Estimated net time	4-5 hours
Difficulty	No difficulties, but the descent north-west from the summit is a little steep and care should definitely be shown if there's still snow.
Drinking water	Several sources of running water in the lower parts, but the quality is unknown.
GSM coverage	Coverage throughout the route (April 2012).
Parking	Room for many cars at trail head car park. This is a pay-and-display car park.
Start height	12 metres
Vertical metres	1030 metres for the roundtrip.
Trip distance	12.0 km
GPS-file	X
Map		Google Interactive Map
Route photo	Ben Lomond trail head at Rowardennan.   Overview of route to Ben Lomond from Rowardennan.   Ben Lomond descent via north-west ridge.

From Balloch, at the south end of Loch Lomond, turn right onto road A811 and drive approximately 14 km north-east to Drymen centre. Head north on B837, signed for Rowardennan, and drive approximately 16.9 km to the car park at the end of the road. Park here and pay a fee at the machine.

Start your walk by heading towards the first building. Turn right and walk through the opening of this building and follow the wide path 170 metres. Turn left and follow the path north-east up to the south shoulder of Ben Lomond. The path gradually turns north and takes you across more gentle terrain to the steeper climb up to the south-east ridge. From here walk north-west on the left side of the ridge, to the summit which is marked by a concrete cairn.

Descend by continuing across the summit and descend the north-west ridge. This is the steepest part of the hike and requires some care if there is still snow. When you reach the bottom of the steep section turn left and follow the path south-west and then south on obvious path back down to the car park.

29. April 2012

Håvard and I left Crieff after breakfast this Sunday, while the other five in the team drove south to Glasgow. We reached Rowardennan a little before noon and started our hike towards Ben Lomond on a very nice day. We overtook and met a lot of other hikers up the south slopes, and the summit was a fairly busy place.

After a longish summit stop with excellent views to Jura, Arran and Ben Nevis, we decided to descend north-west in order to make it a round-trip. After a slightly cumbersome descent because of snow we enjoyed the sun and easy walking down towards the car park. During the descent we overtook four Norwegian women, with whom we had company for a while.

Back at the car we changed into dry clothes and hit the road towards Arrochar and The Village Inn, and a re-union with old friend Jim. And a couple of nice pints.
Photos 29.04.2012