Hiking in South Korea: entry hours, shelters, closures and best trails

How Korea's national park trails work

Most of Korea's big mountains sit inside national parks run by the Korea National Park Service (KNPS). When we checked on 2026-10-03, its website listed 24 national parks, from Bukhansan on the edge of Seoul to Seoraksan, Jirisan, Sobaeksan, Deogyusan and the marine parks of the south coast. Hallasan on Jeju is the exception in practice: it has its own office and booking system run by the Jeju provincial government.

The rule that shapes every plan is the designated entry-hours system (입산시간지정제). KNPS sets, for each trailhead and direction, a time when you may start and a cut-off after which you may not enter, so that hikers are off the mountain before dark. KNPS says it has applied the system in every national park except Taean Coastal since 16 May 2015. The cut-off depends on how far the trailhead is from the summit, so the long climbs close earliest.

When we checked on 2026-10-03, the KNPS entry-hours page listed, for example: on Bukhansan, 04:00 to 17:00 from March to November and 04:00 to 16:00 from December to February at the main trailheads, including the Baegun Visitor Center below Baegundae. On Seoraksan, the climb from Osaek (Namseorak Visitor Center) to Daecheongbong opened at 03:00 and closed at 12:00 from April to October, and ran 04:00 to 11:00 from November to March. On Jirisan, the Jungsan-ri Visitor Center, the usual start for Cheonwangbong, listed 03:00 to 14:00 in the warm months and 04:00 to 13:00 in winter. Look up your exact trailhead before you book transport, because the cut-off often decides the bus you need.

Hallasan works on the same principle. When we checked on 2026-10-03, its reservation guide gave entry times of 06:00 in January, February, November and December, 05:30 in March, April, September and October and 05:00 from May to August, with checkpoints on the way up that close in the late morning. It treats the mountain as a day hike only, so that everyone is down before sunset.

Closures: forest fires, weather and trail works

A trail that is open in the guidebook can be closed on the day. KNPS publishes a live closure page (통제정보) for every park office, marking full or partial closures with the time they took effect. When we checked on 2026-10-03, several offices, including Bukhansan, Jirisan, Deogyusan and Chiaksan, showed partial closures. It is in Korean, but the park names and the word 부분통제 (partial closure) are easy to spot with a browser translation. Check it the evening before and again in the morning.

Forest-fire prevention periods are the closures most likely to break a plan. In the dry seasons, parks close their upper trails and leave only the low valley paths open. VisitKorea's hiking column gives Seoraksan's periods as 2 March to 15 May and 15 November to 15 December, with the upper section from Biseondae to Daecheongbong closed and the walk from Sogongwon to Biseondae left open. The column was last updated in September 2024, so confirm the current dates on KNPS. VisitKorea's Jirisan page also warns that some areas close in the dry season to prevent forest fires.

Weather closes trails at short notice. Hallasan's guide says trails are partly or fully closed when the Korea Meteorological Administration issues heavy-rain, typhoon or heavy-snow advisories or warnings. KNPS's English shelter page says shelter bookings are cancelled when a special weather report is issued near the mountain. VisitKorea's climate guide puts the rainy season from the end of June to the end of July and says several typhoons can arrive between June and October. In summer, keep a spare day, and do not fix a summit hike for the day before your flight home.

Works also close sections for days or weeks, usually on the busiest summit paths. The closure page and each park's notices list them. If one route is closed, the park will often have a lower valley or ridge walk open. A changed route is better than a cancelled day.

Shelters and reserved trails

Korea's mountain shelters (대피소) are not huts you can walk into. KNPS describes them as places of refuge in an emergency, and the bookable ones are in four parks: Jirisan, Seoraksan, Deogyusan and Sobaeksan. Its English guide says you cannot book at the door or by phone, that you and your companions must show an ID card or passport to register, and that you pay at the shelter. It also forbids cooking with fire outside the shelter's kitchen and getting drunk. Arrive within check-in hours: when we checked on 2026-10-03, KNPS's Seoraksan entry-hours page gave 15:00 to 18:00 from November to March and 15:00 to 19:00 from April to October.

Booking rules are changing, so read the official pages carefully. KNPS's English reservation pages still describe a monthly opening on the 1st for the following month and a waiting list of up to 10% of capacity. The Korean policy table, which says the new rules are being phased in from 1 April 2024, listed shelters under a lottery with applications from the 1st of even-numbered months and a maximum stay of one night. Use the Korean page or ask the KNPS reservation helpline (1670-9201) before you build a ridge trek around a shelter.

A shelter booking can also extend your trailhead cut-off. When we checked on 2026-10-03, KNPS gave Seoraksan hikers booked into Huiungak an extra hour from Biseondae, and those booked into Yangpok two extra hours. On Jirisan, Rotary shelter bookings added two hours at Jungsan-ri, and Jangteomok bookings one hour.

Some trails need a booking even for a day hike. On Hallasan, the summit sections above Jindallaebat (Seongpanak trail) and Samgakbong (Gwaneumsa trail) are reserved. When we checked on 2026-10-03, bookings opened at 09:00 on the first business day of the month before your hike, for up to four people, once a week per person. A QR code and ID are checked on the trail, and a no-show without cancelling bars you from booking for three months, or a year for a second offence. Eorimok, Yeongsil, Donnaeko, Seokguram and Eoseungsaengak need no booking. The same guide also lists Seollal and Chuseok as rest days with no hiking. Near Seoul, the Uiryeong-gil between Bukhansan and Dobongsan must be booked at least a day ahead, and IDs are checked at the trailhead. Visit Seoul gives it as 6.42 km and about two hours, rated easy. On Seoraksan, KNPS listed booking-only trails at Gombaeryeong and, in October and November, Heullimgol.

Which hike for a city break, a weekend or a longer trip

A morning from Seoul: Bukhansan or Dobongsan. Bukhansan is the only national park in Seoul, and its trailheads are reached by subway and bus. VisitKorea's route to Baegundae from the west starts at the Bukhansanseong Information Center, reached by bus 704 from the Seoul Station bus transfer centre, and it calls the climb quite steep. For Dobongsan, it suggests Line 1 to Dobongsan station and a 20-minute walk to the trailhead. On the east side, the Seoul Hiking Tourism Center – Bukhansan Branch is about five minutes' walk from Bukhansan Ui station on the Ui–Sinseol Line. When we checked on 2026-10-03, Visit Seoul listed it as open 09:00 to 18:00 and closed on Mondays, at Seollal and at Chuseok. It offers help in English, Chinese and Japanese, luggage storage and rental of boots, clothing, poles and crampons, which can be reserved in advance. It is one of three such centres in Seoul. If rocky summits are not for you, walk a section of the 71.8 km Bukhansan Dulle-gil, which KNPS describes as a low-level path around the foot of the mountain.

A weekend on the east coast: Seoraksan. Take bus 7 or 7-1 from Sokcho Intercity Bus Terminal to Sogongwon Park. VisitKorea describes the forest path to Sinheungsa temple and Heundeulbawi as gentle, and the final climb to Ulsanbawi as steep. It also recommends the valley path to Biseondae as the easier option, and the cable car to Gwongeumseong for seniors and children. The summit, Daecheongbong, is a separate and much longer day. Our Seoraksan guide has the course details.

A weekend on Jeju: Hallasan. Book a summit slot if you want the crater, and stay in Jeju City for the early buses. VisitKorea gives bus 181 from Gate 2 at Jeju International Airport, or bus 281 from Jeju Bus Terminal, to the Seongpanak stop. If you do not get a slot, walk up Yeongsil to Witse-oreum and down to Eorimok, which needs no booking. VisitKorea warns that the last 2.5 km to the Yeongsil trailhead is a road with no bus and no parking for private cars, so a taxi is the easy way up.

Three or four days: Jirisan and the long ridges. Jirisan was Korea's first national park, and VisitKorea ranks its summit, Cheonwangbong (1,915 m), as the highest after Hallasan. It is the classic multi-day ridge trek, with shelters strung along the main ridge. Sobaeksan and Deogyusan also have shelters, and their entry-hours tables on the KNPS site set winter cut-offs of 11:00 to 13:00 at some trailheads. These are trips for experienced hikers with shelter bookings, not something to add to a Seoul itinerary on a whim. Our Jirisan guide covers the Nogodan and Cheonwangbong approaches.

Seasons and timing

VisitKorea's climate guide recommends spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November) for travelling on foot, when temperatures are moderate. It also warns that chilly weather often lasts until mid-March and that winter averages are only 0 to 1°C, with frequent sub-zero days. Spring and late autumn overlap with the forest-fire closure weeks, so the high ridges are most reliably open in April after mid-May, and from September to mid-November. Check the dates for your park.

Autumn foliage is the busiest time on the trails. VisitKorea's 2026 forecast put the first colour on Seoraksan on 3 October and its peak around 25 October. It forecast first colour on Bukhansan on 23 October (peak 4 November), on Jirisan on 28 October (peak 5 November) and on Hallasan on 31 October (peak 13 November), with Naejangsan peaking around 11 November. It notes that actual dates depend on the weather. Hike on weekdays in that window if you can.

Winter hiking is possible but serious. Hallasan's guide asks winter hikers to carry warm clothing, crampons, gloves and hot water, and the Seoul Hiking Tourism Center rents crampons. In summer, the end of July and August can be extremely hot and humid, according to VisitKorea: start at the opening time and plan to be down by early afternoon.

Safety and trail etiquette

The official advice is practical. Hallasan's guide asks hikers to stay on marked trails and to carry emergency food (it suggests sweets, chocolate and salt) and spare clothes, because the weather changes quickly. In an emergency, call the park office or the 119 rescue service and give the number on the nearest trail position marker. Note the marker numbers as you pass them. Hallasan has no shops on the trails, so bring all your food and water.

Rules on what you carry are stricter than many visitors expect. On Hallasan, alcohol, smoking, fire and single-use lunch boxes are banned, though gimbap and hamburgers are allowed, and camping and cooking are allowed only at the Gwaneumsa campsite. In KNPS shelters, cooking is limited to the kitchen. Take your rubbish down with you everywhere.

For help in English while you are in Korea, VisitKorea runs the 1330 travel helpline and text chat. Our Korea safety guide covers emergency numbers, weather alerts and what to do if your plans are disrupted.