CAMPSITE | Snowdon Base Camp Campsite Review
In a rare display of organisation, many months ago I booked Snowdon Base Camp for a 3 night break over the late May bank holiday weekend. Seduced by the mountain and lakeside location, I packed my camping and swimming gear and headed for a weekend in Snowdonia. Read on for my full review.
Where did we stay?
Snowdon Base Camp – Cwellyn Arms, Rhyd Ddu, Gwynedd, LL54 6TL
Snowdon Base Camp online booking
The lowdown
- Stunning lakeside location
- Kiln-dried logs are only allowed to be burned on site (purchased from them)
- Campfires are allowed in the supplied fire pits
- No music
- No noise after 12 midnight
Our stay
Friday 24th May 2024 – Sunday 26th May 2024
@campingwithstyle 📌 Location reveal at the end 👀 This is absolutely our new favourite campsite and if you love wild swimming and hiking, you'll love this… ✅ Lake side pitches ✅ River side pitches ✅ Camp fires ✅ Snowdon massif direct access ✅ Woodland walks Everything we want from a campsite 🥰🏕️⛰️🏞️🏊🏽♀️🌞🧜🏽♀️ #camping #happycamper #campstagram #campingtrip #campsite #traveltuesday #wales #outdoorinspiration #outdoorlovers #happieroutside ♬ Heavy Wave – Motorama
Campsite location
For me, direct and easy access to Cwellyn Lake was the real draw of this campsite, and for open water swimmers, kayakers and paddle boarders, this campsite really is a dream come true.
Llyn Gwynant campsite, where we’ve stayed at before and enjoyed, is just 10 minutes away, but I think it’s fair to say it is so popular now that not only can it be difficult to get a pitch booked, but it can be very busy, particularly over peak holiday weekends.
Despite us spending 4 days at Snowdon Base Camp over a bank holiday and it being busy, there was still plenty of space and we didn’t feel like other campers were too close, nor did we struggle to find a pitch.
The area itself is, of course, stunning, but if you want to explore further, there are plenty of fantastic places to visit within a 30-minute drive. Caernarfon isn’t far away and the splendid castle is well worth a visit, you’re also close to Llanberis and our favourite town in the area, Betws-y-coed, which has some great places to eat as well as plenty of outdoor shops and more.
The best bits were all thanks to the location and vibe of this fabulous campsite. We love a back-to-basics feel when we go camping, and with our own camp loo and shower, shared facilities don’t really impact us
For those wanting a base from which to explore Yr Wyddfa and the larger Snowdon Massif, this campsite is perfect. Both the Rhyd Ddu path and Ranger path are accessible on foot from here and given the popularity of this walk and increased crowds, camping so close to facilitate a super early morning hike before the crowds arrive is a real bonus.
Campsite facilities
There are two main parking areas to choose from and it’s important to note that this is not a campsite that allows cars to park next to pitches. This means you’ll need to carry your camping gear to your chosen pitch.
Pitches here aren’t fixed; you just choose the location you want. We took our own camping trolley with us, but needn’t have bothered as there are plenty of heavy-duty trolleys supplied for campers to use on site. Even with our big tent and large camping set-up, it only took us 4 trips to and from the car in total to get everything to our pitch.
On site, there are 2 different toilet blocks, one in the river field, which are pretty decent and an older block of, not quite as good, shared facilities in the larger lake camping field.
There’s a chemical disposal point, an outdoor washing-up area and plenty of bins and recycling points. There are also a handful of pitches with an EHU, but these aren’t located in the prettiest area, with views that can’t really compete with the rest of the campsite.
The vibe
There were several big groups, which of course, given the bank holiday, meant a lot of children. The big group in front of where we camped left their kids alone, multiple times throughout the weekend for several hours on end, which did lead to an increase in the already high noise volumes.
If you find the sound of balls relentlessly being kicked and kids playing restful, then you’ll love this campsite. For us, we had hoped that the no music rule would keep anti-social behaviour down, but we were disappointed to find one couple in a prime location in front of the lake ignored the rule. Every time we walked past their pitch, they were playing loud music – no wonder there were several metres of space on either side of them as others clearly clocked their display of poor camping etiquette and stayed away.
The friendly owner patrols on his bike a couple of times a day, making sure everyone is OK and ensuring campers are adhering to rules – but of course, as soon as he left the site again, people would revert to banned behaviours.
Final say
Despite the negatives related to noise, the campsite itself is just too wonderful for us to not want to return. The spectacular location means we’ll absolutely be back, but next time, we’ll make a point of avoiding bank holidays or school holidays.
Find out more about Snowdon Base Camp.
DISCLOSURE | This camping trip was booked and paid for independently. We were not paid to write this review.
Where to next?
- CAMPING GEAR | 10 Of The Best Passive Camping Cool Boxes 2025
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