I did not know in advance that Geumsusan (금수산) would be part of Woraksan! It was a nice surprise to find ourselves continuing our exploration of Woraksan National Park (월악산국립공원) with our second peak of the day!
An incredibly scenic drive followed our early morning Doraksan run. We twisted our way along a winding road right on the rocky shore of Chungjuho lake. A short time later, we pulled into what was perhaps our first paid parking lot in Korea! We’d found a remote service area that I suspect exists only to serve Geumsusan’s hikers!
Parked, paid and packs on, we were ready to run again. Our Geumsusan climb followed a familiar pattern: a road led to a dirt path that cut through a farm and eventually led into the forest. From there, things got really exciting!
We decided to take the left fork at a junction, heading up to Mangdeokbong first. It was a steep and thrilling trail. There were towering rock sculptures rising over the forest, and soon, we were up in the sky meeting them! There was a particularly wonderful observation deck that at first I thought was near the top, but turned out to be barely half-way up!
Needless to say, these climbs were really steep! The trails were also very dynamic: stairs, boulders, roots and dirt in different places. It wasn’t until we were nearing our first peak that things finally leveled out.
Once on the summit ridge, we did a short jaunt to the left to meet our first peak! Mangdeokbong was a cozy one, even more snugly-forested than Doraksan! But it was lovely in that tropical and tranquil way that Korea has in the summer. We thanked our lucky stars that were alone once again, in a national park, and on a weekend – miraculous!
Our running accompaniment was the singing of birds, and we were witness to dozens of bugs being born. Dodging clouds of gnats was one thing – but at one point we had to run away from some unacceptably large wasps!
The ridge linking Mangdeokbong to Geumsusan’s summit was not a long one: a little less than 2 kilometers. But it was all nicely forested and over too quickly. Cooling dappled shade and runnable dirt trail meant that we blazed across it in no time.
We arrived on another lovely observation deck, just in time for a few moments of peace before a noisy, young tour group arrived, walkie-talkies blaring. They were friendly, but we were eager to greet the peak on our own. So we hurried ahead over a series of sky bridges and staircases to the peak!
And what a peak it was! I wished we could have lingered longer. Geumsusan has one of my favorite classic Korean summit types: a jagged rock protruding through the huge wooden picnic platform built around it. Some special, gnarly Korean pines grew from the rock, adding still more drama. And the stele was the same color stone as the peak: one roundish rock nestled among the crags!
It was really fun to clamber around and pose for pictures there. And lucky to have it to ourselves for a few minutes! Much as I wanted to stay, the huge group following us soon arrived, and spurred us onward.
Down we raced, a little sadly, away from the summit and back into the shade of the forest. Back by the parking lot, Kent enjoyed a fancy coffee at the cute Mountain Coffee Cafe. Then it was time for another scenic drive: the drive home.
Know and Go! Geumsusan
Transportation
Compared to other Woraksan National Park destinations, Geumsusan is closer to civilization only as the crow flies. If you have a car (or money for a long taxi ride), you can get here from Danyang in 30-40 minutes. Danyang, as you may recall, is a great place to base yourself for either Sobaeksan National Park, or another Woraksan climb at nearby Doraksan.
However, there do not seem to be any public transit options from Danyang to Geumsusan. Instead, you can head to Jecheon, and transfer to bus 953. Fair warning: if you take this bus to the trailhead I used (described below), it will take nearly 2 hours! On the bright side, it’s a very scenic lakeside drive… Perhaps on the more realistic side, you could also consider hopping out early and starting your climb from another trailhead (have a look at Naver maps to see where this bus route intersects with the hiking trails).
Hike & Run
Geumsusan can be hiked (or run) as a straight out-and-back from the high parking lot at Sangcheon rest area. This makes for a snappy day trip with a decent amount of climbing in a short amount of time. However, if you came all this way, you may as well see a little more, right?
There is actually a fair bit of hiking in this northern section of Woraksan National Park! Geumsusan is the highlight, as the highest mountain in the area, but there are multiple other peaks that can be visited to the south, north and west. Most of the peaks to the south are significantly smaller, but overlook Chungjuho lake.
The middle ground we chose was a neat loop that took in Mangdeokbong first, followed by Geumsusan’s main peak. I highly recommend this loop if you want to start and end in the same place, and if you want to see a little more of the area but don’t have a ton of time. (The map above doesn’t show the connecting trail, but I assure you that it is there, in good shape and well-traveled!)
Stay & Eat
There are a couple of pensions east of Sangcheon rest area. Stay here if you’d like the peak to yourself and a tranquil sleep besides. Think twice about staying here if you’re relying on public transit or didn’t plan ahead in terms of provisions. We had our own wheels for the weekend, so we stayed nearby at a motel on highway 36 with similar pros and cons.
For food, there are a few options in the way of light snacks and coffee (Kent-endorsed!). But there did not seem to be any sit-down style dining – and I saw little evidence of sanchae. In season, you might be able to buy fruit and other local products. However, I’d definitely recommend packing some of your own treats!
Other Notes
Geumsusan is on both mountain lists: it’s on the Korea Forest Service list here and the Black Yak list here.
We climbed Geumsusan in early June 2018 (right after Doraksan!). A 9 kilometer loop took us to the peak and one of it’s neighbors.
At 1016 meters high, Geumsusan towers over the surrounding ridges. There are excellent views to be had of those ridges from the summit observation platform!
Click to return to the Woraksan main page and explore more!
Want more of Korea’s marvelous mountains? Head back to the 120 summits main page, or check out more national parks!