Walks in Snowdonia (Eryri)

Snowdonia/Eryri National Park has lots of stunning scenery – and there’s surely no better way to get out and explore on foot. Going for a walk, whether short or long, gives you a chance to see the landscapes at your own pace, look out for wildlife and soak up all the sounds and scents as well as the sights. With little specialist equipment required, walking is a budget-friendly holiday activity for all ages, and it’s a healthy habit to get into even for young children.

In this article, we’ll introduce you to some of the best easy Snowdonia walks, chosen by Pitchup’s keen walkers and covering everything from short family-friendly strolls to slightly longer adventures with a bit of gentle scrambling. These trails are all graded easy to moderate and suitable for casual walkers and families. If you’re looking for a bit more of a challenge, take a look at our guide to Snowdonia hiking instead.

Snowdonia family-friendly walks

If you’re hoping to get the kids interested in nature and the joy of the outdoors, a well-chosen walk is a great way to start. Both of the recommendations below are short, easygoing and full of things to look at, so they’re ideal for family walks.

Betws-y-Coed Bridges Walk

Length: 2 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 45 minutes
Start: Cae Llan car park or Betws-y-Coed station

Taking you out along one bank of the Llugwy river and back along the other, this short and pretty trail has woodland views, river wildlife to spot and plenty of places to stop for a waterside picnic. The path is fairly flat and well-made, and very easy to follow – you just need to keep the river on your left until you reach a bridge, then cross and follow the trail back to town (where cafés and ice cream shops await).

Good to know: Betws-y-Coed is a popular hub for walkers of all ages, with numerous trails to follow nearby. The short Fairy Glen walk is a great choice for families, and walking websites like AllTrails will introduce you to all sorts of routes around the area.

Aber Falls Walk

Length: 2.5 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 1 hour
Start: Aber Falls car park

Aber Falls, in a dramatic gorge setting and with a drop of 37 metres, is one of Snowdonia’s most popular natural attractions – and it’s surprisingly easy to get to. From the car park, an easy-to-follow trail takes you along the banks of Afon Goch to the falls – at a little over a mile, it’s long enough to create a sense of adventure but not so long that it will tire little legs out. The trail has been designed as an ‘Easy Access for All’ route, so it’s also suitable for pushchairs and conventional wheelchairs.

Good to know: The Aber Falls car park can get busy – especially at weekends and in school holidays – so you may like to consider using the free car park in nearby Abergwyngregyn, or travelling by bus (there’s a stop at the entrance to the village).

Leisurely nature walks

Lots of Snowdonia walking routes will allow you to spot wildlife as well as admiring the stunning scenery, but we’ve chosen a couple of favourites here that really show off both the park’s wildlife and its landscapes. 

Mawddach Trail

Length: 9 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 5-6 hours
Start: Barmouth, Dolgellau or several spots in between

You’ll definitely want to have your binoculars with you for this captivating walk, which follows the old railway line from Dolgellau to Barmouth on the southern bank of the Mawddach estuary. Most of the estuary has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and you can take a short detour to the RSPB reserves at Arthog Bog and Coed Garth Gell.

This is a multi-use path that’s fairly flat and suitable for walkers, cyclists and wheelchair users (and there’s also tramper hire available). Whichever way you tackle this trail, look out for butterflies, dragonflies and grass snakes as well as birds like nightjars, siskins and wood warblers. The scenery is pretty fabulous here too, with mountains sloping down towards the coast, and there are some intriguing relics of the area’s industrial past along the estuary as well.

Good to know: Bus services run between Dolgellau and Barmouth, so you can walk in one direction and bus back. There are also several stops in between so you can easily shorten this walk if you like.

Llyn Padarn Circular

Length: 6 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Time: 2.5-3 hours
Start: Padarn car park

Llyn Padarn has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest, with a variety of important habitats along its banks and a number of endangered species living in and around the water. It’s one of the few lakes in Wales that still has a population of rare Arctic charr fish, and there are also otters and wildfowl living here. If you’re here around dusk you may see bats – both pipistrelle and Daubenton’s bats – hunting for insects.

The loop around the lake is a little more tricky than some of the routes on this list, as there are some rougher and steeper sections, but it’s all well marked (look out for the white markings on wooden posts) and should be suitable for walkers of most abilities. There are plenty of places to rest and have a picnic along the way, often with a scenic backdrop.

Good to know: There are lots of extra things you can add into your tour of the lake, including a ride on the Llanberis Lake Railway, a wander around Dolbadarn Castle and visits to the Dinorwig Slate Quarry and the old Quarry Hospital (now a museum).

Best Snowdonia walk for scenic views

There is of course no shortage of spectacular scenery in Snowdonia, so we could make quite a lengthy list of scenic walking routes. However, the keen walkers at Pitchup have put their heads together and chosen their favourite easygoing trail that visitors should try out. 

Llyn Ogwen Circular

Length: 3 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Time: 1.5-2 hours
Start: Ogwen Cottage car park

The trail around this gorgeous glacial lake is a game of two halves – the southern side is flat and paved, while the northern stretch involves a bit of boulder scrambling and can become boggy in wet weather. At three miles long, it’s easily achievable for casual walkers but is unlikely to be suitable for young children and isn’t recommended in bad weather.

The scenery here is quite outstanding – as well as the lake itself you’ll also see a waterfall and have fabulous views up to the rocky slopes of Tryfan, Pen yr Ole Wen and the Glyderau. As a result, although it’s possible to walk around the lake in about an hour and a half, you may find it takes rather longer as you’ll keep wanting to stop and take photos.

Good to know: Legend has it that, after King Arthur’s final battle, Sir Bedivere threw the famous Excalibur sword into the lake where it was caught by the Lady of the Lake.

Snowdonia waterfall walks

If the Aber Falls walk above has whetted your appetite for more waterfalls, you’re in luck – there are several more easy waterfall walks in Eryri/Snowdonia. Here are a couple of our top picks to add to your list.

Swallow Falls

Length: 2.5 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Time: 2 hours
Start: Ty'n Llwyn picnic area (free car park)

Rather conveniently, Swallow Falls is right by the side of the A5 so you can in fact make this an incredibly easy and short walk by parking over the road and heading over for a quick look from above. However, for a more fulfilling outing, there’s a nice trail running through the woods from the picnic area to lower and higher viewpoints.

This is a well-marked trail with an information board and well-maintained boardwalks and barriers. There are several flights of steps to negotiate as you climb through the woods, and in places the path is a little rocky and muddy, but there’s nothing too complicated to tackle en route.

Good to know: As well as seeing the falls, you’ll also get lovely views across Gwydir Forest Park and over to Moel Siabod from this trail.

Rhaeadr Ddu and Coed Ganllwyd Walk

Length: 2 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Time: 1.5 hours
Start: National Trust - South Snowdonia car park

Running through the lush green surroundings of Coed Ganllwyd National Nature Reserve, this is a lovely trail that provides a bit more of a challenge for walkers, with a few steep uphill sections and some potentially boggy areas (we definitely recommend boots for this trail!)

The highlight of the trail is of course the pair of waterfalls known as Rhaeadr Ddu (Black Falls), cascading down an 18-metre drop in the woods. The trail can be a bit slippery around here, so you’ll need to take care, but the views are spectacular – especially if the falls are in full flow after it’s rained.

Good to know: You can turn this into a longer walk by picking up the red or black trails to see some historic gold mines.

Cultural and historic walks

It’s usually the views that form the basis for Snowdonia walks, but there are several routes around that can also introduce you to some of the park’s heritage, perhaps taking in ancient monuments or including places that have folk stories attached. We’ve listed a couple of our favourites here.

Gelert’s Grave Walk

Length: 1 mile
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 40 minutes-1 hour
Start: Beddgelert railway station

The charming village of Beddgelert is a popular place for visitors, with gorgeous views, traditional buildings and plenty of pubs and cafés. It’s also the place to go for this short but beautiful walk with a sad story behind it. This flat and pushchair/wheelchair-friendly circular trail takes you along the banks of the Glaslyn River for some lovely views, before diverting inland a little to the Gelert’s grave monument. 

Gelert was the faithful dog of Prince Llywelyn, who came home one day to find the dog covered in blood, near the empty cradle of his son. Thinking the dog had attacked his child, the prince killed the dog in a rage – before turning to find his son alive and well near the body of a wolf that Gelert had killed to protect the child. The stone monument and the bronze statue a little further along are tributes to the dog’s heroic actions.

Good to know: You can see more of the area around Beddgelert by following a longer walking trail to the Aberglaslyn gorge, or taking a ride on the Welsh Highland Railway.

Gwydir Castle Circular

Length: 3 miles/5 miles
Difficulty: Easy/moderate
Time: 1.5 hours/3 hours
Start: Llanrwst

The pretty village of Llanrwst is another honeypot for walkers and visitors seeking out classic architecture – particularly the famous Tu Hwnt i'r Bont tea rooms, covered in vines that are lush and green in summer before bursting into a carpet of glowing reds in autumn.

Once you’ve taken a stroll around the village, set off on one of the trails towards Gwydir Castle, a grand house with parts dating back to the 14th century. There are shorter and longer trails (with the longer one taking you to the banks of Llyn y Parc), and along the way you’ll visit the castle’s Grade I-listed gardens, pass an Elizabethan boat dock and take in a Tudor bowling green.

Good to know: The castle is open to the public on most Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from April to October (check current opening times at the Gwydir Castle website) if you’d like to take a self-guided tour of the interior.

Ready to explore?

Snowdonia may be famous for its mountains, but it’s also got plenty of easy walking routes that will introduce you to the national park’s gorgeous scenery and allow you to experience nature at a leisurely pace, whether you’re an experienced walker or a complete novice. The Snowdonia National Park website has more suggestions for walking trails of all grades, including wheelchair-friendly ‘Access for All’ routes.

Summer is the busiest time to hit the trails, but Snowdonia is glorious in spring and autumn, with different colours developing on the mountain slopes as the seasons change. If you’d like a more peaceful experience, you might like to consider travelling in these lower seasons. Don’t discount a winter trip, too – the mountain tops look gorgeous covered in snow, and as long as you’re well prepared you can certainly enjoy a good crowd-free walk during this time (and a nice pint in a cosy pub afterwards!)

Don’t forget that the weather can change suddenly in Snowdonia in any season, so you should always be prepared with suitable clothing. Although the walks listed don’t need any specialised kit, for your safety and comfort we always recommend taking the following:

• Walking boots or other waterproof shoes with a good tread

• Waterproof jacket

• Warm layers

• Sun cream and sunglasses

• Plenty of water and some snacks

• A fully charged phone for route following and photos