What is the Quickest Route up Snowdon?
- Walk Snowdonia
- 3 days ago
- 7 min read
Snowdon — or Yr Wyddfa, to use its Welsh name — is the most popular mountain in the UK. A big part of its appeal is the wide choice of routes to the summit, with six main walking paths plus several more technical scrambling options.
The Llanberis Path was used for the fastest recorded ascent of Yr Wyddfa. Its smooth surface and gentle gradient suit runners, but its also the longest footpath. For most walkers, shorter trails like the PYG Track are usually the quickest route up Snowdon.
How long does it take to climb Snowdon?
Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) is the highest mountain in Wales and taller than any mountain in England. As a result, hiking to the summit takes a full day for most people and anyone attempting it should allow plenty of time.
Most walkers complete the full round trip between 5 and 8 hours, with three-quarters (75%) of successful hikers falling into this time range. When all routes and footpaths are taken into account the most common finishing time is between 6 and 7 hours, with 29% of walkers completing the route within this single one-hour window. In fact, the average completion time is 6 hours and 42 minutes.
Booking a guided walk can make a big difference: guides help maintain a steady pace, manage rest stops efficiently, and ensure you reach the summit safely. Having a guide can make all the difference especially on a National 3 Peaks Challenge.
What factors make a route fast?
There are several factors that make a route fast (or slow). Those with the biggest impact on time are…
Route length - Naturally, longer routes take more time, especially for walkers who move at a slower pace than runners.
Less ascent - The greater the vertical climb, the longer it will take. Naismith’s Rule estimates that every 10 m of ascent adds around 1 minute to your walking time. Yr Wyddfa is 1085m high!
Footpath quality - Uneven, rocky, or rugged trails require care and conscious foot placements, which slows progress. This has a bigger impact on runners, but walkers are also affected, particularly on steeper sections.
Best route up Snowdon
The above factors can have a big impact on time. Individuals are impacted by these factors differently. For example, runners are slowed down more by footpath quality whereas route length and ascent add more time to individuals or teams that are moving slower such as hikers.
Let’s look at the key factors...
Shortest route up Snowdon
Crib Goch is the shortest route to the summit at 5.24 km. The knife-edged ridge and huge drops make Crib Goch one of the most dangerous routes up Snowdon.
The route requires the use of hands as well as feet to carefully negotiate the long scrambling sections. This slows most people down considerably. The route also ascends two mountains—Crib Goch and Crib y Ddysgl—before the final push to the third peak of Yr Wyddfa making the total ascent quite high at 921 m. The danger, very rugged terrain and total ascent mean Crib Goch isn't the fastest route in spite of being the shortest.
1st – Crib Goch: 5.24 km
2nd – Pyg Track: 5.42 km
3rd – Rhyd Ddu Path: 6.01 km
Least ascent
The Miners Track has the least total ascent at 776m, closely followed by the PYG Track at 786m. Both routes start at the Pen y Pass car park (elevation 359 m), the highest road-accessible point on the mountain, giving walkers a head start on vertical gain.
The Miner's Track takes a meandering line around three lakes which makes it picturesque but relatively long at 6.81 km.
1st – Miners Track: 776 m
2nd – PYG Track: 786 m
3rd – Rhyd Ddu Path: 914 m
Best Snowdon Footpath for quality
The Llanberis Path is the best engineered footpath from start to finish. With minimal loose rocks or rough sections, walkers and runners can move quickly and relatively safely, particularly on the descent. While other trails have short sections of excellent path, none match the Llanberis Path for quality over its entire length. This is one of the main reasons the Llanberis Path is considered the easiest route up Snowdon and is the best option for novice hikers.
1st – Llanberis Path: Mostly good
2nd – Ranger Path: Mostly good, a few rocky steps
3rd – Miners Track: Good low down, steep & rugged above Glaslyn
The PYG Track - (Usually) The Fastest Hiking Route
Despite Crib Goch being the shortest route, the Miners Track having the least ascent, and the Llanberis Path offering the best footpath quality, it is in fact the PYG Track that is generally the fastest route up Yr Wyddfa for most hikers.
While the PYG Track doesn’t take first place in any single metric, it consistently ranks near the top in all areas. At 5.42 km, it is the second-shortest route, just 180 m longer than Crib Goch. In terms of elevation gain, it is only 10 m more than the Miners Track, making it a strong all-rounder.
The only metric it doesn't make the top three is footpath quality. It is one of the more rugged footpaths. This does slow runners down quite considerably, however it has little impact on the moving speed of most hikers.
The combination of a relatively short distance, modest ascent, and manageable terrain means the PYG Track usually allows hikers to reach the summit faster than any other route.
Backed by data We analysed data from hundreds of guided walks* on all of Yr Wyddfa's footpaths.
Average completion times were:
1st – PYG & Miners Track**: 5 h 49 m
2nd – Llanberis Path: 6 h 22 m
3rd – Rhyd Ddu Path: 6 h 42 m
4th – Ranger Path: 6 h 48 m
5th – Watkin Path: 7 h 52 m
Fastest recorded walking times were:
1st – PYG & Miners Track: 3 h 22 m
2nd – Rhyd Ddu Path: 4 h 21 m
3rd – Llanberis Path: 4 h 36 m
4th – Ranger Path: 4 h 55 m
5th – Watkin Path: 5 h 45 m
*Data collected using a Garmin Fenix 6x Fitness Tracker on 220 guided ascents of Snowdon
**We typically use a circular route for the PYG and Miners Track to provide a more varied and enjoyable experience
As the data above shows, the PYG & Miners Track is, on average, over 30 mins faster than all other routes. Fitter individuals with good balance and confident feet make light work of the more rugged terrain which is why they can complete this route faster than the others.
Is the PYG Track always the fastest?
Not always. The uneven terrain and large steps slow runners down. Hikers with reduced balance, leg strength or confidence on their feet can find the PYG Track tricky too.
For the majority of walkers, the PYG Track remains the fastest option.
What is the fastest time up (and down) Snowdon?
The fastest recorded ascent of Yr Wyddfa is 1 hour 2 minutes 29 seconds, set by fell runner Kenny Stuart in 1985. The fastest female ascent was set by Carol Greenwood in 1993 at 1 hour 12 minutes 48 seconds. Both records were achieved on the Llanberis Path as part of the Snowdon Race (Râs Yr Wyddfa).
Erosion has made the path rougher since the records were set plus the mountain has become much more popular with visitor numbers increasing significantly. These reasons are why these records have not been beaten for so long. In spite of erosion, the Llanberis Path remains the best-quality footpath on the mountain.
Why isn’t the Llanberis Path fastest for hikers?
Kenny Stuart averaged 14.7 km/h (9.2 mph) in 1985. The average hiker’s speed is around 2.4 km/h, including breaks, with actual moving speed rarely exceeding 3 km/h. Even fit and experienced hikers struggle to exceed 4 km/h on mountainous terrain.
To complete the Llanberis Path in a respectable 4 hours, a hiker would need an average moving speed of 3.6 km/h. With nearly 1,000 m of ascent, this is challenging—less than 2% of walkers achieve it.
Because walkers are much slower than Kenny Stuart and Carol Greenwood were, they are slowed down significantly less by any uneven terrain. Fell runners have much more speed to loose.
Because of this runners are more impacted by the footpath quality whereas hikers are more impacted by distance. In spite of it's length and altitude gain the Llanberis Path still ranks as the second fastest footpath on average for hikers and the third fastest in absolute fastest times.
Quick Reference Speeds
Kenny Stuart (Snowdon Race, 1985): 14.74 km/h
Average hiker: 2.4 km/h
Fit hiker moving pace: up to 4 km/h
4‑hour ascent & descent on Llanberis Path: 3.6 km/h
4-hour ascent on PYG Track & descent on Miners: 2.98 km/h
Note: The Snowdon Race starts near Llanberis Community Centre, whereas walking times on the Llanberis Path are measured from the Snowdon Mountain Railway Station.
Conclusion
Although the Llanberis Path holds the record for the fastest time ever recorded up Yr Wyddfa, it is in fact the PYG Track that is the quickest route up for walkers. The PYG & Miners Track are over 30 mins faster than the other routes for hikers because of the short distance, reduced elevation gain and reasonable footpath.
Runners tend to find the smooth surface of the Llanberis Path faster.
Make the Most of Your Snowdon Ascent with a Guided Walk
For anyone attempting the biggest mountain in Wales, a Snowdon guided walk can make all the difference.
Experienced guides help you maintain a steady pace, choose the best route, and manage rest efficiently and advise on the right equipment based on the weather forecast.
With expert local knowledge, they can navigate tricky terrain, avoid common bottlenecks, and ensure you reach the summit quickly and safely.
