If you’re thinking of joining the 500,000 people who summit the 1,085-metre high mountain every year. You’re in the right place.

The 7-10 miles is not for the faint-hearted, although it is very accomplishable for amateur climbers, the mountain is not to be underestimated. If you really want that killer selfie from the top but doubt you’ll make it the whole way, don’t fret. There are alternative modes of transport to reach the top that don’t involve running on your own steam, quite literally. The Snowdon Mountain Railway operate a train service that drops off passengers 3/4 of the way up the mountain. Usually, they offer either a steam engine service or a diesel-run locomotive, but sadly due to Covid-19 the trainline has decided to only operate their diesel service.

Llanberis Path (Northern Approach)

However, for the people who want to complete the summit on their own steam, there are multiple ways to approach the summit. Starting off with the most popular of routes up the mountain. If you’re alright with traversing the mountain at it’s busiest then you shouldn’t find anything wrong with this route. The reason the Northern approach is the busiest route is it’s ease. The route takes a long gentle approach to the summit with less steep inclines than other routes and follows the route of the railway so if you’re starting to struggle half way you can hop on the train to take you the rest of the way. The Llanberis Path starts off in the town of Llanberis, it starts right next to the Snowdon Mountain Railway station, as you being your ascent up Mountain Road you should come to a large sign directing hikers to the mountain from here the path is very clear and well trodden so you shouldn’t have trouble following it. If you aren’t sure which way to go there will be plenty of people who are also tarversing the path who you can follow.

The route from start to end come sin at around 6km or 4 Miles., taking at least 3 hours to reach the summit and ascending a total of 850m.

From Pen-y-Pass (Easterly Appraoch)

The next route is definitely not for those who are using the train as a safety net on the Llanberis Path. There are multiple routes you can take off varying difficulty if you are starting from Pen-y-pass, whichever route you decide to take, they all have the same starting point, the car park at Pen-y-pass. Ifr you wish to park at the car park then it is strongly advise you book a long time in advance as demand is very high. The three paths you can take from this point are as follows; The Miners’ Track, Pyg Track and Crib Goch.

To reach the beginning of the first path, The Miners’ Path, there should be a lower path to the left of the mountain, it is flat and wide, you will walk past the two mountain lakes Llyn Teyrn and Llyn Llydaw, far more scenic than the Llanberis Path. After you have passed Llyn Llydaw the path changes from wide and flat to a mountain track starting to ascend steeply to the point it joins with the Pyg Track.

If you wish to walk the Pyg Track the entire distance to the summit follow the stony path that leads out of the car park to the right, if you are having trouble there are signposts directing which way to go. After a slight ascent the path will split in two, one continues along the Pyg Track whilst the other is the Crib Goch. This path should not be underestimated by any measure it can be dangerous even in the best of conditions. The Pyg Track and Miners’ Track merge after following this path for short while you should reach a large stone standing alone beside a step zig-zagging path, here the two paths join up with the Llanberis Path for the final approach to the summit.

Although there are a selection of routes to choose from they all take roughly the same amount of time to complete, 3 hours minimum, The Miners’ Track is 4 miles in length, Pyg Track and Crib Goch are both around 3 miles in length.

The Snowdon Ranger Path – from Llyn Cwellyn (Westerly Approach)

Similar to the Llanberis Path, this one also starts at a railway station the Snowdon Ranger Station next to the Llyn Cwellyn carpark, in the carpark a bridleway leads across the railway and up to a farmhouse, from here head right and follow a path that climbs the steep mountainside, eventually the path will begin to flatten out and crosses multiple mountain streams. You should be approaching a lake at this point, Llyn Ffynnon-y-gwas. This is where the path gets more difficult to traverse, the path turns rocky and less obvious, there are cairns which mark the route. Closer to the top of the path there are two standing stones which help you navigate to one path which leads to crossing the Snowdon Railway Line whilst the other joins all the other paths leading to the summit.

This route is 3-4 miles in length takes around 3-4 hours to complete and takes you another 900m above sea level.

The Watkin Path – From Nant Gwynant (Southerly Approach)

You can’t get more off track than this, this approach is the least popular so you won’t have to worry about queues or crowds. However, the reason for this becomes very clear as you begin your approach. Beginning at the National Trust car park, a well made path leads you through nearby woodland alongside a river equipped with plenty of waterfalls and even a hydroelectric plant owned by the National Trust. As you approach the valley head the path begins to increase in steepness and gets narrower and narrower. On the ridgeline take a left and follow the rocky terrain until you reach the summit. This is the only path that approaches the summit from another route as all other paths join up together, people who have summited already will be shocked as to where you have come from.