Taiwan Hiking Journal

Saturday, November 15, 2025

Neigoushan to Dahu Park MRT Station: A long walk from Xizhi to Neihu

A longish but not too difficult walk that connects Xizhi to Neihu. There are city views and narrow trails that wind through forests and meadows, along ridges and over several small peaks. There is a lot to see along the way including the ruins of an old mine, two lakes, five peaks, a cave, Dragon Boat Rock and Yanjue Falls. In addition, it is easy to get to the starting point by public transportation and at the end hikers can walk right to the Dahu Park MRT Station-- a nice long, walk; not far from the city.

Distance/duration: 6 hours 26 mins / 12.4 km.

More details as well as a map can be found here on my ramblr account.

Trail Overview:

This hike begins with a very pleasant road and trail walk next to a clear stream that leads to Cuei Lake 翠湖 -- passing the ruins of the Beigang Mine along the way. Then it climbs to Neigoushan 內溝山 (137 m) and follows a popular trail to Laojiujianshan老鷲尖 (193 m). It continues to Shuiweitanshan 水尾潭山 (156 m), Shuiweitanshan Northwest Peak 水尾潭山東北峰 (152 m) and Daqiutianshan East Peak 大邱田山東峰 (235 m).

It goes down to a road and then climbs back up before descending a dramatic rocky trail, surrounded by mammoth stones, to Shimen Cave. The last section is relatively easy. A flat trail leads to Longchuanyan 龍船岩 (Dragon Boat Rock) and then drops sharply down to Yanjue Falls 圓覺瀑布. It's an easy walk along the stream and through Dagouxi Waterfront Park from the falls to Dahu Park MRT station.

The trail is mostly in good shape. The first part of the walk from Jinlong Lake to Laojiujianshan is wide and easy. The trails after Laojiujianshan are less popular and narrower but they are still clear trails with just a few rough sections. After Laojiujian it's possible you may have the trail to yourself. In this section, I only saw two other hikers until I got to Dragon Boat Rock. There are a few ups and downs and some fun climbs and rocky scrambles. Route finding can be confusing in a few spots. I used an offline map (Maps.me) to occasionally check my position or direction.

Jinlong Lake is a large, urban lake with a walking trail all the way around. Fishermen are often found on the shore and it is customary to see local residents strolling or relaxing on the benches around the lake.

The ruins of an old coal mine, Beigang Mine, are next to the trail. There is a brick building just next to the trail and further along more brick ruins can be seen through the forest. The mine began operations under a Japanese owner in 1901. The mine was in operation until 1970.

Cuei Lake is a small, peaceful pond in a deep valley. There is some open water but most of it is filled with aquatic plants. There is a dirt trail all the way around the lake and there are benches and tables and flowers. The lake was formed during the Japanese colonial period when mining waste was dumped in the valley blocking the stream and creating the lake. It provides habitat for fish, frogs, birds and other wildlife.

Neigoushan (137 m) is a rocky point reached by an exciting but not difficult climb up aluminum ladders. Laojiujian (193m) has a great view. It is said to be a good place for spotting birds of prey floating on updrafts and is also called Laoyingjian or Eagle Peak. Shuiweitanshan (156 m) has a decent view that is partially obscured by weeds. Neither Shuiweitanshan Northwest Peak (152 m) nor Daqiutianshan East Peak (235m) have a view but the latter is in a nice, sparsely wooded flat spot.

Other points of interest include Shimen Cave (not a true cave but a tunnel formed by massive leaning rocks), Dragon Boat Rock (a huge piece of exposed quartz that is deservedly a popular place for taking pictures and viewing the city) and two tiered Yanjue Falls. The area below the falls is a well-developed -- with shelters, benches and tables. It is a great place for relaxing and popular because it is so close to the city.

This is the sixth in a series of posts exploring hikes near Xizhi. The other five are:

Xizhi Gongbeidian 汐止拱北殿, and Beigang Hill 北港山

Neigoushan 內溝山 , Cuei Lake 翠湖, and Laojiujian 老鷲尖

Dream Lake 夢湖 and Mt. Xin 新山

Xiufeng Waterfall, Dajianshan, Sifenweishan and Qiedong Waterfall

Ridge Walking and Swimming in Xizhi: Xinshan 新山 and Kezilin 柯子林

What to bring: Just the usual. I took snacks, a sandwich and plenty of water.

There are stores at the beginning of the walk, near the Jinlong Hu bus stop, and of course, at the end in Neihu, too.

Transportation: I took a train from Taipei Main Station to Xizhi. It takes less than 20 minutes and trains are frequent.

At Xizhi station, I exited through the main hall by way of the Xinyi Road exit and crossed to the row of bus stops across the street from the station. When I crossed the road bus 817 was already there and I hopped right on.

I took bus 817 to the Jinlonghu bus stop (Jinlong Lake) which only took about 10 minutes.

At the end of the hike, I walked to Dahu Park MRT Station exit 1 and took the MRT home.

For the most up to date information you can check the BusTracker Taiwan app but the 817 comes often. It would also not be very expensive to take a taxi.

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The Hike

The Jinlonghu bus stop is on a busy street. There are convenience stores and restaurants and shops. I got off the bus and headed straight on Ming Feng Street. In less than 100 meters I turned right onto a side street. There were two signs with arrows that read "Jin Long Lake" and "Cuei Lake."

At the top of a short hill Jin Long Lake could be seen on the left. I took the path going around the right (east) side of the lake.

I followed the path until I came to Lane 5, Hudong Street, passing a weekend fruit vendor at the edge of the park, and then followed the road. On the way I passed the trail where I had ended my previous walk in this area back in June. (Neigoushan 內溝山 , Cuei Lake 翠湖, and Laojiujian 老鷲尖 )

The road led to a huge sign pointing the way to Cuei Lake and I joined a country lane next to a clear, trickling stream with occasional pools with small fish. There were farms and houses on each side. This was really nice walking and there were lots of other people going to and from the lake.

After 900 meters I went up steps on the right and joined a well trodden trail of packed earth.

I passed an Earth God (Tudigong) shrine on a concrete platform, passed the ruins of the Beigang Mine just next to the trail and passed more brick ruins further off the path but visible through the trees. I just kept straight all the way to the lake. There is one point where the trail splits but it comes back together a little further on.

Cuei Lake

It took me 50 minutes to walk from the bus stop to the lake. There were quite a few older people near the lake --including one annoying woman who was talking to her husband in a stentorious, complaining voice that I could hear even when they were on the far side of the lake. This was by far the place where I saw the most other hikers all day.

It was a short walk around the right side of the lake to a crossing point a little upstream from it.

At the point where I crossed there is a wide flat area of packed earth. Several women were chatting there. The loud woman and her husband showed up from the other side and they greeted each other (loudly).

I kept moving, turning back downstream. Just after leaving the packed earth clearing there is a path on the right leading up to the ridge-- which I took. It's a short, steep walk up to the ridge.

I was on the far side of Neigoushan so I back tracked a little, turning left on the ridge. It's a fun climb to the rocky top of Neigoushan, up a pair of ladders and a stony path. There was a man already at the top. He greeted me warmly and asked which direction I had come from. He left after a few minutes and I had the summit to myself. The view of the surrounding hills is not bad and far away you can see Taipei.

Neigoushan

When I left the peak I went back down the ladders and headed slightly north east along a wide trail on a ridge with good views. There were a couple of hills with steep steps.

I ignored junctions on the left and right until I came to a slight left heading to Laojiujianshan. At this point you can stay on the path and make a huge U-shape back toward Jinlonghu, which is what I did the last time I was here. But this time I planned to go on to Shuiweitanshan. I took the steps up to Laojiujianshan which has an excellent view.

Laojiujianshan

I took the path to the right of the summit. Immediately it was narrower and steeper than the path I had been on before. It passed around and under the summit and headed east. After a while I passed through a very cool, tunnel-like section of bamboo that fluttered and swayed in the wind.

While in the bamboo forest I had a little moment of doubt and confusion. I came to a junction that was not on my map. The seemingly more obvious path led downhill to the right but after walking a few steps it didn't feel correct. I checked Maps.me and according to it, I was off the trail and in the middle of forest. I went back to the junction and went uphill and soon found the right path.

I came to a T-intersection, turned right along a wide path for a few meters and then started the steep climb to Shuiweitanshan.

There was a very steep path with fixed ropes, than I passed through more lovely bamboo and came out on the summit.

Shuiweitanshan

It was 1.5 km from here to Daqiutanshan East Peak. Leaving the summit I went down and in just a few meters came to another T-junction. I turned right still heading east. And followed a nice narrow path along the side of a hill.

I was really surprised when I suddenly came out into a delightful wide grassy area. There were hills all around, some with white clouds hovering near the tops, and to the south, a view of the city.

I went straight ahead passing a little stone shrine and at the end of the grassy clearing the path went back into the forest.

The trail climbed sharply, went over Shuiweitanshan Northwest Peak, along a ridge with good views and then and came to Daqiutianshan East Peak. It was about 1 kilometer from the clearing to Daqiutianshandongfeng.

Shuiweitanshan Northwest Peak

Daqiutianshan East Peak

Not long after the peak the trail dropped down to a road. On the way down, what sounded like cars racing could be heard but I never saw them.

I came out to the road, turned left and then turned right at the next intersection. There was a wonderful view of Taipei from the road.

I walked up the hill to a temple (Xingshangong) and went into the temple parking lot.

Here I had my second moment of doubt and confusion. In the far left corner of the parking lot there was supposed to be a trail leading to Shimen Cave. I found the sign for the trail but no trail.

The beginning of the "trail" was a muddy mess with flowing water and a little further in someone had dumped trash and furniture. The ground was spongy and disgusting. There was what looked like a disused farm plot. But no trail.

I went back out to the parking lot to think about what to do. While I was there a man and a woman obviously dressed for hiking came out of the brush a little further up from where I had just come out. I asked them if they had found the trail but they had not found it either. The man told me they had just come through what seemed to be someone's land (土地).

The trail I was looking for was, so to speak, the low road to Shimen Cave but luckily there was a "high road", too. I wasted some time here walking in a big circle up steps in front of the temple and then back down to the parking lot. No matter. It was a nice temple. Here you can see my track.

What I should have done is just walk to the far side of the parking lot and take the steps branching off to the right there.

That is what I did eventually. I passed a fountain with a statue of Guanyin and then took a trail that went up a steep hill through forest.

Near the top I came to a junction and took a very steep trail downhill on the left.

This was a very cool trail! I crossed huge cracked stones with the aid of ropes and went down a slope surrounded by more colossal stones. At the bottom, abruptly, I arrived at Shimen Cave.

Just opposite the cave there is a trail. If you are standing with the cave to your left the trail is to the right. I took that trail next.

I was feeling pretty tired at this point and wanted to finish the hike but I still had between an hour and half to two hours left to go. It probably didn't help that I had exercised a lot the day before. My legs had already felt tired when I had started the hike that morning.

I had been here before, walking to the cave from the other side. I followed the trail past another Guanyin statue and came to a very narrow country road.

I turned left and then in just a few meters turned right onto a trail. It was paved at first, then gave way to dirt and later became a stone paved walking path.

I walked to a four way junction.

Dragon Boat Rock is a short way down the trail to the left. I met two men hiking together at the junction. We got to Dragon Boat Rock at the same time and they helped me to take a picture. One of the men was nervous about crossing the rock and went very slowly and carefully. He was very good-natured and openly admitted (我害怕) that he was scared. However, the footing on Dragon Boat Rock is very good when it is dry. On the far side there is even a flat rock that is almost like a platform that was put there purposely.

The intrepid author

Now I was close to the end of the hike. It had taken me longer than I expected and I wanted to get home so I picked up the pace. The trail continues straight past Dragon Boat Rock and goes down a steep, narrow trail.

At the bottom of the hill I came to a stone walkway that was very slippery. Take care here. I saw two women coming the opposite way. I warned them it was slippery and once they felt how slippery, they turned back right away. I crossed a metal foot bridge and came to a stone path on the opposite side of the stream.

Dahu Park is to the left but first I walked a short way uphill to see Yanjue Falls. The stream here and the path next to it are very pretty.

After the falls I walked back down the path next to the stream.

When I came to a covered bridge I went down steps, crossed the bridge and continued downstream on the opposite side. On the other side of the bridge a nice little cascade of white water can be viewed.

From there it was not far to the Dagouxi Waterfront Park. It's a fabulous urban park and lots of families were out enjoying the weather. There is a huge, grassy area and shallow streams where children were playing in the water. I just sort of kept to the left side of the park and came out to Dahu Shanzhuang Street which takes you all the way to Dahu Park MRT Station.

Nearby hikes:

Xiufeng Waterfall, Dajianshan, Sifenweishan and Qiedong Waterfall

Neigoushan 內溝山 , Cuei Lake 翠湖, and Laojiujian 老鷲尖

Xizhi Gongbeidian 汐止拱北殿, and Beigang Hill 北港山

Yuemei Cave Trail 月眉洞步道 and Xian Dong Hu Shan 仙洞湖山 Loop Hike

Dream Lake 夢湖 and Mt. Xin 新山

Ridge Walking and Swimming in Xizhi: Xinshan 新山 and Kezilin 柯子林

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Map and GPS coordinates:

Beigang Mine ruins: 25.08717, 121.630628

Cuei Lake: 25.089177, 121.628973

Neigoushan: 25.088998, 121.627436

Laojiujianshan: 25.095901, 121.626169

Shuiweitanshan: 25.098363, 121.621559

Daqiutianshan East Peak: 25.104974, 121.610951

Shimen Cave: 25.10627, 121.606447

Dragon Boat Rock: 25.1005, 121.596964

Yanjue Falls: 25.097527, 121.594601

http://rblr.co/p0ZgZ

Saturday, September 27, 2025

Ridge Walking and Swimming in Xizhi: Xinshan 新山 and Kezilin 柯子林

A pond, a peak with a 360 degree view, bare-rock ridges, forest and an outdoor stream-fed swimming pool.This exhilarating loop hike in the Xizhi district of New Taipei City is not a bad way to spend a half-day. The rocky ridge route to 499 meter Xinshan never disappoints and the route to Kezilin, considering it is a lesser-popular route, is also surprisingly exciting and well-maintained, with lots more exposed rock and fun, rocky scrambles. Eventually the trail drops into forest and crosses two streams before ending near Kezilin. There are expansive views throughout the hike and for a perfect ending, you can cool off at the Kezelin pool.

Distance/duration: 5 hours 27 mins / 8.8 km.

More details as well as a map can be found here on my ramblr account.

Trail Overview: I have hiked Xinshan several times and had just been there in June of 2025. It's such a great hike that I wanted to do it again but this time finish by way of the trail to Kezelin which I had never explored--ending at an outdoor swimming area.

The route we walked started with a road walk in the village of Hong Nei, led to Dream Lake (Meng Hu) and then climbed to Xinshan (499 m) by way of the East Crest route. After that, instead of returning to Dream Lake, as I have in the past, we took the fork trail down to Kezilin.

The trail to Kezilin exceeded my expectations! It was similar to the East Ridge route, following a ridge with lots of exposed rock and incredible views. There were a surprising number of pine trees given the elevation. The trail was sometimes carpeted with springy pine needles. We were often near a sheer drop but it never felt risky. The stone was dry, textured and grippy and there were thick fixed ropes bolted into the rock. Later the trail dropped into forest and crossed two streams. The second stream might be difficult to cross after heavy rain but it was mostly dry when we were there.

Near the end we stopped at the Kezlin Swimming Pool. It's a long narrow pool created by damming the stream. It is 3 meters deep near the end but shallower towards the middle and top. There is a simple changing room. At the end we walked on the road for 2km back to the bus stop in Hongnei.

Meng Hu or Dream Lake is a calm, medium-sized body of water surrounded by steep green hills. Many people come just to visit the lake. There is a trail all the way around and there are tables and seats and a shelter house. There used to be a cafe. It is now closed but hikers still use the tables of the former cafe. It had not rained for a long time and on this visit the water level was lower than I have ever seen it.

Xinshan (499 m) is a rocky peak with a sweeping view. There are two ways to the peak but the easier and shorter way cuts out some of the most fun and beautiful parts of the hike. We took the longer and slightly harder "East Crest" route which follows a rocky ridge with lots of great views and then joins up with the shorter route.

The East Crest trail starts at the lower end of a rocky ridge and climbs all the way to Xinshan with the view getting progressively better. Taipei can be seen on one side and on the other: the ocean, Keelung Island and the distinctive pyramid shape of Keelung Mountain. The path is exciting and close to an edge but safe in good weather. It's fun and not too hard even for inexperienced hikers.

This post continues my love affair with hiking in Xizhi. This is the fifth in a series of posts exploring hikes around Xizhi. The other four are:

Xizhi Gongbeidian 汐止拱北殿, and Beigang Hill 北港山

Neigoushan 內溝山 , Cuei Lake 翠湖, and Laojiujian 老鷲尖

Dream Lake 夢湖 and Mt. Xin 新山

Xiufeng Waterfall, Dajianshan, Sifenweishan and Qiedong Waterfall

What to bring: We took snacks, lunch and plenty of water. Sun protection is important.

Get anything you need before leaving Xizhi station. There are no stores except for a very small shop with a few drinks near the parking area for the lake.

Transportation: We took a train from Taipei Main Station to Xizhi. It takes less than 20 minutes.

At Xizhi station, we exited through the main hall by way of the Xinyi Road exit and crossed to the row of bus stops across the street from the station. We took bus 587 at 8:00 am to the Hongnei bus stop. Be sure not to get off at the Hongnei Police Station stop.

I purposely got to Xizhi early because the last time I took this bus, there was a long queue and we barely squeezed on. However, this time there were empty seats.

For the most up to date information you can check the BusTracker Taiwan app but at the time of this writing the bus comes at 7:30, 8:00 and 10:30 on the weekends. There are later buses and it comes more frequently during the week.

At the end of the hike we took the 587 around 2:00 from the same bus stop.

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The Hike

Since I have described the route to Xinshan and back to Dream Lake in another post I will just write a minimal description here. For a more thorough summary of that route, see my earlier post Dream Lake 夢湖 and Mt. Xin 新山 .

The bus dropped my wife and I off at 8:20 am. Just before reaching the bus stop the bus makes a right turn. We walked back to the intersection and turned right and uphill on Xiwan Road, Section 3. The walk to Dream Lake is a little over 3 km on the road--uphill-- and takes about an hour.

In just 500 meters we reached Menghu road and turned right again. It is clearly signposted.

Straight to Kezilin, right to Dream Lake (Meng Hu)

The road is mostly shady and surrounded by greenery and there was very little traffic. We followed the road until we came to a T-intersection and turned left. Again there was a clear sign showing the direction.

We reached the main entrance for Dream Lake and followed stone steps to the lake. Just before reaching the lake we passed the uphill trail that we would later take to the peak.

I have visited Dream Lake a number of times and had never seen it so dry. The water level was shockingly low which was a bit of a disappointment to be honest. As I write this a typhoon has just passed by. As it was raining over the last two days, I imagined the lake, out there, filling up again and being restored to its former beauty.

We backtracked to the trail to Xinshan and started uphill. At the first fork we turned right for the East Crest trail. Going straight is the more direct route to the top but it is less interesting.

The right fork leads to the East Crest route

After that we turned left almost right away and followed a wide trail to a viewpoint. Just before the viewpoint there is a steep trail with ropes on the left that climbs up to the ridge.

Every time I do this hike I kind of lose track of time at this point because the ridge trail is so much fun. There are lots of rocky view points. It's totally unnecessary to climb most of them but its so much fun that I can never resist. On this trip there was a big hiking group in matching shirts strung out along the ridge. They were having such a good time that their excitement was infectious. After we had moved on to the summit they were still on the ridge taking pictures.

A hiker posing on top of King Kong Rock.

The trail runs to the side of these rocky viewpoints

Summit of Xinshan seen from the ridge

After the last viewpoint on the ridge the trail drops down and comes to an intersection where the easier trail and the East Crest route trail join up. We turned right and then very soon, turned left, going up a steep trail.

The trail to the summit is covered with exposed roots and is rocky and steep but it's not far to the top.

We came out onto the bare rocky summit and enjoyed the view for a while. It was cloudy and windy and very pleasant. The last time I had been there it had been blazing hot and we weren't able to stay for long.

When it was time to go we took the trail on the far side of the summit. The trail descends into the trees and in just a few meters comes to a junction. We took the right fork which at first climbed up along the side of the rocky ridge. (The left fork descends back to Dream Lake).

Soon after this we came to another junction. It doesn't matter which way you go since both ways soon join up again, but we took the side closest to the ridge. We went along more rock and then dropped into forest.

I had expected this trail to follow the ridge for a short distance and then drop into the forest for the rest of it's length. But in fact we were treated to quite a few more sections of exposed rock with stunning views. We now were heading down the ridge. It took about an hour and a half to walk from the summit to the swimming pool at Kezelin.

You can't really go wrong from here, as there is only one fork along the way. I enjoyed this trail just as much as the one to Xinshan even though it is far less popular. We saw only three other (human) hikers. A man who was with his dog was doing trail maintenance and we passed a couple going the opposite way.

We came to a huge boulder with ropes leading to the top. The trail went under the side of it so this was another totally unnecessary but fun scramble. The view from the top was worth it.

After the huge boulder we pretty much left the ridge behind and entered deep forest. The trail was not difficult but it was slow going. It was consistently downhill and we had to watch our step.

We crossed a small stream and then the larger Bei Gang Stream.

At a junction we turned left. It was signposted "Kezilin Trail Entrance." We followed a wide path for just a short distance to the Kezilin Swimming Pool.

Just before we reached the pool I noticed a small snake by the side of the path. It was making it's get away, climbing up the side of the steep path.

We sat and had some lunch. I went for a swim but my wife didn't since she had not brought a change of clothes. After a while we checked the BusTracker app and decided to head back to the bus stop in Hong Nei.

Leaving the pool we turned left and followed a gravel track out to the road. At the road we went left, uphill at first, but later downhill. It was 2 kilometers back to Hong Nei.