Bukhansan in autumn without the summit: which Dulle-gil section, and which week

There is half a day free in your Seoul plan. You have seen the photos of Bukhansan: pale granite peaks above slopes gone red and gold. It is tempting to spend that half day on the mountain. But you are not sure about climbing to Baegundae, the summit. You have no hiking boots, and you don’t want to give the whole day to it.

That is when most people find the Bukhansan Dulle-gil, the walking trail that rings the foot of the mountain. It stays low, so it looks like a way to get the autumn colour without the climb. That is a fair hope. The catch is the date. The “first foliage” date in the forecasts is counted from the summit down, so on a foothill trail it is safer to aim later than that.

Here is my call. If you are in Seoul in early November (1–10 November), take a bus from Gupabal Station towards Eunpyeong Hanok Village and walk Section 9 of the Dulle-gil, Masil-gil. It is a 1.5 km village path with protected ginkgo and old zelkova trees, and the hanok village and Jingwansa temple are close to where it starts. If you are here in the last third of October and the colour is the point, don’t count on the Dulle-gil. The reason is in how the forecast dates are defined.

“First foliage on 23 October” is a date for the top of the mountain

In a forecast published on 4 September 2026, the Korean weather company Weatheri put Bukhansan’s (835 m) first foliage on 23 October and its peak on 4 November. Both are about a week later than normal: 8 days for first foliage, 7 for the peak. Weatheri 2026 foliage forecast (Korean)

“First foliage” here means the point when about 20% of the mountain has turned, counting from the summit down. The peak is when about 80% of the mountain as a whole has turned. So the first-foliage date tells you about the upper slopes.

Korea National Park Service describes the Bukhansan Dulle-gil as a “low, level walking path” built so people can walk gently around the foot of the mountain. KNPS Bukhansan Dulle-gil (Korean) If that is where you will be walking, plan around the peak date, which counts the whole mountain, not the first-foliage date. Put the forecast next to your own dates and it looks like this.

The forecast came out on 4 September and was worked out from August rainfall and expected temperatures for September and October. As of 7 October it is still Weatheri’s latest foliage forecast. The Korea Forest Service’s nationwide forecast of 22 September puts the ginkgo peak at 30 October and maples and oaks at 31 October. Those are national figures, though, and the Forest Service counts the peak at 50%, so they do not line up directly with Weatheri’s 80%. If your dates sit on a line in the table, look at the forecast again a few days before you go. The dates may move. The definitions won’t.

Which of the 21 sections to choose in autumn

The Dulle-gil has 21 sections and runs 71.5 km. It is also far quieter than the mountain as a whole. Korea National Park Service counted 3,893,096 visitors in the Bukhansan district in 2025, and 804,919 on the same district’s Dulle-gil. KNPS 2026 Dulle-gil management document (Korean) On an autumn weekend at Bukhansan, that gap matters.

Here are the sections that are reachable by subway and bus and relatively easy to walk. Distances are from the park service’s 2026 management document; times and difficulty are from its Dulle-gil pages.

I would pick Section 9. According to the park service, the path passes trees protected by Eunpyeong-gu, zelkovas and ginkgos, among them five 150-year-old zelkovas 15 m tall and 3.6 m round. KNPS Section 9 page (Korean) How much colour they have depends on the year’s weather. But in early November, this is the path that gives you the best chance of autumn under big trees without climbing anything.

1.5 km may sound short. A 2020 article on the Seoul city government’s Media Hub says the walk takes 45 minutes without stopping, but to look around properly you should allow half a day. Seoul Media Hub (Korean) Eunpyeong Hanok Village opens out right in front of you, and the Eunpyeong History Hanok Museum and a few small galleries and literary museums are nearby. Add Jingwansa and you need more time again. The Seoul Hiking Tourism Center’s guide recommends the tea house in the Jingwansa grounds as a place to rest. Give this walk more time for stopping than for walking.

Section 1, Sonamusup-gil, is the one I would not choose for autumn colour. The park service’s own description says it is a path thick with pine trees. Pines are evergreen and stay green in November. It has the resin scent and the sound of the stream the description promises, but if you came for a red mountain, you will be in the wrong place.

Section 9: getting there, getting back, and the order of the day

From Gupabal Station on subway Line 3, take bus 7723 and get off at the stop called 하나고.삼천사.진관사입구 (Hana High School, Samcheonsa, Jingwansa entrance). On Naver Map on 7 October 2026, the bus ran every 13 minutes on weekdays and every 11 minutes on Saturdays and public holidays. From the stop, walk in towards Jingwansa and the start of Section 9 at Jingwan Eco Bridge. Section 9 starts and ends in different places, so save both ends in your map app in Korean: 진관생태다리 (Jingwan Eco Bridge) and 방패교육대 (Bangpae Training Unit).

This is the order I would use. Arrive late in the morning, see the hanok village and Jingwansa first, rest once at the tea house, then walk Masil-gil. It ends in front of the Bangpae Training Unit. From there it is about a five-minute walk to the 입곡삼거리 (Ipgok Junction) bus stop. On Naver Map, Ipgok Junction has a stop on each side of the road. Buses 704 and 8772 use one, bus 7723 the other, and all three run to Gupabal Station. Take whichever comes first back to the subway.

If you want more after the Bangpae Training Unit, Section 10, Naesimyoyeok-gil, carries on for 3.5 km. The park service gives 1 hour 45 minutes and rates it easy. The problem is getting back from its end at Hyoja-dong Public Cemetery. The park service page still lists buses 34 and 704 from a stop called 효자동마을금고 (Hyoja-dong Maeul Geumgo), but on Naver Map on 7 October 2026 we could not find either route serving that stop. KNPS Section 10 page (Korean) If you plan to continue through Section 10, find the bus home from its end in your map app before you set out. If you can’t, finish at Section 9.

More walking: Section 8. The summit: a different day

If you want more forest, you can walk Section 8, Gureum Jeongwon-gil, before Section 9. It is 5.2 km by the 2026 management document (the Dulle-gil page says 5.1 km), takes about 2 hours 30 minutes and is rated moderate. The park service describes it as a section where the fun of walking comes with some of the tension of a mountain climb. A 60 m deck crosses the valley above Gugi Tunnel, where you look down on trees you would normally look up at. Going by that description, in autumn this is the place to see the colour of the canopy from above. Section 8 starts at the upper end of Bukhansan Ecological Park on the Bulgwang Station side and ends at Jingwan Eco Bridge, so you walk straight on into Section 9.

If you are in Seoul between 23 and 31 October and you really want Bukhansan’s colour, you have to go higher. In that window the forecast’s foliage is counted from the summit. That is a completely different day from the Dulle-gil.

Baegundae, the summit, is 835.6 m, and the Seoul Hiking Tourism Center itself describes the mountain as high and rugged. Its Baegundae course from the Ui-dong side goes over Harujae Pass and Yeongbong Peak to the summit and down past Doseonsa temple: 9.98 km, 4 hours 20 minutes, rated advanced. The same guide suggests Yeongbong (604 m) to people who find Baegundae too much, but it also says the climb from Harujae to Yeongbong is steep and has sections with a fall risk. Seoul Hiking Tourism Center guidebook (Korean) For someone who doesn’t usually hike, Yeongbong is not an easy alternative either. Under park rules, you cannot start up these trails after 5 pm from March to November. KNPS trail entry times (Korean)

If you have no hiking boots, the Seoul Hiking Tourism Center near Bukhansan Ui Station rents gear. It lends boots, hiking clothes, poles and gloves to Korean and foreign visitors for a fee, and has changing rooms, showers and luggage storage.

On Klook, a day’s hiking-boot rental at the Ui-dong center was US$2.49 on 7 October 2026. Same-day booking was open, confirmation can take up to 48 hours, and you get a full refund if you cancel at least 24 hours ahead. The rental is for foreign visitors, and for Koreans only when they come with a foreign visitor. You must be 14 or older and show your passport to collect. The center is closed on Mondays and public holidays. The same product page gives two return times, 4:30 pm and 5:30 pm, so plan for the earlier one. If you are only walking Section 9 of the Dulle-gil, it is rated easy and non-slip sneakers are enough. You don’t need this booking.

Either way, choose one of these for the day. In early November, Eunpyeong Hanok Village and Masil-gil. In late October, the summit side, properly equipped. If neither fits your dates, Bukhansan can wait for an autumn on your next trip to Seoul. It is a mountain you reach by subway, so coming back is not hard. If you want a separate autumn day walking a fortress wall near Seoul, see the Namhansanseong autumn guide too.

Forecast, bus and rental details as of 7 October 2026.