Four Gubul Trails and Three Lakes: Walking the Seasons from Cheongamsan Mountain to Wolmyeong Lake

Gunsan's walking routes, the 'Gubul-gil,' take their name from choosing the ease of curves over the speed of straight lines. The starting point, Gubul Trail 1: Bidangang Trail (around 197 Naeheung 2-gil), is a riverside course. It links the Geumgang Estuary Bank, the Geumgang Future Experience Center (formerly the Geumgang Migratory Bird Observatory) and the Chae Man-sik Literary Museum. You can walk on flat ground beside reed beds and the Geumgang River, which flows like silk.

Follow the river northeast into the Napo-ri area of Napo-myeon, and Gubul Trail 2: Haetbit Trail continues. In this section, the broad plain of the Napo Cross-shaped Fields meets the Geumgang River embankment road. With no tall buildings to block the view, it is good for walking all day in warm sunlight and river breezes.

The forest path Gunsan residents treasure most in every season is Cheongamsan Mountain (formerly Chwiamsan Mountain), rising on the border of Hoehyeon-myeon and Oksan-myeon, and the Gunsan Lake area. It is also the core section of Gubul Trail 4 (Guseulmoe Trail). Because it was locked up as a water source protection zone for decades, its waterside ecosystem, close to a primeval forest, has been preserved intact.

Along the winding lakeside trail, colonies of large willows rooted in the water, bamboo groves and silver grass fields appear in turn. From the summit you can see not only the calm surface of Gunsan Lake but also the Mangyeong River and the West Sea. It is an excellent choice for those who want a light waterside trek and a mountain hike at once.

A place where you can find deep forest and a lake without going far from the old downtown is Wolmyeong Lake at the foot of Wolmyeong Park (near 1071-3 Soryong-dong). Though it sits in the middle of the city, layers of ridges block the noise, so only birdsong and the scent of pine fill the trail.

At the lake's entrance (46 Solkkoji 1-gil), the Gunsan No. 1 Reservoir Embankment, a National Registered Heritage, quietly holds back the water. This earth dam and concrete intake tower were begun in June 1912 and completed in January 1915 to supply drinking water to the city's population, which surged after the port opened. They are open 10:00–20:00. You can walk this modern civil engineering heritage, more than a hundred years old, and the lakeside trail in one breath.

If you want a walk of a little over 1–2 hours in light sneakers, the course of Wolmyeong Park, Wolmyeong Lake and the No. 1 Reservoir Embankment, next to the old downtown, is the easiest to reach.

If you want a real trek of half a day or more, choose the waterside trail of Cheongamsan Mountain in spring and autumn, when the silver grass and fresh green are beautiful. In winter, when migratory birds arrive, choose Gubul Trail 1: Bidangang Trail and Gubul Trail 2: Haetbit Trail along the Geumgang River. That way you can take in each season's mood most deeply.