The Korean National Park Service (KNPS) issues trail closures each year in many of their national parks. These closures are due to the increased risk of forest fires in the dry months. Typically these fire closures come in two batches: fall and winter and / or spring. Unfortunately, that means for a significant portion of the year some of South Korea’s best trails are closed.
This guide seeks to detail the expected closures of Fall 2024.
Winter Snow Fall: KNPS also has frequent closures during the winter months due to snowfall. While snow is more intense in January to March, snowfall does occur in some parks in November and December. I have written a separate guide on how to check for weather closures, which is critical to check prior to departing for your hike.
Fall Fire Closures: November 15th to December 15th
All of South Korea’s national parks except for Haeryohaesang [한려해상] & Taeanhaean [태안해안] Marine national parks and Gayasan [가야산] mountainous national park have fall closures.
To see the particular closures / maps of the closures for the 20 total parks with this closure, check out my guide. It allows you to select your park of interest and get redirected to the official KNPS weather and fire closures information page which the KNPS keeps up-to-date for each section of each national park.
Happy Trekking!
-Aurora
