I am not much of a hiker but I managed to hike a few smallish mountains here in Korea, particularly Seoul. Seoul, with its well-preserved natural landscape, has a lot of these mountain retreats with varying levels of difficulty (or ease). Serious hikers or not, there are lots of choices for everyone who wants to sweat it out and breathe some fresh mountain air (pray for the absence of yellow dust!).

Here are some:

Eungbongsan

Forsythias and the Yongbigyo Bridge = worth the hike up to Eungbongsan. When to get the best of the blooms and the bridge? April 6-8, 2018 for this year’s Eunbongsan Forsythia Festival. Blog post on blogsite profile link. #forsythiafestival #forsythia #eungbongsan #eunbongsanforsythiafestival #Yongbigyobridge

A post shared by Wendyflor (@wendyflor_40) on Mar 27, 2018 at 5:42pm PDT

Eungbonsan is an easy mountain to hike. I was with friends and our sons when we went there. There were playgrounds along the way and we would stop for the boys to play. We can’t risk them getting bored by all the monotonous walking, can we?

The steps were all lined up by forsythias blooming. Up in the mountain, you will be treated with a great view of the Yongbigyo Bridge, the river and the forsythias. See more here: Eungbongsan Forsythia Festival

Inwangsan

It was an early November respite and I was excited to hike with cheerful friends. It was also a perfect day, not warm and not chilly either. Just the soft, cool breeze that offered welcome relief when the body warmed up from the unexpected steepness and challenges of the hike.

We didn’t really know how to go and which way to take towards the Inwangsan Trail. We just decided to meet at Gyeongbukgung  Exit 1 and allowed the phone’s GPS to direct us to Inwangsan-gil. Inwangsan Trail: Hiking With a Twist

Base of Bukhansan National Park

My sons chose the Bukhansan hike during their school’s Mother Earth Day April of 2017. They were separated, though. Grades 1 and 2 students took the easier route as compared with students from Grades 3-5. My 1st grader asked me to be with him. My 4th grader graciously allowed priority for his little brother. So, there I was with the other Grades 1 and 2 moms getting ready and perked up for the climb and the bonding time with our babies.

We went around the base of Bukhansan, just enough of physical demands for the young kids. Korea treats its mountains well and makes sure that it’s well-maintained and safe to hike in… even by school-age children.Read more here: Bukhansan Hike om Mother Earth Day

Gwanaksan

Going on a Gwanaksan hike with family and friends today. This one’s hard for my “unathletic” body… but hurray to finishing it all the way up!!! #Gwanaksan #hikinginseoul #hikingwithkids

A post shared by Wendyflor (@wendyflor_40) on Oct 5, 2017 at 3:54am PDT

I have done an unforgettable Gwanaksan hike with my family and friends and their children but I am yet to write about it. It wasn’t easy but it was so worth it to see the fun in the children’s faces and for them to talk about it every now and then.

Haneul Park

The Haneul Park is hardly a mountain to climb but it is one of the hiking places that you can easily hike up to. I live near so up at the sky park is our playground and treadmill. Uphill, we took the 425 steps going up to Haneul Park. Trivia: There are 2 stairs going up. The stairs facing the World Cup Stadium has 291 steps. The other side facing Noeul Park has 425 steps. Read more here: Haneul Park in Autumn

Bogukmun Course of Bukhansan

Doing the Bogukmun Course of Bukhansan… Thanks to @apingrid and Gail and the other ladies for the patience😍 #bogukmun #bogukmuncourse #bukhansan #hikinginseoul #wheretohikeinseoul 📷 @apingrid

A post shared by Wendyflor (@wendyflor_40) on Mar 12, 2018 at 4:48pm PDT

I joined the serious hikers group of my friends because I thought the Bogukmun Course was an easy-medium hike. Was I wrong! Lol! But I was glad I did it with them. It made me several calories lighter and I got to say, I did it! This was an interesting hike. There are several paths you could take and get lost in. Instead of following the same path going down, the more experienced hikers chose a path not anyone of them has done before. So, we ended doing the Bogukmun Course going up and the Daeseongmun Course going down where we saw an artist at work on one of the ridges. It was a beautiful day to be inspired.

There are more hiking trails out there but I need to personally conquer my fears first and climb them before I write about them here. 

Care to share yours and add them to the list here?

=================================================================

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address

Subscribe