Parking
Dôl Idris Car Park (SH 732 116) is the designated start. The T2 bus stops at Minffordd, Hotel for Cader Idris. Park only in designated places and do not block field or residential entrances.
Overview
About Minffordd Path
An out-and-back walk from Dôl Idris Car Park (SH 732 116) to Penygadair, the 893 m summit of Cadair Idris, returning by the same path. Total distance is 9 km round trip, and the sampled profile climbs from roughly 100 m at the car park to the summit ridge, so the height is gained in one sustained effort. The mapped line is stored once as a single corridor of about 4.6 km one way, because you walk the same ground back down. Most reasonably fit walkers take around 4 to 6 hours including stops on the summit.
The official grading is hard and strenuous, suitable only for experienced country walkers with good fitness. Steep ground, rough terrain, short scrambling and real navigation skill are all part of it, and full hill-walking gear is expected.
Why go
- Dramatic views into Cwm Cau and Llyn Cau
- Wild mountain character with fewer crowds than Yr Wyddfa
- Clear summit payoff from the southern approach
Heads up
- Steep, loose and eroded upper sections
- Exposed cliff-edge terrain and short scrambling
- Navigation becomes difficult in cloud
Start by the toilets, pass the visitor centre and cross the bridge, then begin the steep pull through woodland beside the Nant Cadair falls, a stepped and stony ascent that gains height quickly. Above the trees the path reaches open mountain land and a fork: the right branch heads for Llyn Cau, while this route bears left for the summit.
Parkwolf’s verdictThe climb and the payoffMap & elevation
The route
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
Safety
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Eryri Tour Guide
Your drive to Minffordd Path, 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
Dôl Idris and Cader Idris0:00 / 0:38
“You're coming up on Dôl Idris, the starting point for Cader Idris's steep Minffordd Path and a much gentler lakeside walk.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Eryri Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Ginger Beer Ruin
- The Cliff Wilson Made Taller
- The Mountain's Underwater Past
- Idris's Chair
- 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 Minffordd Path
Footing, exposure and navigationExpect loose, badly eroded and slippery sections, with rock and scree on the upper ground.
- Expect loose, badly eroded and slippery sections, with rock and scree on the upper ground.
- The high traverse includes exposed cliff-edge walking and short hands-on scrambling.
- The path is not waymarked above the lower slopes; cairns help, but they are not a substitute for a map and compass.
- In cloud the summit plateau can feel featureless, which is when navigation errors happen most easily.
Geology and wildlifeCader Idris is built from sedimentary and igneous rocks of Ordovician age, and Llyn Cau sits in…
Cader Idris is built from sedimentary and igneous rocks of Ordovician age, and Llyn Cau sits in a crater-like cwm carved by cirque glaciation, which is why the scenery reads so clearly as a glacial landscape. The surrounding National Nature Reserve supports arctic-alpine plants including purple saxifrage and dwarf willow, with ancient oak woodland on the lower slopes and peregrine falcons above the crags.
Dogs, parking and accessDogs may use public footpaths and open access land.
Dogs may use public footpaths and open access land. On open access land a 2 m lead is required from 1 March to 31 July; on public rights of way dogs must be under close control, and a short lead is strongly advised near livestock and wildlife.
Park only in designated places at Dôl Idris and do not block field or residential entrances. The nearby Minffordd stop serves the same trailhead if you are not driving.
The climb and the payoffFrom there the walk opens into its best scenery, with views down into the glacial bowl of Cwm…
From there the walk opens into its best scenery, with views down into the glacial bowl of Cwm Cau and its lake. A steep climb over the Craig Cau area leads to a fence stile and high, cliff-edge ground where the Stone Shoot gully drops dangerously toward Llyn Cau. A short scramble over rock brings you to the summit shelter and Penygadair. Descend by the same path, keeping left at the fork rather than drifting onto the north-side route.
Compared with the more gradual Pony Path from Tŷ Nant, this southern approach is shorter, steeper and set against a more dramatic cwm.
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.
