We were delighted to discover that Daeyasan (대야산) is part of Songnisan National Park (속리산국립공원). This meant that we were not only exploring more of the Baekdudaegan mountains, we were also revisiting a favorite national park!
But we got off to a bit of a strange start. Cheonghwasan, our first mountain of the day, is actually connected to Daeyasan via a high ridge! Alas, the trail is closed, so we had to drive around the mountains. It felt silly, but at least we were going to get more elevation gain in (not to mention, a second summit!).
After a 30 minute drive around the mountain in our rental car, we arrived at Daeyasan’s Yongchugyegok valley. Daeyasan was much more developed than Cheonghwasan – it was clear that we were back in national park territory! We parked in a huge parking lot filled with tour buses.
After a couple of navigational mishaps, we needed to hurry if we wanted to reach the peak in daylight. In our haste to get back on the trail, we’d also forgotten to add headlamps to our packs. So we were extremely motivated to complete our round-trip before dark!
The first few kilometers were runnable dirt trail where we dodged many people coming down the mountain. Most were very friendly and called out encouragement. But one strange fellow repeatedly told us we were too late. When we didn’t respond, he demanded to know if we thought we were professionals. Man, I wish!
We soon left the crowds behind as we dashed onward. Suddenly there were stairs – and so many of them! These were very good, national park stairs – interspersed with bits of scrambling with ropes! It was growing dark in this shady valley. But far above, the sky was still blue and we raced full-tilt towards it.
We reached the top in about an hour, after 4.5 kilometers and 900 meters of elevation gain. What a great challenge! And what a glorious summit! It was rocky and totally open, with terrific views in every direction. The stairs we’d ascended on were completely hidden by the lush forest. A sea of peaks painted gold by the evening sun served as a great reward for our climb. We could pick out the mountaintop where we’d been earlier, and the peaks we still aimed to climb!
At first, a large hiking group crowded Daeyasan’s peak. But when they left, we were gloriously alone, spinning and celebrating on this special rocky summit.
We could see a few lurkers with huge bags hanging out one peak over. Perhaps they were Baekdudaegan thru-hikers, secret national park campers – or both! There was a huge sign and CCTV warning hikers about continuing on our peak, but we know that some hardy souls do so anyways.
It was a little hard to leave Daeyasan’s golden summit, but eventually we did, wanting to get down before dark. We opted to go down the way we’d come up to be sure of a quick route back. Chatting our way down, we took it pretty easy. We even stopped to play on some rocks in the river as the sun set over the ridge. A huge vegetable feast at the bottom of the valley wrapped up our multi-mountain day perfectly.
Know and Go! Daeyasan (대야산)
Transportation
It’s not the main entrance of Songnisan National Park that you want for this peak. Daeyasan is currently only accessible from the east. There’s a recreation forest centered around the famous Yongchugyegok valley just off highway 922. This is a great place for exploring with a car (yours or a rental), because otherwise it’s a little tough to get to!
Coming from Mungyeong, the nearest town, you can take 2 hour journey by public bus to reach Yongchugyegok. If you’re eager to get going, you could also take a taxi, but a 50 minute ride will cost you!
Hike & Run
There are a few trails to the top of Daeyasan, all starting from Yongchugyegok. None of the trails are very long, but they do involve a lot of elevation gain on the way up! For maximum exploration, you might want to ascend one one trail – then descend on another! Definitely make time to enjoy the lovely streams and peaceful forest in the valley below!
Daeyasan is one of the peaks of the Baekdudaegan mountain chain that runs the length of the Korean peninsula. Unfortunately, Daeyasan is currently a bit of a hiking island: the trail is closed both south and north of the peak. Fences bar the way, security cameras are on lookout and signs warn of serious consequences for trespassing.
This is actually really too bad, because neighboring peak Cheonghwasan is also on the list – and what an amazing route it would be if you could link all the way up to Munjangdae and beyond!
Stay & Eat
You can definitely eat in Yongchugyegok valley! Like many Korean mountains, the foot of Daeyasan has a cluster of mountain vegetable restaurants where you can enjoy treats like sanchae bibimbap (mountain vegetables with rice) or gamjajeon (potato pancake).
It might also be possible to stay in this valley, but I’m not sure. If there are options, they would be in the form of simple rented rooms. For motels, marts and other conveniences, you’re going to need to venture further afield. Much further afield!
A couple of recommendations: make a weekend of it and stay near Songnisan National Park’s main entrance. That way, you can also hike Cheonwangbong and Munjangdae! Alternatively, head to nearby Mungyeong Saejae Provincial Park to extend your adventures!
Other Notes
Daeyasan is included on both 100 summits lists. Check out the Black Yak page here, and the Korea Forest Service page here.
Kent and I climbed Daeyasan in 2018, in the middle of June. Daeyasan was our second ascent of the day (nearby Cheonghwasan was first!) and we caught the last sunlight of the day on the peak. We did an 8.5 kilometer out-and-back that consisted of running up and ambling the way down!
Return to the Songnisan National Park main page for more adventures in this park. Or, check out other national parks here and more 120 summits are over here!