Parking
Start in Machynlleth town centre at the Town Clock. Both endpoints have rail access; arrange overnight stops and a finish-to-start transport plan for this one-way walk.
Overview
About Snowdonia Way
Why go
- A full Eryri traverse without summit detours
- Rail access at both ends
Heads up
- Long linked stages with little margin for slow days
- No continuous on-ground waymarking
From Machynlleth the route climbs into Dovey Forest and passes Corris and Aberllefenni before dropping to Dolgellau. It then works north below the Rhinog foothills, crosses the Vale of Ffestiniog, and threads the Aberglaslyn area with Llyn Dinas and Llyn Glaslyn. Beyond Bwlch y Rhediad it reaches the Ogwen Valley, then Aber Falls and the Sychnant Pass before the finish at Conwy. The reward is a full traverse of the range seen from beneath its highest ground, with mountain walls, slate villages, lakes and coast arriving in turn.
Parkwolf’s verdictThe sequence 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 Snowdonia Way, 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 area
Why the Dyfi Bridge Is So Long0:00 / 0:28
“The New Dyfi Bridge crosses more than the river. Most of its seven hundred and twenty-five metres span the surrounding flood plain.”
Plays on the road 0.9 km from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Eryri Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Parliament and the Later Hall
- The Streets Beneath Pennal's Fields
- A Partnership on the Bark
- Where the Tide Draws Creeks
- 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 Snowdonia Way
The walk in briefThis is a point-to-point long-distance route running south to north from Machynlleth to Conwy,…
This is a point-to-point long-distance route running south to north from Machynlleth to Conwy, and the standard low-level line rather than the separate mountain route. Visitor distance is 97.25 miles / 156.1 km one way, with the stored mapped route measuring 155.5 km. Expect 45 to 50 hours of walking, normally split over 6 to 8 stages, with roughly 17,745 ft / 5,410 m of total ascent. The high point is about 405 m. There is no loop and no return to the start.
How hard it isThis is a demanding walk despite the low-level label.
This is a demanding walk despite the low-level label. Days are long and consecutive, ascent accumulates steadily even without summits, and there are long stretches between places offering shelter. It suits walkers who are comfortable with back-to-back full days carrying what they need and who can keep going in poor weather.
Footing and route-findingSurfaces vary from good forest and farm tracks to stony, gravelly, rocky and muddy paths, with…
Surfaces vary from good forest and farm tracks to stony, gravelly, rocky and muddy paths, with sections of uneven ground and indistinct trod. The route links long-standing existing paths rather than being purpose-built, so there is no continuous on-ground waymarking for it and navigation can be intricate, especially on open ground, in forestry and where paths fade across pasture. Carry a map, compass and a loaded GPS track, and be ready to navigate in mist or rain when higher passes hold cloud.
Access and logisticsThe usual start is Machynlleth town centre at the Town Clock, which sits within a few metres of…
The usual start is Machynlleth town centre at the Town Clock, which sits within a few metres of the route start. Both Machynlleth and Conwy have rail access, which makes a linear walk straightforward to plan without a car. Because the walk is one way, arrange accommodation along the line and a transport plan for the finish before you set out; a vehicle left at the start will need retrieving by public transport or a lift.
Dogs and campingDogs are allowed on public footpaths and open-access land under close control.
Dogs are allowed on public footpaths and open-access land under close control. Use a short lead near livestock or wildlife, and a lead no longer than 2 m on open-access land between 1 March and 31 July. Wild camping is not permitted without prior permission from the landowner or farmer, so plan overnight stops in advance.
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.
