A stunning family friendly walk starting off around the lake before heading up to a viewpoint overlooking the Carneddau Mountain range.

LENGTH: 5km

TIME it took us: Just under 2 hours with lots of stops and some playtime at the lake

PARKING: Llyn Crafnant Car Park (free)

TOILETS: at the car park (free)

FOOD & DRINK: There was an adorable looking lakeside cafe about a third of the way around the lake walk - but it was not open when we were there so please check opening times of you are planning on making a stop here

This was my first visit to Llyn Crafnant and we were planning on following the simple waymarked trail around the lake, but when we arrived and were immediately battered by the wind and rain we decided heading into the forest and to the viewpoint might be a better option.

And I'm so glad we did! The trail includes a steep climb to start but soon steadies out and has enough views, waterfalls and interesting terrain to keep the kids on track. And the climb is definitely worth it as the Carneddau Mountain range comes into view the higher you get.

The trail swaps to fire road before you summit and reach the viewpoint, which then takes you back down to the car park (thankfully we reversed the advised route as this part of the walk was fairly boring - even for the adults. So having it as the descent back home was a bonus!)

There is an option to extend this walk to Llyn Geirionydd (skipping the fire road section but extending the walk to 8km) which I would definitely do next time.

This is one of the first lakes in Wales I have visited where swimming is prohibited, due to rare fish stocks. And as we spend so much time in the summer swimming and SUPing on lakes I thought it would probably be a one time visit. However the views of this beautiful valley have won me over and I will definitely be back to explore the other trails in the area.

OS Route Map:

https://explore.osmaps.com/route/20942103/llyn-crafnant-to-view-point?lat=53.132932&lon=-3.867281&zoom=15.4336&style=Leisure&type=2d&params=20942103&params=llyn-crafnant-to-view-point