Winter in the north is a hit-and-miss affair. Woefully short, at their best, the season’s offerings like plum or cherry blossom and luxuriant silvergrass dancing under the low sun are the sorts of scenes that grace the cover of travel magazines. However, these ephemeral delights are prone to being wiped out by the persistent rains that occasionally dominate a Taipei winter. All this to say, whenever everything aligns — clear skies, cooler temperatures, photo-ready nature — it’s an ideal time to go hiking, and the destination of this particular hike, Sanjiaopu Peak (famed for its silvergrass scenery) is somewhere that I had been saving for just such a day.

Jump to the bottom of this post for a trail map and GPX file.

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The walk begins at the foot of the steps leading up to New Taipei City Martyrs’ Shrine (well, it begins at Huilong MRT station, but that part of the walk isn’t so interesting — turn left out of exit two, follow the road until you reach Zhongzheng Road, then cross over and turn left until you reach the oddly angled Zhongyi Street). If you are ready for the steps, you can head straight up, but if you need a warm-up, you can take the road on the left.

The steps and road converge in front of the main shrine.

(Originally I’d planned to take another route up starting from Zhongshan Park because I’d already walked this way when I followed the Taipei Skyline Trail. However, upon reaching the park, I found that someone seemed to be squatting in a makeshift house by the trailhead. She told me in a manner that made me not entirely believe her, that there was no trail and never had been.)

Beside the shrine, there’s an interesting little park called Weapons Park, which — as the name suggests — is full of impressive weaponry. There are fighter jets and tanks and giant anchors.

Once you’re ready to properly get going, take the steps leading up behind the shrine and head towards the obelisk.

A pavilion sits at the top of the steps, and beyond that, you’ll find the start of the trail.

It gets off to a pleasant enough start. Short flights of steps are interspersed with flatter sections and there are occasional interesting details like these hillside farms and an abandoned wheelchair that’s been there for at least several years.

The steps briefly spit you back onto a section of track before continuing uphill again once you pass a toilet block.

The next little part has the trail’s steepest section of steps. They’re unpleasant, but mercifully short.

At the top of the steps, there’s a large pavilion with views looking northeast over the city and as I passed through, there was a couple cooking lunch on a portable stove.

As the trail continues, it flows along a grassy ridgeway, and although the view is mostly obscured by the grasses to either side, there’s this one spot (not far from the point where the route I’d initially hoped to take should have brought me up) where you can see over towards Shulin Columbarium (樹林示範公墓納骨塔) and Shulin Rainfall Radar Station (北部防災降雨雷達).

Look out for the dirt track to the right of the main path. This is the track that’ll lead you towards the silvergrass scenery this peak is known for.

The track terminates at Shengan Temple (樹林勝安宮). Well, it somewhat terminates. My map suggests that you can foray a little further to find some old mine shafts, but I didn’t explore that far.

These power line towers may not be evocative of natural beauty, but they’ve kind of become an iconic part of the scenery here.

Looking east northeast over the city.

I was one of only a handful of hikers exploring the scenery on this occasion. I imagine it would have been a different story had I chosen a clearer day or weekend to visit.

Hikers walking through the grass towards the power line towers.

The railway line (veering right) splitting from the Taoyuan Airport MRT right after crossing the Dahan River.

For peak baggers, it’s worth taking a little detour to visit the 285m high summit of Sanjiaopu Mountain (三角埔頂山 — also known as Qiangziliao Mountain or 羌子寮山). However, if you’re not serious about collecting your summits, I wouldn’t say it’s especially worth it — the peak isn’t too impressive.

Keeping the city on your left, continue along the trail until it rejoins the one you left a little while ago and then exits onto the road beside Shulin Rainfall Radar Station. I have memories of walking up here way, way, way back in 2016 and coming across a little pack of puppies. There were no puppies on this occasion, but there were several sleepy dogs lounging in the midday sun.

The track running down from the radar station connects up with Guangming Industrial Road (光明產業道路). Merge straight here and stick with the road for a way.

On your left you’ll pass the entrance to Mount Datong Sleeper Trail (大同山鐵棧道), which — despite the grand name — is just a 100-metre amble to a lookout spot.

Back on the road, continue southish until you reach this turn off on your left beside Qingde Temple (青德宮), a small Tudi Gong shrine. On weekends, you should be able to grab snacks here. In the mornings, there’s a stall selling congee with side dishes, and throughout the day there is usually a handful of vendors offering snacks like pigs blood cake or dried fruits. You might even encounter a hilltop barbershop.

Head straight through the clearing/car park and take the trail signposted as heading down towards Nanliao Earth God Temple (南寮福德宮) and Mount Datong (大同山).

This section of trail is clear, well-maintained and easy to follow. It’s also (save for one short, steep burst), entirely downhill.

A monkey and several other tree-mounted oddities guard an old hillside gathering place, and the summit of Mount Datong is marked by a pavilion (protected by a dozy dog on my visit) and this triangulation marker. A little further along, there’s another temple, this one with a teapot for topping up your water bottle and good views over Shulin (樹林).

Eventually, the trail terminates at a road. Cross over here and take the steps leading down beside a golden statute of Tudi Gong.

The steps wiggle through/past Nanliao Earth God Temple and the entrance to the temple’s wonderfully weird swimming pool. (So weird and wonderful that it features in one of the very few non-hiking posts on this site: Dinosaurs in a Pool.)

With the pool entrance behind you, take the steps, then follow the road sloping down to the right.

You’ll know you’re on the right track when you pass this little assortment of deities hanging out by the wall.

Reaching a scruffy carpark area, turn right. Some of the cars along this road have been here for so long that the trees have literally lain down roots in their wheel arches.

A little further along, the track splits in two. Keep right again here.

I did, however, take a little nosy around the temple. The main deity enshrined here is the Queen Mother of the West aka the Heavenly Queen Mother aka 天上王母娘娘 and the temple style is pretty typical of a Taiwanese Taoist temple.

The steps between Shengan Temple and the road pass another couple of little shrines, including this one which has a golden stone the builders deemed noteworthy because its shape resembles Taiwan.

The steps eventually lead down to Da’an Road, and if you just keep going straight, you’ll find yourself at Shulin train station. However, I headed over to a nearby coffee shop for something iced to cool down with.

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Mount Sanjiaopu Trail Map and Transport Info

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Nearby trails:

• Mount Dadong
• Mount Dadong and Qinglong Ridge Night Hike
• Taipei Skyline Trail — Section 8