Hiking in Korea's National Parks: Rules, Times, Routes (2026)

• Check the day's status on the KNPS trail control page. It lists each park as normal (정상jeongsangNormal) or partly closed (부분통제bubuntongjePartial closure). Hallasan is not on that page; it has its own site.
• Plan to finish before the cut-off for your trail, not just to start before it. The times below are entry times, and your descent must also fit in daylight.
• Wear hiking shoes. KNPS describes its "Advanced" grade (4–7 hours, mostly rock) as suited to experienced hikers with proper gear, and the "Intermediate" grade (2–4 hours) as needing hiking shoes and light gear.
• Carry water and a layer. Park pages in this guide did not give a water-point list, so bring what you need for the whole route.
• Save 119 and the KNPS customer center number, 1670-9201 (the page shows 09:00–18:00).

북한산BukhansanMount Bukhan is the easiest national park mountain to reach from central Seoul. VisitKorea describes the Baegundae trail as 9 km, about 5 hours, starting and ending at the Bukhansanseong Information Center. Take bus 704 from the Seoul Station bus transfer center to the Bukhansanseong Entrance stop. It calls the trail steep, with rest areas on the way. A second route, the Sinseondae trail, is 7.2 km, about 4 hours 30 minutes. Take Subway Line 1 to Dobongsan Station and walk about 20 minutes to the trail entrance. See the Seoul subway guide for fares and transfers.

On the official side, KNPS sets the Bukhansan entry window at 04:00–17:00 from March to November and 04:00–16:00 from December to February. A 2025 Seoul city hiking guide lists the seasons differently (17:00 from April to October, 16:00 from November to March), so check the sign at your entrance. Night hiking is not allowed.

Insubong and Baegundae are the rock peaks you will see from many trails. This guide did not find an official KNPS route description for Insubong, so it gives no route for it. KNPS has posted notices about the section from 백운봉암문Baegunbong amunBaegunbong Gate to the Baegundae summit being closed and reopened, so look at the trail status before you aim for the top.

설악산SeoraksanMount Seorak is in Gangwon Province. VisitKorea gives the 울산바위UlsanbawiUlsanbawi Rock route as 7.6 km round trip, about 4 hours, from the Sogongwon park gate through Sinheungsa Temple. The last 1.0 km is steep metal stairs, and KNPS warns of falling rock there. The Daecheongbong route is 16 km, about 10 hours, and many hikers sleep in a hut on the way. Take city bus 7 or 7-1 from Sokcho intercity bus terminal to the Sogongwon stop. The Sokcho guide has the bus from Seoul, the cable car and the market.

KNPS entry times on Seoraksan vary by trail. For the Namseorak Osaek to Daecheongbong trail the window is 03:00–12:00 from April to October and 04:00–11:00 from November to March. From Sogongwon, the park bars entry to the Ulsanbawi and Biseondae trails from sunset until two hours before sunrise, and weather warnings close some trails.

한라산HallasanMount Halla is Korea's highest mountain and sits in the middle of Jeju. VisitKorea says the summit trail needs a reservation and has a limited daily capacity. It gives the Seongpanak trail to 백록담BaengnokdamBaengnokdam crater lake as 18.5 km, about 10 hours, and the Yeongsil trail as 8.4 km, about 5 hours. For Seongpanak, take bus 181 from Jeju Airport Gate 2 or bus 281 from the Jeju bus terminal. For Yeongsil, take bus 240 from the Jeju bus terminal. The 2.5 km road from the Yeongsil ticket booth to the trail entrance is open only to vehicles with 12 seats or fewer, so bus riders walk it or take a taxi.

Reserve on the official Hallasan reservation site. The rules have been changing. A March 2025 news report said Jeju was considering dropping the reservation for the sections below the shelters (Sarao-rum on Seongpanak, Samgakbong Shelter on Gwaneumsa) but keeping it for the summit. This guide did not find the final decision, and it did not find an official booking-date rule, so confirm both on the site or with the Seongpanak office (064-725-9950) or the Gwaneumsa office (064-756-9950). The Yeongsil and Eorimok trails are not under the reservation system, according to the same report.

From 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027, a news report says all Hallasan trails open at 05:00. Last entry is 11:30 at Seongpanak and Gwaneumsa, 12:00 at Eorimok and Yeongsil, and 10:00 at Donnaeko. The same report says Seongpanak and Gwaneumsa close one hour earlier than in summer; check the summer times on the official Hallasan page before you go. People must also leave the summit area on time, for example 13:30 for the east-ridge summit point. Heavy snow, wind or rain can close trails even with a reservation.

지리산JirisanMount Jiri spans three provinces and has no single gate. KNPS sets times per checkpoint. For example, the Jungsanri Visitor Center is 03:00–14:00 in summer and 04:00–13:00 in winter, and the Nogodan pass to the main ridge is 03:00–12:00 in summer and 04:00–11:00 in winter. The park office announced in 2024 that 26 ridge sections (126.8 km), including Nogodan to Jangteomok, would be closed from 15 November to 15 December while 37 lower sections stayed open. Ask the office before planning a ridge hike.

Most rules protect the trail or reduce fire risk, so they are enforced. Keep to the marked path, as the hiker in the photo does.

• Entry fee: National park admission has been free since 2007, according to a news report. Parking, cable cars, huts and campsites charge, and some temples inside parks charge their own fee, as one 2023 report notes. Sokcho's pages and KNPS's Seoraksan fee page list no entrance fee.
• Fire-season closures: Many high trails close twice a year for forest-fire prevention. VisitKorea lists Seoraksan's upper trails (Biseondae to Daecheongbong) as closed 2 March–15 May and 15 November–15 December, with the lower section open. For spring 2026, news reports said Seoraksan's high trails were closed for 73 days from 4 March and reopened on 16 May, and that 148 trail sections in 19 parks were restricted from 15 February to 15 May. This guide did not find KNPS's autumn 2026 notice, so check the park office in early November. See Korea in November.
• Fines: Reports quote fines of up to ₩500,000 for entering a closed section and up to ₩2 million for smoking or carrying flammables during fire season. Do not rely on the amounts. Just stay out.
• Fire and cooking: KNPS tightens smoking and cooking enforcement during closures. Do not light fires or cook anywhere outside a designated area.
• Alcohol: Since 13 March 2018 drinking is banned at designated shelters, trails and summits in natural parks. The 2018 fine was ₩50,000 for a first offence and ₩100,000 for later ones, and later reports say fines rose. Only designated places are covered, not the whole park.
• Trails: Stay on marked trails and out of closed sections. Wildlife: this guide did not find an official English KNPS warning on bears, so it gives none.

Call 119 for rescue. Text reports are also accepted by 112 and 119, according to an IT Donga explainer. On mountain trails, look for a yellow sign with black numbers: the 국가지점번호gukga jijeom beonhoNational point number. Read the number to the operator. It is accurate to about 10 m by 10 m. Without a sign, open juso.go.kr, tap the national point number menu and allow location access to see your own number, though that works only outside cities. I did not verify an official KNPS visitor app. The 1330 Korea Travel Helpline (+82-2-1330) is for travel information, not rescue. For more numbers, see emergency numbers and help and safety.

• Arriving after the cut-off. You will not be allowed to start. Start early and use the winter times from November.
• Assuming it is the same as summer. The winter schedule starts in November at Seoraksan, in December at Bukhansan and on 1 October at Hallasan.
• Booking late for Hallasan. Summit places are limited. Have a plan B such as the Yeongsil trail.
• Planning a high route in late autumn. Check the closures first. Autumn colour is covered in the autumn foliage guide.