Lion's Head hike map: the route from car park to summit

The walk begins gently. Cape Town Tourism says it starts past a security boom and up the pebbled jeep track, an easy meander before the hike proper.¹² The advice is to take your time and enjoy the scenery. This early part is where you settle your pace and decide whether the group is walking together, and it is the stretch where the city views begin to open up behind you. Use it to loosen the legs, drink some water and let slower walkers join the group before the path steepens.

Along the way there is a paraglider launch point, where you can watch people throwing themselves off a mountain.¹³ It is a natural place for a pause and a photograph, and it shows how steep the slope is below the flight line. A separate article by the same tourism body notes that Signal Hill, the neighbouring peak, is where paragliders may also be seen jumping off the mountain.¹⁶ Stand well back from any edge while you watch, and keep children close.

Higher up, the path starts to climb. Cape Town Tourism describes the trail as spiralling around the mountain, offering ever-changing views, before a short but steep scramble to the summit.³ The spiral is what makes the route readable on a map: you circle the cone rather than climbing straight up it. Expect the surface to change from track to path to rock, and expect to use your hands on the last section.

If you book a guided hike, the meeting point is usually the trailhead. One listing gives it as the start of the Lion's Head trail at 5 Signal Hill Rd, next to a cafe van, and another as the start of the trail at 5 Signal Hill Road. Another says the Lion's Head car park on Signal Hill road, next to the coffee truck, in the afternoon only. The site tour's listing says its meeting point varies with the option booked, and that pickup from accommodation can be chosen.

Whatever the start, the packing list is short. Cape Town Tourism's Table Mountain guidance includes trail running shoes or hiking boots, a small hiking backpack, a water bottle of at least 1 l, a cap or hat, sunglasses, sunscreen and a charged power bank.^32,33,34,35 Cape Town's tap water is generally safe to drink, so you can fill the bottle before you set off.³⁶ On Lion's Head, add a warm layer if you are going up for sunset, because the trek down after sunset can get chilly.³⁷

Finally, check the weather before you drive up. The weather on the mountain can change very quickly, regardless of the season, and the advice is to look the day before and the morning of the hike.^38,28 If visibility is poor, do not continue climbing and find a spot that offers some sort of shelter.³⁰ A map is only as useful as the visibility you walk it in, and a clear view of the next ladder is worth waiting for.