Is Lions Head safe to hike? The official advice, in plain terms

The honest answer to whether Lion's Head is safe is that it is as safe as a busy mountain beside a city can be, provided you follow the advice that the people who manage it publish. SANParks, which runs Table Mountain National Park, says the park is mainly open access and that there is criminal activity from time to time in some urban edge areas.⁶ It has deployed Visitor Safety Officers to patrol popular use zones, to advise hikers and to deter criminals.⁷

The park also warns against treating a city mountain as a stroll. SANParks says it is a serious misconception that Table Mountain is an easy walk because it stands in a city: it is a serious mountain with challenging, sometimes dangerous hikes and inconsistent weather, so people get lost and injured.⁸ That passage is about the bigger mountain, but the lesson applies on Lion's Head too, where the trail is easy and the finish is rocky.

Against that, the route's own rating is mild. SANParks rates it easy with some minor rock scrambling, and Wesgro, the Western Cape's tourism agency, calls it not overly strenuous.^9,10 Safety here is mostly a matter of company, light, weather and footing, and the rest of this page takes those in turn, with the source of each piece of advice named so that you can read it yourself.

SANParks says the weather in Cape Town, and on Table Mountain especially, is unpredictable and can change suddenly, with possible loss of visibility, so it advises packing a hat and a jacket.³ The City's safety tips add that temperatures can change quickly in the mountains and rain can come suddenly, and that you should not plan a hike during or just after bad weather.¹¹

Wind is a feature of the peninsula and not an exception. SANParks says mean speeds run from 20 to 40 km/hr, with northwesterly winds often reaching gale force in winter and southerlies blowing with similar intensity in summer.¹³ The famous tablecloth of cloud on Table Mountain is what the south-easter makes when it pours down the slopes.¹⁹ On the exposed top of Lion's Head, a strong wind makes the rock section feel more serious.

Check the forecast on the day, look at the sky over the mountain before you leave, and be willing to postpone. A cancelled climb costs you an evening, whereas a bad decision on wet rock costs far more. If you book a guided option, the free cancellation window helps: the listing allows cancellation up to 24 hours before for a full refund.

Travel light. SANParks tells visitors to stay on demarcated pathways and trails, to wear the correct hiking gear and shoes and not to carry valuables, cash or cameras.¹⁶ Take a phone, but leave the passport and the spare cards at your accommodation, and keep the phone itself out of sight when you are not using it.

Stay on the sanctioned routes. Cape Town Tourism says that Wally's Cave, a small cave off the beaten track on the mountain, is closed to the public and is not a path sanctioned by SANParks.²² SANParks adds that criminal hotspots may change over time and that areas with quick access to and from urban areas should be avoided.²³

Wildlife belongs in the picture too. SANParks says not to feed, touch or harm any animal or bird in the park, since dassies, baboons and even the African Penguin all have ferocious bites.²⁴ The City of Cape Town gives the same advice about baboons and other wild animals.⁵ Keep food zipped away, keep your distance and let any animal you meet go on its way, which is simply good manners on a mountain that is their home.