I felt fantastic about this mountain before we’d even started our climb. Cute little Jinan and all of its small town charm and rainbow night lights charmed me. Tucking my umbrella into my running vest like a rain sword made me laugh. And most of all, I loved that we could run straight to the mountaintop from our riverside motel; the twin peaks of Maisan Provincial Park (마이산도립공원) always in our sights.
This is such a unique park, even among the dozens of special peaks we met during our mountain mission year. It features not a ridge or a single peak, like most others, but two paired peaks. With their dramatic, almost-conical shapes, they’re said to resemble a horse’s ears – hence the name of the park! Actually, Maisan is just the most common name for this mountain. It has other names based on the changing of the seasons, which I found fascinating! This being summer, Maisan is also known as Dotdaebong.
We’d also found ourselves exploring Maisan on a unique day. As we approached, a thick fog born of the surrounding forest took shape over the peaks. The mist shrouded the unclimbable male peak from us at times, but weaved a bit of magic around us. Walking into a cloud gave everything an air of mystery, and hid the modernity below – leaving us free to contemplate the classical scenery.
Ammaibong, the female peak, is the approachable one. Coming from Jinan, it’s a short, rocky climb straight up to the summit. On our way, we met some fellow hikers. We swapped cameras and spoke in the common language of smiles. In addition to our human encounters, we also found a frog friend! Rather, a toad – and a very large one! We lingered a little around the summit stele, with the damp, silent area all to ourselves.
Later, we bounced back down the mountain for an exciting, new feast of deodeok bibimbap. We ran back to town having had a truly perfect morning. All this before nine am!
We realized only afterwards that we’d missed out on Tapsa temple, located behind the horse’s ears to the south. We also spotted a map on our way out that depicted a network of trails radiating out from the park. Well, I guess that means we’ll just have to go back for more Maisan!
Know and Go! Maisan
Transportation
Maisan Provincial Park is located just outside the quaint little town of Jinan. There is a bike path leading out of the town to the south, or you can follow a road! Either way, you can see the park from town and head on over to it easily on foot. It’s just two or three kilometers from the town.
The closest major transportation hub is Jeonju, which has multiple train and bus connections to other Korean cities. Jeonju has local buses to and from Jinan. But although Jinan is nearby in the grand scheme of things, it’s not the easiest place to get to. You might find yourself on the bus for a couple of hours, stopping at every little town along the way. We opted to take a late night bus, spend the night and then do our exploring in the morning.
Hike & Run
There aren’t exactly a lot of trails in this mini park, but there doesn’t need to be! A quick, upward jaunt beginning to the north or south heads straight Amisan’s peak. Following a trail up and over the saddle between the horse-ears will bring you to Tapsa temple, or alternatively, to Jinan. Many visitors to this park follow a north-south line (or vice versa) that takes in both the peak and the temple.
For more strenuous hikes and longer adventures, check out the trails throughout Jinan-gun!
Stay & Eat
Jinan is a small town, so you can find small town fare there. This includes a few marts and local restaurants, but nothing fancy. For the picky, stock up in Jeonju and have a picnic on the go. Or bring your favorites from home!
There is also a small tourist village at the base of the mountain for refueling before or after your hike. We enjoyed a post-run bibimbap there: a highly recommendable one that I’d never tried before featuring deodeok!
OTHER NOTES
Amaisan (Ammaibong) is the name of the summit. At 685m, a sharp rise over flatter terrain, it has a great view of the area and its twin! Maisan gets a mention on both lists of 100 famous summits in Korea: visit the Black Yak challenge or the Korea Forest Service site to learn more!
I visited Maisan Provincial Park with my husband in July 2016. This was the 6th provincial park we visited during our mountain mission year. We did a 10.6 out-and-back run, from Jinan to the summit and back.
Unlike most other provincial parks, I had heard of Maisan prior to our visit. It’s one of the area’s ‘eight scenic beauties’. Go in spring if you can to catch the cherry blossom festival in the park!
We visited this park as part of an unprecedented three-park adventure! Check out nearby Moaksan, and the wild, remote Yeonhwasan, too. More adventures await in other provincial parks and on the 120 summits, too!
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