Llanberis has about 17 hours of daylight in mid-June and about 7.5 hours in mid-December.
For the best odds on Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), look at a weekday in May or June. The days are long, the summit café is open, and the valley records its driest months.
No month promises a clear summit. The forecast a few hours before you start counts for more than the calendar.
Daylight and the year in one table
Daylight in Llanberis on the 15th runs from 7 h 35 min in December to 16 h 56 min in June.
Sunrise is 4:49 am in mid-June. In mid-December it is 8:24 am. A start timed for sunrise is a different plan in each of those months.
| Month | Daylight, 15th | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| January | 8 h 07 min | Park winter reports |
| February | 9 h 54 min | Park winter reports |
| March | 11 h 49 min | Trains from 24 March, to Clogwyn |
| April | 13 h 59 min | Clogwyn singles on sale |
| May | 15 h 51 min | Summit café from 3 May |
| June | 16 h 56 min | Driest at Capel Curig, with May |
| July | 16 h 27 min | Summit trains and café |
| August | 14 h 47 min | Busiest month in 2022 count |
| September | 12 h 42 min | Summit trains and café |
| October | 10 h 38 min | Café open to 24 October |
| November | 8 h 40 min | No trains, season ends 31 October |
| December | 7 h 35 min | Quietest month in 2022 count |
When the railway and summit café run
Summit trains and the café run from May to October, weather permitting.
The Snowdon Mountain Railway’s diesel trains run from 24 March to 31 October 2027. In March, April and October it sells single tickets up to Clogwyn Station, three-quarters of the way up.
Hafod Eryri, the summit visitor centre and café, opens from 10 am daily, weather permitting. It stays closed when the train cannot reach the summit.
In 2027 Hafod Eryri opens from 3 May to 24 October. Check the railway’s visitor page for the day you go before you plan around a train.
High winds can affect services year-round. Hikers should be prepared to walk back down if required.
When winter conditions come
The Park assesses winter conditions on Yr Wyddfa twice a week, from November until March.
Its ground conditions page publishes reports every Tuesday and Friday. It warns that conditions in late autumn and winter can be treacherous.
Snow can cover much of the summit during the winter.
It is impossible to reach the summit in winter conditions without specialised equipment such as crampons or ice axes and knowing how to use them.
Ice or snow can also keep trains below the summit in early spring. What the reports say, and the kit that winter needs, is set out for Snowdon in winter.
The busiest months and days
August and Saturday are the busiest times on the paths.
In 2022 the Eryri National Park Authority counted 543,541 walkers on the six main paths. August had 102,437 and December had 9,136. May and June had 64,164 and 65,322.
Saturday had 173,375 walkers, far ahead of every other day.
The Park’s 2025 report shows the same pattern on the five paths it counted. Llanberis data was unavailable for 2025.
The summit can get very busy in summer, and the car parks at Llanberis, Pen-y-Pass, Nant Peris and Pont Bethania are very busy in spring and summer. Bank holidays in Eryri can be extremely busy.
How the crowds spread across the paths is covered in how busy Snowdon gets.
Pen-y-Pass parking
Between March and November, planning how to get to Pen-y-Pass in advance is essential.
Over the winter the car park is pay and display. It goes back to pre-booking through JustPark at Easter 2027 (as read in November 2026). Extensions to existing bookings are not possible, because parking is very limited.
The Pen-y-Pass start point has the routes that leave from there.
What the valley averages show
May and June are the driest months at Capel Curig, with 142 mm and 144 mm of rain.
The Met Office keeps climate averages for Capel Curig No 3, a valley station. Its figures cover 1991 to 2020.
- Wettest month: December with 346 mm, ahead of January with 310 mm.
- Air frost: 8.5 days in January, 0.03 in June, none in July or August.
The summit of Yr Wyddfa is much colder, wetter and windier.
The forecast matters more than the month
The best time to check the forecast is a few hours before you start. The Met Office mountain service carries the latest.
Weather in upland areas can change within hours. On Yr Wyddfa it can change within minutes.
If the weather conditions start to get too much for your ability, you should turn back immediately.
We compile and explain public route and safety information. We guide nobody and sell nothing on the hill.
Once you have chosen a month, reading the mountain forecast is how you choose the day.
