Hiking Daedunsan Provincial Park. Provincial Parks like Daedunsan in South Korea aren’t as well known as the National Parks. Often times though, they are just as beautiful and easier to explore than the national parks because they are on a smaller scale. Daedunsan, at 878M high isn’t the highest peak you will find in South Korea, but it’s rocky outcrops and famous cloud bridge and steep stairs will easily make it worth your while to travel and hike here.
Daedunsan Provincial Park
How to Get to Daedunsan
Daedunsan Provincial Park is located south of Daejeon in the central part of South Korea. To get here, I’d recommend two ways.
By Car
To drive here, just put in 대둔산공용버스터미널 into your navigation device. This will lead you to the bus stop at Daedunsan which is where the parking lot is located for the main way up the mountain. This is also where you can find the cable car nearby. You can see a map below:
By Bus
To get here by public transportation, first make your way to Daejeon. To do this, there are many cities that have buses to Daejeon, or if you are near a train line, just get a train to Daejeon Station.
From the Bus Terminal or Train Station in Daejeon, then make your way to Seobu Bus Terminal. Finally, from Seobu Bus Terminal, you will want to take bus #34 which will take you to Daedunsan Rest Stop. This should take about 45 minutes to an hour. From the rest stop it’s a 15-20 minute walk downhill to the cable car area and main section of the park.
Hiking Daedunsan Provincial Park
There are a wide variety of trails in Daedunsan Provincial Park and even various methods for getting to the top of the mountain. I’ll detail two of these below that are accessed from the Parking Lot area I listed above on Ways to Get to Daedunsan.
Hiking Up Daedunsan
The first method to get up Daedunsan is just by hiking. The path starts near the Cable Car Station and from there it makes its way up the mountain through many switchbacks and steps and stones.
It’s not an easy way up as it’s quite steep in sections and some parts have pretty steep parts with stones. However, by hiking, it allows you to really enjoy the trail and if you are there during the fall time will really be able to enjoy the leaves and colors.
In total, the way up by hiking should take around 1.5 to 2 hours. If you take your time, it’s quite a nice way to get up the mountain and save some money by not taking the cable car.
Daedunsan Cable Car
The second method of going up to the top of Daedunsan is to take the Cable Car. The cable car tickets as of writing are 7500KRW one way and 10,500KRW round trip. It’s about a 5 minute ride to the upper station and is beautiful as you get a nice birds eye view of the trees and surrounding cliffs.
The Cable Car will drop you off pretty much right at the cloud bridge, so it’s a great way to see the cloud bridge and steep metal stairway without having to do much hiking. If you want to reach the summit from the Upper Station, it should only be about a 20-30 minute hike to get there.
Daedunsan Cloud Bridge and Staircase
Two of the main attractions that draw tourists to Daedunsan are the cloud bridge and the steep suspension staircase. These are incredible sights to witness, however, if you are afraid of heights, you may want to skip these.
The cloud bridge is a suspension bridge approximately 50 meters in length and high above a valley between two rock platforms. It is built strong through and can withstand many people on it at once. Also, contrary to what you may think, it doesn’t sway much at all.
Following the cloud bridge, the next feature is a steep staircase that is suspended by wires. This staircase is at a slope of 51 degrees. There is nothing below the stairs and it can be quite intimidating. However, as long as you hold onto the sides and lean forward, it’s not too much of a problem.
Other Hikes at Daedunsan
While the staircase and cloud bridge are worthwhile to see, I recommend spending some time at the top of the mountain and taking a hike along the ridge or going to the summit or doing both.
After the stairs, you will hike a bit to reach the ridge of Daedunsan. Once you are there, you have the option to go right or left. If you go right, you can hike the ridge which I recommend and to go to at least an area called Nakjodae.
Along the way to Nakjodae it’s pretty simple and not to many steep sections as you are along the ridge and have great views into the valley. It’s especially nice during the fall time to view the changing leaves.
What a lot of people will do, is to pack lunch or snacks and find a nice boulder or rock to sit on and enjoy a picnic. It’s the perfect way to spend the time at the top of the mountain.
If instead of turning right and going towards Nakjodae, you can instead go left and head towards the summit of Daedunsan. At the summit, there is a nice monument signifying the top and also wide sweeping views all around you.
In total, if you want to reach the summit of Daedunsan and want some time to enjoy hiking the ridge, I’d recommend at least 4-5 hours for this park. For sure, you could spend the whole day if you wanted to explore more.
Where to Stay at Daedunsan
*Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links through booking.com, which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link.
Daedunsan Hotel – This is one of the only hotels that you can book through booking.com that is right by the park. It’s a 3 star hotel with air conditioning, a buffet breakfast available, and prices that are quite reasonable for the area.
Other than this, your best bet would be to get hotels in Daejeon and then take the public transportation or drive to the park. You can search for hotels in Daejeon through our Booking.com search box on the side bar of this page.
Tips for Daedunsan Provincial Park
- This park is great in almost any season. It’s most popular in the fall though as so many of the trees here change color. It’s known to be popular in winter time as well though as the rocks often get covered in rime ice and is quite beautiful.
- Get here early in peak season. By lunch time, bus loads of tourists will come and you will have a long line waiting for the cable car and also to cross the bridge and climb the stairs. To avoid that, get here early or arrive late afternoon.
- There are many other trails and access points that I didn’t mention here. You can find them at the Daedunsan Provincial Park Website.
If you are looking for other mountains to explore here in Korea, check out the following articles I’ve posted:
Well, I hope this post was able to inform you about hiking Daedunsan Provincial Park. As always, if you have questions or comments, please let us know in the comments below!
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