Parking
Llyn Crafnant car park, just before the road reaches the lake. Free parking and toilets; overnight parking is not permitted.
Overview
About Afon Crafnant Amble
A short, waymarked closed loop of 0.4 miles (0.6 km), starting and finishing at the Llyn Crafnant car park. Distances are given for the full circuit. Allow about 30 minutes at an easy pace, longer if you stop at the benches. Follow the white waymark symbols throughout.
Why go
- Level, accessible riverside loop
- Suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs
- Four picnic benches close to the path
Heads up
- Very short if you want a longer outing
- Some of the route is wooded and shaded
Map & elevation
The route
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Eryri Tour Guide
Your drive to Afon Crafnant Amble, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Eryri National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Llyn Crafnant0:00 / 0:33
“You're coming up on Llyn Crafnant, a reservoir in a wooded valley below the Carneddau. It was built to supply Llanrwst; a stone monument near the outflow marks that connection.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Eryri Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Trefriw’s Iron Water
- The Blanket with Two Faces
- Taliesin by the Lake
- The Church That Saved a Climb
- 298 audio storiesacross Eryri’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Grey Heron, Tawny Owl, Common Raven, and 9 more
- Works offlinemaps, 120 trails, 82 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Afon Crafnant Amble
Route and what you seeThe path leaves the car park and runs beside the Afon Crafnant, winding between tall planted…
The path leaves the car park and runs beside the Afon Crafnant, winding between tall planted conifers and young birch before opening out into a grassy area and returning to the same car park. The payoff is the river itself: close, audible and easy to reach, with a mix of shade and open ground in a very small space. Take time to listen and watch for wildlife along the water and in the trees.
Difficulty and accessibilityGraded Accessible; the route is level, with no meaningful climb.
- Graded Accessible; the route is level, with no meaningful climb.
- Well surfaced and 1.2 m wide, relatively flat and suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs.
- Suitable for the whole family, including short legs and slow walkers.
Benches and the tree trailFour picnic benches, spaced less than 100 m apart, so there is always a seat nearby.
- Four picnic benches, spaced less than 100 m apart, so there is always a seat nearby.
- Three of the benches are wheelchair friendly.
- A tree-facts trail with disappearing signs runs along the route, giving children something to look for as you go.
Parking and accessStart at the Llyn Crafnant car park, grid reference SH 756 618.
Start at the Llyn Crafnant car park, grid reference SH 756 618. The car park and toilets sit just before the road reaches the lake. Parking is free, and overnight parking is not permitted.
DogsDogs may use public footpaths and open access land here.
Dogs may use public footpaths and open access land here. Keep them under close control at all times, and on a short lead near livestock or wildlife. On open access land a lead no longer than 2 m is required from 1 March to 31 July. Off-lead access is not unrestricted.
If you want moreFrom the same car park, the Llyn Crafnant Circuit offers a longer option at 3.
From the same car park, the Llyn Crafnant Circuit offers a longer option at 3.1 miles (5 km), around 1 to 2 hours, using wide tracks, tarmac and forest roads with rougher sections beside the lake. It is a separate route, not part of this loop.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Eryri
77 sightingsGrey HeronMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
17 sightingsTawny OwlMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
32 sightingsCommon RavenMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
21 sightingsGreat Spotted WoodpeckerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
18 sightingsEuropean RabbitMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
161 sightingsViviparous LizardMost seen around 10 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Eryri. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
