Seoraksan National Park is located about 30 minutes outside of Sokcho in Korea's North Eastern Gangwon Provence. It was the nation's first national park, founded in 1970 and my personal pick for one of the best places to view some spectacular fall colors. In fact, the colors are so amazing I go back every year. During the peak color change weekend thousands of visitors will travel to this mountain park. It can create quite the bottleneck in the parking lot and on the trails, but on our visit, we were lucky. Since the weather patterns were a little off, the published peak weekend was one week earlier than when it really arrived, so when Jo and I visited, we were able to take in the fall spender with only a fraction of the visitors the preceding week. Hundreds of trees line the walkway from the parking lot, making it one of the favorite places for families to gather and snap photos. The brilliant red, gold, and amber leaves appeared even brighter on this sunny day against its bright, blue sky. The ever-present smiles indicated that all who came knew they were witnessing magic and let their inner child come out to play. Before setting off on our hike, we visited Sinheungsa. It's a temple located near the start of many hiking trails in the park. It's iconic giant Buddha sits facing the mountain peaks. When visiting the temple in the fall, the colors make the statue pop. Since we were in the park, it was time to do a little hiking. We opted to take the trail to Bisandae, a relatively flat, one hour hike through the forest canopy that afforded use some great views and foliage. Of all the hikes in the park, this one is probably most suited for all ages for its ease. Along the way, we couldn't help but to stop and take photos and video of all the beautiful leaves we saw. Even though we come here each year, it was like seeing it for the first time. We weren't the only ones having a good time either. Couples especially enjoyed their time among the changing colors. With the hike completed, we returned to the mountain's base and grabbed a quick bit to eat before jumping onto a cable car (W9,000) and heading to the top of the mountain. Cars depart every 5 minutes, so be sure to get a ticket early. The assent provided some breathtaking views of the valley, but we weren't finished yet. A short trail from the cable car area leads the peak and can be reached in about fifteen minutes. It's an easy climb, but does require using ropes and traversing a rocky slope. However, once you're on top, the panoramic view is awesome. BLOG: http://www.qiranger.com/2013/11/19/koreas-fall-colors-steve-millers-eye-7-canon-eos-c100 -= WEB SITES =- Twitter: http://twitter.com/qiranger Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/qiranger Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/qirangeradventures Instagram: http://instagr.am/qiranger Blog: http://qiranger.com The Travel and News Channel: http://youtube.com/qiranger The Vlog Channel: http://youtube.com/theqirangervlog Podcast: http://qiranger.com/tqrap

• published: 18 Nov 2013
• views: 1235