Cycling in Snowdonia

Off-road Rides from Llanberis

MOUNTAIN BIKE ALTERNATIVES TO SNOWDON

    If you arrive in Llanberis whilst the Snowdon voluntary no cycling agreement is in place (i.e between 10 am and 5 pm) then do not despair, there is a really great alternative option:

Bwlch Maesgwm

(Sometimes referred to as Telegraph pass)

    This can be done as a round trip on a cross country bike.

Time for whole trip  about 3 hours. 

    Route details:

Park in Llanberis, and then head towards The Spar. Follow the tarmac road up on the right side of the Spar shop, keep heading straight up past the Youth Hostel, after which the road passes through a gate.

Keep going to the T junction with a track and turn left.

Head all the way along this over a river, after which the long climb up Bwlch Maesgwm begins between Foel Goch and Moel Cynghorion. The track is in process of being stone pitched and the top section is, well, steep.

As you top out the view is fantastic over towards the Llyn Peninsula .

 Be aware that this is a bridleway and there will be other users and don't forget to close the gate halfway down….

To do the round trip head down the grassy open track towards the stile on the far side of the top, and Bear Left toward the Snowdon Ranger Path.

Steep grassy track and drop offs lead to a steep entry on to the Ranger Path.  Be careful of other users. Then Turn Right and batter down beautiful single track switchbacks to join the Beddgelert - Caernarfon Road (A 4085).

Now for a stretch of Tarmac.. Turn right and head towards Caernarfon for 3 km.s into Waunfawr, and turn right signposted Llanberis.

(There's a great café in Waunfawr run by Menter Fachwen: just follow the signs).

Head up this road and Turn Right at the first cross roads heading for Bwlch y Groes on steep tarmac. At the top there's a cracking view of Llanberis;

Then pass through the gate. The descent is along a cart track with  alternating steep grass and lots of opportunities for entertainment. Watch out for a gate that almost always catches me out…

The last section after the gate is steep and rocky leading on to suicidally fast tarmac strip back to Llanberis..

Enjoy yourselves

If it's after 5pm then how about a trip up Snowdon? A Community led downhill mountain bike track project is underway in Llanberis as well as a round the lake track some time in the future

Contributed by Paul Barbier