitchen

The best short walk in Snowdonia — huge drama, minimal effort.

If you only do one walk in Snowdonia, make it this one. Cwm Idwal is a glacial cwm surrounded by cliffs, with the dark slot of Devil's Kitchen (Twll Du) splitting the headwall. The circular walk around Llyn Idwal takes barely two hours but delivers scenery that took 500 million years to create. It's also Charles Darwin's favourite geology walk, which is reason enough.

Moel Siabod

The 360° viewpoint that sees everything — Snowdon, the Glyderau, Moel Hebog — without the crowds.

Moel Siabod sits in the middle of everything, which means its summit gives you arguably the best 360° panorama in Snowdonia. You can see every major peak from here. The hike from Capel Curig is straightforward but satisfying, with a rocky summit ridge that gives a taste of scrambling. It's the mountain that experienced Snowdonia hikers recommend to visitors — and then keep to themselves.

Snowdon via the Llanberis Path

The classic — because summiting the highest mountain in Wales is still worth doing.

Yes, it's busy. Yes, there's a café and a train at the top. But standing on the highest point in England and Wales on a clear day, looking out across the Irish Sea, is still a bucket-list moment. The Llanberis Path is the gentlest and longest route, suitable for most reasonably fit people. Just manage your expectations — in peak summer, it's more pilgrimage than wilderness experience.

Rhinog Fawr

The wildest, roughest mountain in Snowdonia. For those who like their hiking untamed.

If every other mountain in Snowdonia is a well-kept garden, Rhinog Fawr is the overgrown allotment next door. The heather is waist-deep, the terrain is ankle-breaking, paths are suggestions at best, and the Roman Steps approach feels genuinely ancient. It's utterly magnificent in its wildness. The views to the coast are stunning, and you will almost certainly be alone. This is hiking as it was before trail maintenance existed.

Aber Falls & Carneddau

Waterfalls, wild ponies, and the quietest 3,000ft mountains in Wales.

Start with one of Wales' most dramatic waterfalls (Aber Falls drops 37 metres in a single cascade), then climb into the Carneddau — the largest area of land above 3,000ft in Wales and home to wild ponies. The Carneddau summits feel genuinely remote in a way that Snowdon never can. Foel-fras, Carnedd Llewelyn, and Carnedd Dafydd are all 3,000-footers that most visitors have never heard of.

Moel Hebog

Beddgelert's home mountain — a proper peak with a fraction of the fuss.

Moel Hebog is the mountain that lords over Beddgelert, one of Snowdonia's prettiest villages. The hike is steep and direct — no messing about — with a scrambly summit that feels harder than its modest height suggests. The views to Snowdon and the Llŷn Peninsula are excellent, and the descent back to a cosy pub in Beddgelert is one of the great Snowdonia rituals. A genuine hidden gem.