Llyn Cowlyd

Snowdonia Leisure Walk, steep in places

5 ½ miles / 3 hours to Llyn Cowlyd 

9 miles / 4 hours to Capel Curig

15 miles / 8 hours to Trefriw via Llyn Cowlyd, Capel Curig and Llyn Crafnant

This trail is blocked in at least one place and a number of signs are missing. Relying on the waymarked route is therefore not advisable at present.

This walk forms part of the Snowdonia National Park Leisure Walks Network and provides a link to walks in and around Capel Curig.

From the car park in the centre of the village, cross the main road in front of the Woollen Mill and turn right. At the end of the row of shops, opposite the Fairy Falls Hotel, turn left and walk up the hill. Continue up a steep section of road for some 300 yards then fork right up the Cowlyd road. After 100 yards, turn right into the forest following Trail 6.

Once in the forest, the walk branches off Trail 6 and climbs up through old mine workings to provide some stunning views of the Conwy Valley from the single track road that leads to houses at Ardda and ends at the farm of Tyddyn Wilym.

Through the farmyard, the road becomes a track past a derelict church and farmhouse at Tyddyn-du. From here, the trail goes across open moorland which can be very wet in summer and extremely wet in winter. The trail passes another derelict farmhouse - Brwnog-isaf - then meets the Trefriw-Cowlyd road at Brwnog Uchaf.

Trail 9 continues up to the Llyn Cowlyd dam and then along the reservoir shore before climbing to the head of the valley. The Trefriw Trail ends here and you can re-trace your steps via Tyddyn-Wilym, or back to Trefriw via the single track road from Brwnog-Uchaf. Alternatively, you can join trails in and around Capel Curig to extend your walk, including a trail that returns to Trefriw via Llyn Crafnant (see Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 map of Snowdonia: Outdoor Leisure Map 17 click here to download the Capel Curig Circular Walks Leaflet - pdf 450kb).