Yumyeongsan (유명산)

After sunrise on Yongmunsan (용문면), we kept going! Yumyeongsan (유명산) was our second mountain of the day – and we enjoyed it just as much as the first.

A portrait of the author and her husband at the top of Yumyeongsan on a sunny spring day. The pair stand to either side of the wide stone summit stele and smile at the camera.

It was a smooth transition from Yongmunsan to Yumyeongsan. We crossed a paved road onto some dirt roads meant for ATVs! Yumyeongsan’s slopes were so open and so runnable that we just had a blast. Our route felt more playful than purposeful: it was simply free running fun! Especially so because we were in glorious, warm sunlight; enjoying clear, windless air, under a blue sky. It was so nice to be not cold.

A portrait of the author near a small peak on Yumyeongsan's slopes. She's on a triangular patch of grass between frosty dirt trails, holding four hiking poles and smiling brightly at the camera.

We explored the mini-est of subsidiary peaks, looked at curious animal tracks in the snow, found a windsock printed with a French flag(?) and, by way of many detours, eventually made our way to the top of Yumyeongsan.

In this image, the author traces her mitten-ed fingertips along the characters for Yumyeongsan inscribed on the summit stele.

There were a trio of hikers up there with us. They shared ramyeon and coffee with Kent, and gave me a cucumber. I was thrilled about this gift and demolished it immediately. We spent a little extra time playing with the summit stele and looking around, because we were warm enough to do so.

A landscape photograph showing the ridges of Yumyeongsan and the more distant peak of Yongmunsan. Yongmunsan's summit has a number of distinctive towers and buildings, above which some small clouds are forming. — Here’s a look back at Yongmunsan!

Just two kilometers along another runnable ridge took us to a bus stop. It was only 9 am and we felt very accomplished after having already climbed two mountains! The connection between these two mountains worked out really well, and we’d been delighted by both the trails and the nice weather. What a super day of training/mountain mission-ing that just felt like good old-fashioned fun!

In this selfie, taken by the author, she's leaning in towards the camera while Kent is caught napping in the background! — All aboard the sleepy bus!

Turns out, we really got lucky with the weather! As we took the sleepy bus home, it started to snow, again. It was a full-on April blizzard by the time we were home!

A second selfie of the author. In this image, she's standing in front of a window, beyond which is a blur of wet, wind-driven snow. The snowfall is sow heavy the buildings in the background are partially obscured. — What weather is this?!

KNOW AND GO! YUMYEONGSAN

TRANSPORTATION

Yumyeongsan is slightly further afield than it’s neighbor Yongmunsan, but it’s still within daytrippable range on public transit!

To get to Yumyeongsan directly, your best bet is to take a train or the subway (on the Gyeonggui-Jungang line) to Yangpyeong, and transfer to bus 6-10. This bus drives past several trailheads, so keep your map open and decide where you want to hop out!

But don’t forget that you can run from Yongmunsan – saving time on transit, nabbing two peaks, and having a blast doing so!

HIKE & RUN

We’d planned a nice long run to take in two of the 100 summits, and this adventure really came together. It didn’t just work out: it was an extremely enjoyable, recommendable route.

Our Yongmunsan to Yumyeongsan route was 18 kilometers long, with public transit access at either end.

In this second map image, it is clear to see the connection between the two mountains, with Yongmunsan on the right (east) and Yumyeongsan on the left (west). — The Yongmunsan to Yumyeongsan connection – plus other trails and mountains!

But of course, that’s not your only option! Yumyeongsan is covered with trails, just waiting for you to discover them.

If you’re not coming from Yongmunsan, you might come up from Yumyeongsan Natural Recreation Forest, which is on the north side of the peak.

A photograph of a large trail map posted in Yumyeongsan Natural Recreation Forest. The mountain's green slopes have red, yellow and green lines depicting various trails for hiking and running! — Yumyeongsan-specific trail map

STAY & EAT

As mentioned previously, this is a great place to camp in Korea! There’s multiple campsites on the slopes of Yumyeongsan for you to enjoy nature both at play and at rest. There’s also a large number of pensions basically anywhere you might want to stay. The only thing lacking are large motels, but recall that this mountain is just a short jaunt away from the urban sprawl of Seoul where you can find plenty of those.

In terms of eating, we were treated to some snacks by some fellow hikers up top! It’s always smart to bring enough snacks to share, because you will no doubt run into some friendly folks who want to offer theirs to you. It’s nice to be able to return the favor!

We didn’t actually seek out food at the foot of Yumyeongsan: it was still very early when we finished our run. In most cases, where you find pensions, you’ll also find small restaurants – but not always! It definitely pays to come prepared, especially if you’re planning to stay over!

OTHER NOTES

Although not quite as tall as it’s friend Yongmunsan, Yumyeongsan is still a sizeable peak at 862 meters. Similarly, Yumyeongsan is also included on both of Korea’s 100 famous summits lists. See the Korea Forest Service listing here and the Black Yak 100 one here!

Together with Kent, I ran an 18 kilometer point-to-point route: accessing Yumyeongsan from Yongmunsan – check out the start right here!

More mountains? Head back to the 120 summits main page. If you want to make this a big Gyeonggido weekend, may I suggest nearby peaks Cheonmasan and Chungnyeonsan?