Wolchulsan National Park – Hiking to the Wolchulsan Cloud Bridge

The whole reason we are in Mokpo is to visit Wolchulsan National Park. It’s Korea’s smallest national park, with only 56.2 square kilometers (21.7 sq miles) to its name and it’s not even very high, with the highest summit at 809 meters (2654 feet), but we’re not interested in summiting the peak.  Hiking from one side of Wolchulsan National Park to the other is popular, it’s only a 6-7 hour hike.  However, we’re here for the Wolchulsan Cloud Bridge.  And here’s how to get there and what to expect.

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The Wolchulsan Cloud Bridge is spectacular. Do you know those BuzzFeed, Wanderlust, or HuffPost articles that get shared? “Ten Walks you must do in your life”, “Best places to see Fall Foliage” or ” Five Bridges you Must Walk Across”. Well, this is one of those bridges.

Wolchulsan Cloud Bridge from Below

The Wolchulsan Cloud Bridge connects two peaks and can be reached from the Cheonhwangsa entrance to Wolchusan National Park.  The cloud bridge is about a one-hour walk from the park entrance.   It’s not a long hike, but the terrain is quite difficult.

The Wolchulsan Cloud Bridge

About Wolchulsan National Park

Wolchulsan, this Korean National Park, is free to enter and walk. There’s a great Visitor information center as you walk up through the entrance, with maps and help if you need it.  There are trail guides on signposts throughout the park and alongside the trail.  There’s also drinking water provided (a tap at the visitor center). Be safe and take a filter water bottle to be sure.

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Wolchulsan National Park in Korean is 월출산국림공원 and the Cloud Bridge in Korean is 구름다리.

Wolchulsan National Park dates back to the Joseon Dynasty and this area was originally a royal hunting ground.  The area was officially designated a National Park in 1988, recognizing the geographical formations and historical landmarks that exist here.  There are displays throughout the park detailing some of the folklore and history as you hike.

Signposting is excellent in the park, you can’t get lost, and there is always a signpost at each fork in the trail.

Wolchulsan National Park Trail Map

All About Hiking to the Wolchulsan Cloud Bridge

This isn’t a long hike to get to (and cross) the Wolchulsan Cloud Bridge.  It should take around an hour from the entrance of the National Park, to get to the Cloud Bridge.  You can hike this as a circular route or go up and back the same way.  I’d recommend it as a circular trail then you’ll get to see a different part of the park.

The trail to the Cloud Bridge starts from the visitor information center of Wolchulsan National Park.  You will hike past Cheonhwangsa Temple (천황사)

Entering the National Park at Wolchulsan

The trail to the Cloud Bridge

As you enter the trail to the Cloud Bridge you get the option to go up steps or go up rocks and scramble over them.    As we stepped onto the trail, over a sensor, we got a motivational message about our upcoming hike. Well, that’s maybe what it says. It was in Korean.  What I do know is that if you continue standing on the sensor she keeps talking.

That hour-ish long walk I told you about. It’s pretty much straight up. I’d read somewhere that the Koreans were known for their hiking abilities – and they’re generally very fast hikers.  On our way up to the Cloud Bridge we passed several groups, lunching at 11:00

What Korean National Parks are REALLY good at is telling you how steep it’s going to be on the way up. You’ll get charts all the way up, showing you which bits are easy, normal, and for experts only.

Trail Difficulty Markers at Wolchulsan National Park

The trail up to the Cloud Bridge begins really at a fork in the trail.  Pick your poison, left or right.

Signposts at Wolchulsan National Park for trails

Left means going up a scramble of rocks.  Going right means there are more steps.  It was dry the day we hiked so when it came to the ” Do you go left or right?” question, we picked the right-hand route to go up, which is mainly steps.   And according to some of the signage apparently only a 12% gradient, compared to the 37% gradient that we would descend on. It seemed bizarre on the basis that both routes were about the same distance and led to the same place.

I think it was a typo. 42% not 12%. Definitely steeper than the way down. Lots more steps, and lots more rocks to scramble over.  If I did this hike again, I would choose left at the fork to go up.

And soon after, the first sighting of the Cloud Bridge. Well.

First Sighting of the Cloud Bridge

Rungs in the rock.

Climbing up to the Cloud Bridge

A step ladder.

And then finally the Cloud Bridge.  The bridge is 52 meters (170 feet) long and 6 meters (20 feet) wide.  It sits at 120 meters (394 feet) over a chasm below.

On Koreas Cloud Bridge

Not sadly in the clouds today, but still, up there and we were there too. Objective achieved.

Nigel and Sarah at Wolchulsan Cloud Bridge

It’s a difficult walk down. Like walking down a stream bed. That has lots of waterfalls in it.  A pair of hiking poles would be extremely useful on this hike, certainly for coming back down.

We hike pretty quickly, but on the way back down one guy left us in his dust. I reckon he was running at one point, while we simply struggled to find a rock that wouldn’t move when we put our foot on it. 

On our return to the parking lot, we decided to simply walk back to the bus station. We took the same local bus back to Mokpo that we had caught earlier to get here.  It’s been a great hike.  Fabulous to see the Cloud Bridge and get to it.

How long is the hike to the Wolchulsan Cloud Bridge?

The circular loop in Wolchulsan National Park to the Cloud Bridge and returning to the Visitor Information Center and the parking lot is about 3.7 kilometers (2.3 miles)

How difficult is the hike to the Wolchulsan Cloud Bridge?

The Wolchulsan Cloud Bridge circular hike is classified by AllTrails as moderate to hard.  The trail is well made, although there are lots of steps.  And there’s quite a bit of rock scrambling to do as well.

How long does it take to hike to the Cloud Bridge at Wolchulsan?

It takes an average of 2 hours and 15 minutes to hike the circular route to the Cloud Bridge and back.  This doesn’t include stops.

How to Get to Wolchulsan National Park

We stayed in Mokpo for our visit to Wolchulsan National Park and were able to get here easily on a bus and then a taxi.  Although you don’t actually need the taxi.    We were staying in Mokpo as we were taking the ferry to Jeju the following day.

Visitor Center Wolchulsan National Park

The National Park is free to enter, but if you drive you’ll need to pay the 5,000 KRW parking fee.

How to Go From Mokpo to Wolchulsan National Park

Take a bus from Mokpo to Yeongnam Terminal, and from there you can either take a bus to Cheonhwagasa Temple or a 10-minute taxi journey or it’s a 3.2 kilometer (2 miles) walk.  We took the 09:25 bus from Mokpo to Yeongnam Terminal and from there we took a taxi to the National Park. After our hike we returned to Yeongnam Terminal by walking back to the bus station.    The road was a quiet countryside road and we encountered little traffic.

Where to Stay to Hike Wolchulsan National Park

You can take a day trip from Seoul to visit the Wolchulsan Cloud Bridge (there are more details on that here), however Mokpo is the closest city to the National Park.  We’d recommend staying in Mokpo to visit Wolchulsan if like most people you are heading to Jeju after hiking Wolchulsan. The Leehakjang Guesthouse in Mokpo is a great place to stay to be able to easily get to the bus terminal and also to the ferries to Jeju.

Travel Tips for Exploring South Korea

Final Words on Hiking Wolchulsan National Park

This is a great National Park to hike, it’s small, and the hike to the Wolchulsan Cloud Bridge is a fabulous way to spend a day in nature.  The hike isn’t long, but it can be quite strenuous, so you’ll want to set off early if you’re hiking in hot weather and take plenty of water.  I do recommend using hiking poles, especially for the descent.

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