Bukhansan by Subway 2026: How Far Is the Trailhead From the Station, When Is Peak Foliage, and What Does Entry Cost?

Bottom line: For a first hike, start at Bukhansan-Ui Station (Line U) Exit 2, stop at the Seoul Hiking Tourism Center 5 minutes away to check gear, then take the Ui-dong route to Baegundae Peak, a round trip of roughly 4 hours 40 minutes (140 minutes one way, 3.9 km). If that feels long, turning back at the Baegundae Shelter before the final rock scramble still delivers the foliage views.

If you didn't know: without knowing the entry hours, you can end up descending after dark. The Bukhansanseong district's official hours are 04:00-17:00 from March to November and 04:00-16:00 from December to February, so leaving the trail after 17:00 is both against the rules and risky. Transport matters too: a mid-size Seoul taxi costs 4,800 won for the first 1.6 km, then 100 won per 131 m (the city's own rate), while the subway is a flat 1,550 won by card for any trip under 10 km. Travelers have reported that at the Bukhansan-Ui Station center, staff told them the actual trailhead was "a taxi ride or a 45-minute walk up the road," so checking the map-app distance to the trailhead beforehand can save that lost time.

At a glance: Bukhansan (Bukhansan-Ui Station Exit 2, 5-minute walk, or Gupabal Station Exit 1 plus a roughly 30-minute bus) and Dobongsan (Lines 1/7 Dobongsan Station Exit 1, about a 10-minute walk to the ticket booth) fall under the Korea National Park Service's Bukhansan National Park Office (031-828-8000) and charge no entry fee. Gwanaksan (Line 4 Sadang Station Exit 4, Line 2 Sillim Station Exit 2, or Gwanaksan Station on the Sillim Line) and Cheonggyesan (Cheonggyesan-ipgu Station on the Shinbundang Line, transfer at Yangjae) are city/ward-run urban nature parks, also free. Peak 2026 foliage, per the Korea Tourism Organization and Korea National Arboretum's "2026 Foliage Map" released Oct. 8, is projected at the metro-area reference site (the Arboretum) as Oct. 29 for maples, Oct. 31 for ginkgoes, and Nov. 2 for oaks (no separate date was issued for Bukhansan alone). There is no drinking-water supply along the trails, so carry at least 2 liters per person; food stalls cluster only near the trailheads.

each mountain's hiking center offers English, Chinese and Japanese guidance; at the Bukhansan center, 71 percent (7,298) of the 10,280 visitors between January 1 and November 13, 2025 were foreign nationals (Seoul Tourism Organization, reported by Financial News on Nov. 14, 2025). Bukhansan also had the highest average daily foreign foot traffic among Seoul's hiking mountains, at 4,015 people (Seoul AI Foundation analysis, reported by The Korea Times on July 22, 2026). Baegundae's course time varies wildly by source, but per Seoul city data sourced from the Bukhansan National Park Office, the Ui-dong route is 3.9 km/140 minutes and the Bukhansanseong route is 3.7 km/170 minutes; both end with roughly 200-300 meters of granite scramble using iron rails and ropes, where hiking boots are genuinely needed. Dobongsan's beginner-friendly option, passing Doseon Seowon, Cheonchuksa Temple and Madangbawi Rock from Dobongsan Station, has been described in a local community event notice as taking about 2.5 hours. Gwanaksan's signature route, Sadang Station to Yeonjudae Hermitage and back, runs about 3 hours and also ends on a rocky summit. Cheonggyesan, from the Wonteogol entrance to Maebong Peak, is about 3 km/80 minutes one way per Seocho-gu public data, making a roughly 2-hour-40-minute round trip and the gentlest of the four, doable in sneakers. For the other three, sneakers are fine up to the base of the final rocky stretch, where boots are advisable. Every autumn, Korea's national parks close some high-elevation trails for fire prevention roughly from mid-November to mid-December (Seoraksan and Odaesan did so Nov. 15-Dec. 15 in 2025), but the specific 2026 closure dates and sections for Bukhansan and Dobongsan had not been posted as an official notice as of this writing, so check the Korea National Park Service site before you go. Trail guides also note that late-morning weekend crowds at the final Baegundae scramble can mean a 20-45-minute wait, so an early start is worth it.

By nationality: for English-speaking readers, a rough trail-grade read is Bukhansan and Dobongsan as strenuous near the summit, Gwanaksan as moderate to strenuous, and Cheonggyesan as easy to moderate. 'In Europe, you usually need to drive out of town to hike,' Clement Dubois, 31, from France, said (Kyunghyang Shinmun's English edition, Feb. 20, 2026). Japanese hikers may recognize Korea's trailhead gear-and-pole rental culture as similar to Japan's own "yama-girl" hiking fashion, though Korean peaks lean more heavily on iron rails and fixed ropes for the final rock sections. Chinese-speaking travelers face a shortage of Chinese-language maps and signage, so screenshotting this article's station, exit and walking-time details is a practical workaround. On prayer facilities: no officially confirmed prayer room (musholla) exists at any of the four trailheads; the nearest option is the Seoul Central Mosque and its surrounding Islamic centers in Itaewon, well across the city. In an emergency, call 119, and also read out the number on the nearest trail marker post, placed every 250-500 meters, to speed up the rescue (per Seoul city's own guidance).

Journey stage: ④During the trip · Verified 2026-10-11 · Source Korea National Park Service, Korea Tourism Organization, Korea National Arboretum, Seoul Metropolitan Government, Seoul Tourism Organization