Little Lions Head Trail

About Little Lions Head Trail

Start: Mount Rhodes Drive (left off Victoria Road when heading up Suikerbossie from Hout Bay to the city)
Finish: back where you began
Duration: an hour maximum
Fitness: strenuous only for a short period, and there is a bit of a scramble at the end
Our tip: you'll need to buzz security at the gate on Mount Rhodes (off Suikerbossie)

Also called Klein Leewkoppie this short, but taxing, trail to the top should take you less than an hour and is perfect for late afternoons or early mornings. It is perfect for those who want a good workout within an hour or want to reach a summit and superlative views without too much fuss.

The hike takes place on Klein Leeukoppie in Hout Bay, which is private property, hence the security wave in.

Head up the path until you reach a bend near the radio mast. Take a path that heads left (those off to the right above Llandudno might appear more defined, but actually they go nowhere). The path is not terribly good, but if you perservere it is not difficult to negotiate your way across the rocks.

Towards the top, though, things get a little more problematic in the last few hundred metres and there is a fair amount of rock scrambling (fit kids will love it).

The hike is a wonderful way to get to the summit of one of the mountains (albeit a small one) around Cape Town without any serious scrambling or hiking. Gaining the summit is definitely worth the scramble. You then head back the way you came. A summit surmounted within an hour! Done and dusted.

There are two other versions of the hike. One is a circular option, the other a linear, necessitating another car at the route end. But the above description is by far the most popular version and perfect for out of town visitors with relative fitness.