The Llanberis Lake Railway will be the highlight of your visit to Snowdonia. From your seat in the comfortable enclosed coaches you can enjoy spectacular views of Snowdon and the surrounding high mountains.

The Llanberis Lake railway is built on the track bed of part of the 4ft gauge Padarn Railway, which from 1843 to 1961 carried slates from Dinorwic Quarry, Llanberis, to Port Dinorwic on the Menai Strait. The rolling stock and track of the 4ft line were sold for scrap after closure, but the first two miles lay alongside the attractive lake, Llyn Padarn. This gave rise to the idea of using it as a tourist railway and a mile of 1ft 11½in gauge track was laid. Three of the steam engines and one diesel were purchased from the surviving stock of Dinorwic Quarry (which itself had an extensive system of 1ft 10¾in gauge lines) and converted to the more common gauge of 1ft 11½in for use on the new railway. The railway opened in 1971 and the following year the railway was extended to the two mile length of the lake.
In early June 2003 the extension of the line to Llanberis village was opened. The full return trip is now just over 5 miles long.

Starting at Gilfach Ddu in the Padarn Park the train firstly travels along the new extension to Llanberis village, passing the Welsh Slate Museum and Dolbadarn Castle on the way. On a clear day magnificent views across Peris Lake to the Llanberis Pass open up. Llanberis Station is a convenient stopping off place for the shops and restaurants of the village, as welll as the Snowdon Mountain Railway and Electric Mountain Visitor Centre. From here the train runs non-stop through the country park to Penllyn at the other end of the lake. The train stops at Cei Llydan on the homeward run. You may stop off here for a picnic and catch a later train back to Gilfach Ddu.The complete trip takes around 60 minutes.

The railway is very popular with visitors to Wales wishing to ride on one of the Great Little Trains of Wales without spending too much money - or time - doing so.