Parking
Ty'n y Groes Car Park is about five miles north of Dolgellau. From the A470, follow the signed turn near Ty'n y Groes Hotel and continue about 300 m downhill to the Mawddach. Parking is free; overnight parking is not permitted.
Overview
About Penrhos Mountain Trail
Why go
- Mountain views from a heather and gorse summit
- A compact route with a genuine mountain-walking feel
Heads up
- Steep, narrow ground with mud, rocks, roots and steps
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 Penrhos Mountain Trail, 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
The King's Guards at Pont Ty'n-y-groes0:00 / 0:26
“You're coming up on Pont Ty'n-y-groes, where a short path leads to Coed y Brenin's biggest Douglas firs. The blue King's Guards loop follows the Mawddach to a giant called the King, then returns in about fifteen minutes.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Eryri Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Glasdir Copper Trail
- Rhaeadr Ddu at Ganllwyd
- The Tails in the Fir Cones
- The Oil Trick at Glasdir
- 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 Penrhos Mountain Trail
The route in shortThe Penrhos Mountain Trail is a circular walk of 3.2 miles / 5.
The Penrhos Mountain Trail is a circular walk of 3.2 miles / 5.2 km total from Ty'n y Groes car park, graded strenuous, with about 564 feet / 172 metres of climb and around 2 hours of walking. Follow the green waymarks, which run from start to finish.
How the walk unfoldsThe trail sets off alongside the Afon Mawddach beneath large Douglas firs, then crosses a…
The trail sets off alongside the Afon Mawddach beneath large Douglas firs, then crosses a tarmac road and starts climbing through mixed woodland. The gradient earns you the open top: a viewpoint on Penrhos clad in heather and gorse, with a bench at the summit to sit and take it in. From there the path completes the loop and drops back to the car park.
Views from the topThe summit outlook takes in Y Garn, Cadair Idris and Rhobell Fawr, so it is worth timing your…
The summit outlook takes in Y Garn, Cadair Idris and Rhobell Fawr, so it is worth timing your break for the bench rather than pressing straight on.
Difficulty and footingThis is a genuine hill walk rather than a forest stroll, and the surface is the main challenge.
This is a genuine hill walk rather than a forest stroll, and the surface is the main challenge.
It works well as an introduction to mountain walking, but the strenuous grade is worth taking seriously.
- Steep, narrow paths, in places less than 50 cm wide
- Unmade, uneven ground with mud, rocks and tree roots
- Several flights of steps along the way
- Occasional steep pulls, with smoother woodland and gravel stretches between
Parking and facilitiesParking at Ty'n y Groes car park is free, though overnight parking is not permitted.
Parking at Ty'n y Groes car park is free, though overnight parking is not permitted. There are toilets at the car park, and an information panel at the trail start.
Coming preparedBoots or shoes with good grip are sensible on wet roots, rock and mud
- Boots or shoes with good grip are sensible on wet roots, rock and mud
- Expect muddy ground after rain and slower going on the narrow sections
- Take care on the steps and the uneven, rooty stretches
- Allow more than the 2 hour guide if you linger at the summit viewpoint
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.
