The 10 best campsites in Snowdonia (Eryri)

Eryri, the national park most of us grew up calling Snowdonia, is the most dramatic camping in Wales. Nowhere else in Britain packs so much into one park: proper mountains with proper ridgelines, slate villages stacked into green valleys, glacial lakes that warm up just enough for a July swim, and a long, sandy coastline thrown in for good measure. You can wake up under Tryfan, walk out of the gate onto a scramble, and be eating chips by the sea that evening.

It rains, of course. Eryri catches weather the way the rest of us catch colds, and pretending otherwise is how first trips go wrong. The campers who love this park pack for rain, pitch out of the wind, and treat a clear evening on a lakeside pitch as the jackpot it is. May, June and September are the sweet spots: long days, quieter paths and fewer midges than high summer, though a settled week in any month here beats a heatwave anywhere flat.

The sites below run from famous climbers' fields that have barely changed in a century to comfortable riverside parks with heated shower blocks, plus dunes, waterfalls and one clifftop that might have the best sunset in Wales.

How we chose

Mountains from the pitch wherever possible, a spread from the Ogwen Valley to the Cardigan Bay coast, and a deliberate mix of legendary basic fields and well-equipped family parks. Every site here is a long-standing name with its own loyal following, and we checked each one's current offer and recent reviews before including it.

1. Llyn Gwynant Campsite, Nant Gwynant

3.9 ★ Tripadvisor rating from 700+ reviews

Llyn Gwynant Campsite is the one on all the postcards: a green shelf of meadow and woodland between the lake and the Afon Glaslyn, ringed by ridges, with the Watkin Path up Yr Wyddfa starting just along the valley. Arriving over the pass from Pen-y-Gwryd and seeing the lake open out below you is one of British camping's great moments.

It is a big, sociable site with grass and hardstanding pitches for tents, campervans and motorhomes, plus group camping fields, a shop, laundry, a food outlet and boat hire on the lake. Swimmers and paddleboarders are in the water all summer. Booking is required for all pitches, including basic tent spots, so do not just turn up on an August Friday.

What people love is the setting above all: one Tripadvisor reviewer calls it "peaceful, beautiful and eco friendly", and the lakeside swims and mountain backdrop come up in almost every review. Tip: on still summer evenings the midges find the sheltered corners, so favour a breezier pitch nearer the water.

2. Gwern Gof Isaf, Ogwen Valley

4.5 ★ Google rating from 300+ reviews

Gwern Gof Isaf is a working hill farm between Capel Curig and Llyn Ogwen that has been taking campers since 1906, and it wears the history lightly: Sir John Hunt used the farm as a base while training for the 1953 Everest expedition. The camping field sits directly below Tryfan, and the north ridge, one of the finest scrambles in Britain, starts more or less at the gate.

This is the honest end of the spectrum. You get a mountain field, parking, and a couple of bathroom blocks with showers and toilets; the farm also offers bunkhouse accommodation and a shepherd's hut with a log burner for anyone whose tent has seen one storm too many. There are no hook-ups or luxuries, and nobody comes expecting them.

Reviewers are consistent: the location is unbeatable for walkers and scramblers, the welcome is genuine, and the value is old-fashioned in the best way. Tip: the Ogwen Valley funnels wind, so pitch low, peg everything, and bring a stove windshield.

3. Cae Du, near Rhoslefain

Cae Du is a working farm on the coast south of the Dysynni, where the camping fields run along the clifftop and drop straight to a quiet, rocky beach. Every pitch looks west over Cardigan Bay, which means every clear evening ends with a sunset that regulars plan whole trips around.

Camping here is simple and all the better for it: grass pitches, a shower and toilet block, and, the thing Cae Du is famous for, campfires. Fires are allowed in the stone fire pits and down on the beach, and the farm sells bundles of firewood, so evenings smell of woodsmoke from one end of the field to the other. The site opens from Easter to October.

Reviewers rave about exactly what you would expect: one calls it "beautifully maintained with amazing views", and the combination of fire, sea and sunset dominates the write-ups. Tip: it is gloriously exposed, so bring storm pegs and pitch tail to the wind; the sunset is worth the breeze.

4. Graig Wen, Arthog

4.9 ★ Google rating from 500+ reviews

Graig Wen spreads across 45 acres of oak woodland and meadow tumbling down towards the Mawddach estuary, with Cadair Idris rising behind. It is the gentle-wilderness option: secluded tent pitches where campfires are allowed, a small touring area with electric hook-ups, and glamping in yurts and wagons tucked privately into the woods, plus cottages for the tent-averse.

The masterstroke is the Mawddach Trail at the bottom of the land: a flat, traffic-free former railway line running along the estuary to Barmouth one way and Dolgellau the other. It is the perfect family bike ride, with a pub and the beach at the far end.

Graig Wen has won sustainability awards and been picked out by Cool Camping among the best places to camp in Wales, and reviewers keep using the same words: peaceful, tranquil, gorgeous surroundings, clean facilities. Tip: bring bikes, or hire them locally, and time the Barmouth ride for low tide when the estuary sandbanks are at their best.

5. Bryn Gloch, Betws Garmon

4.6 ★ Google rating from 642+ reviews

Bryn Gloch is the comfortable base of this list: a large, well-run family park on the banks of the Afon Gwyrfai under the quieter western flank of Yr Wyddfa. If the legendary basic fields sound like more character than your crew wants, this is where you come without giving up the mountains.

You can book grass or hardstanding pitches, with fully serviced and electric options for caravans, motorhomes and tents, plus shepherd's huts and static caravans if the forecast is grim. Facilities are the point here: heated bathrooms, a well-stocked shop, laundry, games room, playgrounds and a dog walk with dog washes, and the park is genuinely welcoming to dogs.

Reviewers consistently praise how well kept and family friendly it is, with the riverside setting and mountain views earning as much comment as the facilities. Tip: the Snowdon Ranger path starts close by and carries a fraction of the crowds of Llanberis, so summit from this side and feel smug.

6. Shell Island, Llanbedr

4.6 ★ Google rating from 3,500+ reviews

Shell Island is not really a campsite, it is a small camping nation: a vast dune peninsula with sea on three sides, mountain views behind, and one of the largest camping areas in Europe. There are no marked pitches; you drive the tracks through the dunes and grassland until you find your spot, whether that is beside the beach or tucked in a hollow out of the wind.

It is tents, motorhomes and small campervans only, with no electric hook-ups anywhere, and dogs are welcome. What it lacks in hook-ups it makes up in infrastructure: a bar, places to eat, shops for food and camping kit, and shower and toilet blocks that reviewers repeatedly describe as immaculate.

Families come back for decades, and one Tripadvisor review calls it "One of the best Campsites in the country", with the beach barbecues and sunsets doing most of the persuading. Tip: the only road in crosses a tidal causeway that floods on bigger tides, so check the crossing times before you travel and plan arrivals around them.

7. Beddgelert Campsite, Beddgelert

4.4 ★ Google rating from 430+ reviews

Beddgelert Campsite scatters its pitches through a beautiful mixed forest a gentle walk from the prettiest village in the park. Run by Forest Holidays, it pairs a wild feel, with pitches tucked between trees, with proper infrastructure: hardstanding pitches with electric hook-up alongside grass camping, good shower blocks, and the Forest Retreat for coffee, cakes and camping essentials.

Two details make it special. First, the Welsh Highland Railway runs right past, with a request stop at the campsite, so you can catch a steam train towards Caernarfon or Porthmadog from your tent. Second, the forest itself soaks up rainy days: trails loop straight from the pitches, and Beddgelert's bridges, cafes and Gelert's grave are a riverside stroll away.

Reviewers love the setting and the space between pitches, and families rate it as one of the easiest bases in the park; dogs are welcome too. Tip: pitches among the trees stay shadier and damper, so dry-out mornings are slower, but you will not care during a heatwave.

8. Nantcol Waterfalls, near Llanbedr

4.8 ★ Google rating from 600+ reviews

Nantcol Waterfalls sits in Cwm Nantcol on the edge of the Rhinogydd, the park's wildest and emptiest corner, with camping meadows spread along a river that tumbles over falls and gathers into swimming pools. One write-up describes it as "like something out of a fairytale", and on a sunny afternoon with kids in the pools it is hard to argue.

The site is open from spring to the end of October and is pet friendly. Campfires are allowed, with a sensible system: fires must be off the ground in a purpose-built fire basket, which you can hire on site or bring yourself, and bags of logs are sold at reception. Collecting wood is not allowed, so budget for logs.

Campers praise the river, the falls and the feeling of being properly away from it all, with genuinely dark skies on clear nights. Tip: the Rhinog ridges above the valley are as rough and empty as Welsh walking gets, so save them for a clear day and take a map you actually know how to use.

9. Rynys Farm, near Betws-y-Coed

4.8 ★ Google rating from 395+ reviews

Rynys Farm is a friendly working hill farm above the A5, a couple of miles from Betws-y-Coed, with views down the Machno valley and across to Moel Siabod. It is the quiet, handy base for the whole northern half of the park: Ogwen, the Carneddau, Yr Wyddfa and the gorges around Betws are all an easy drive.

You can pitch a tent or bring a tourer, with electric hook-ups available, and there is a shepherd's hut and a static caravan for anyone wanting a solid roof. The extras punch above the site's size: a kitchen area with microwave and kettle, washing-up room, a pool table and laundry, and showers kept spotless (they are coin operated, so arrive with change).

This is one of the best-reviewed small sites in the park, and the tone is always the same: one Tripadvisor review is titled "Never knew camping could be so homely". Quiet is genuinely enforced, which regulars count as a feature. Tip: Betws-y-Coed's cafes and gear shops are five minutes down the hill for wet-day morale and forgotten kit.

10. Llechrwd Riverside Campsite, Ffestiniog

Llechrwd is a small, family-run site on the banks of the Afon Dwyryd in the deep green Vale of Ffestiniog, near Maentwrog. Nothing about it is flashy: an upper field with electric hook-ups for caravans, campervans and tents, and a spacious lower meadow running right along the river, where children spend entire afternoons in the shallows.

Facilities are simple and cared for, with toilets, free showers and a washing-up room, and the site runs from Easter to mid-September, so it is a spring and summer place by design. Its location is quietly brilliant for mixed-weather holidays: the Ffestiniog steam railway, the slate caverns and adventure attractions around Blaenau Ffestiniog, and Portmeirion are all close.

Reviewers describe it as peaceful, friendly and old-school in the best sense, the kind of site that gets handed down through families. Tip: riverside pitches in the lower field are the prize, and the river pools are made for hot afternoons, so pack swimming things and jelly shoes for the stony bits.

Before you book

Mountain weather is the whole game in Eryri. Pitch out of the wind rather than for the view alone, bring one more warm layer than seems sensible, and have a wet-day plan: slate caverns, steam railways and Betws-y-Coed's cafes have rescued a thousand soggy holidays. Hook-ups are rare at the legendary basic sites, so know your battery life, and pack a power bank for phones. Campfire rules vary from open-armed (Cae Du) to fire-baskets-only (Nantcol) to not at all, so check before you pack the marshmallows. Book early for summer weekends and school holidays, especially anywhere within striking distance of Yr Wyddfa, and check tide times if Shell Island is the plan.

When you are ready, find a campsite and pack the boots. Prefer your Welsh coast gentler? Read the best campsites in Pembrokeshire, or head inland with the best campsites in the Peak District.