Waterfall Hike from Bogyeongsa Temple with Kids

The 12 waterfall hike from Bogyeongsa Temple, near Pohang, is hands down one of our favorite hikes thus far in Korea. Are you a parent looking for a good hike to do with kids? Here are the basics:

Why this Hike is Awesome

We loved this hike because it’s scenic, has varied terrain, and has plenty of places to stop and enjoy the river. The many waterfalls provide motivating rewards along the way, and once you pass waterfall #3, the trail is not likely to be crowded. For fairly little effort, we enjoyed stunning views. The hike has some sections of stairs, but it is not one of the relentless Korean stair hikes that go straight up. Much of the hike follows along the meandering river.

Distance

Depending on whether you choose to go to all 12 waterfalls, 6 of them, or just 1 of them, you can vary the distance to what’s suited to your family. We went to the area of waterfall #8, which was about 11km of hiking and took 4 hours in and out. You can branch off, do a peak ascent or go to all 12 waterfalls for a longer hike.

Elevation

Up to waterfall #3, there is not much elevation gain. You are walking along a river bed on a well-marked trail. After that, there are some stair ascent sections and uphill hiking, but my kids (ages 7 and 10) did not even stop for a breath. Our top elevation was ___.

Terrain

The terrain varies from wooden bridges, rocky paths, and forest. The trail is not accessible to strollers and/or wheelchairs. Your kids should be old enough to pay attention to their feet the whole way. We did do one shallow river crossing, where one of the kids missed the steps and got her sneakers soaked. However, you do not need to walk in water regularly along the trail. Most of the stair sections have low stairs. None were too steep for my 7-year old to just step up naturally. Since we didn’t pass waterfall #8, we did not do any scrambling.

Safety

Some of the trail sections have guardrails, but others do not. There are steep drops. I finally feel my kids are old enough to stay away from the edges, and they have developed the fear of falling that younger kids don’t yet have. You are not supposed to swim along the river, but there are some life jackets and rescue buoys placed along the trail. The trail is marked at various signposts so you can note your location in case of any emergency. On a few areas with steep drops and no guardrails, we saw climbing ropes to assist anyone who may fall.

Age Recommendation

I hike alone with two kids, and I have never been able to carry a kid along a difficult part of the path due to injuries sustained in childbirth. My kids need to get themselves in and out on their own if I’m the only adult. This hike was 100% comfortable for all of us, and my son got used to going far ahead on the trail and waiting for his younger sister and I to catch up. Due to the fall hazards, I would recommend this trail for a mature 5 year old hiking on their own. You could do the hike with a baby backpack as long as you are comfortable with uneven surfaces, steps, and some elevation gain. With my own kids, I would not have been able to take them on this hike from toddler age to 4, because they would have been too unpredictable around the steep drops, and I wouldn’t have been able to carry them on the more difficult parts.

If you do have a kid of the “jumping off cliffs seems fun” age and are okay to carry them when needed, I’d suggest exploring the temple and hiking to waterfall #1 (Sangsaeng Waterfall) and splashing around in the river a bit. It took us about 40 minutes to reach waterfall #1.

Our Route

We parked at the nearby hot springs hotel, got our park tickets, and used the toilets at Bogyeongsa Temple. It was nice to spend 15-20 minutes wandering around the temple before starting the hike. There are various paths, so you want to find the trail that goes along the river to the 12 waterfalls, not up through the center of the county park.

We hiked to the signpost where the trail crosses the river, near Jamnyong Waterfall. After taking a snack break and some time to sit with our feet in the river, we took a different path back up along the mountain rather than along the river. The extra uphill climb was worth it for the stunning views, and we rejoined the main trail by descending at Bohyeonam Hermitage. You could continue up through the mountains for a slightly longer return hike. Doing it this way, out along the river and back along the mountain, allowed us to avoid the steep ascent of stairs on the mountain path and instead use this as our descent.

Restaurants & Shops

When you exit the trail, you’ll find convenience stores and coffee shops. Walking a bit south along the main road, you’ll find a dozen or so restaurants with Korean fare and outdoor seating. We LOVE a good Korean hiking meal. The after-lunch meal is the reason I didn’t plan this as a full-day hike.

One kid-friendly dish is kalguksa, a noodle soup with vegetables. My kids also loves pajeon, the Korean seafood pancake. Korean meals usually come with a variety of side dishes as “service,” which means complimentary. At the restaurant we chose, we all loved the warm tofu.

Korea Road Trip

This hike was part of our Korea road trip summer 2021, along the southeast coast & islands. We have also spent 32 days on the road in summer 2020 and done numerous weekend and week-long trips since we moved to Korea in July 2019. Have questions about traveling in Korea with kids or want to request a guide to a place we’ve been or a hike we’ve done? Reach out at heathercarreiro[@]gmail.com