Taoyuan Tourism

Who said that hills covered by red maple leaves can only be seen at high altitudes? Shihmen Reservoir is the best spot in northern Taiwan to view maple leaves at low altitude. In autumn and winter, thousands of maple trees turn the hills red with their leaves. Follow the trail and indulge yourself in the beautiful scenery and recover from the soreness from hiking. The amazing scenery is promised to be no less than that of high-altitude mountains.

Enter the park from high line toll station. You will first see tall sweet gums stretching along the way like a green tunnel. Following the circular road, hikers will pass you by on the way. In addition, you will find Dieyuan with some basic playground rides for kids and a pagoda overlooking Shihmen Dam. Here you can switch to the Maple Trail.

Maple trees over 30-years-old become a mix of red, yellow, and green in late autumn. With the butterflies flying around, the beautiful scenery will truly amaze you. At Fulun Pavilion you can enjoy the view of red leaves reflected by Shihmen Reservoir—a scene of serenity. At the stone step trail in Maple Park, you can enjoy the view of green maple forest as well as plum blossom, in autumn and in winter, each of its own character and beauty.

Continuing ahead, after passing by Shihmen Reservoir Monument and Yishange, you will come to Songtai lookout. At the altitude of 270m, you will have an amazingly broad view of the flood spillway and the dam. If you happen to observe the dam recharge, the magnificent view of water flows will surely impress you. Xizhou Park is only 450m away from Pinglin toll station and has a lotus pond, a lovers’ bridge, and a walking trail that follows the landscape. Walking on this trail, you can observe versatile and lush green trees and grass fields. On weekends, many visitors enjoy a relaxing picnic here. In addition to the Maple Trails and Xizhou Park Trail, there are also walking trails in Qiedonglin Park and Nanyuan Ecological Park along which you can enjoy the beautiful scenery of Shihmen Reservoir.

When the night falls, Nanyuan Ecological Park uses dimmed lighting cleverly to guide visitors through a magical night trip. The feature pond surrounded by mist and spots of yellow light on the walking trail create the least intrusion to visitors and minimize the impact of lighting to the environment.

In recent years, Shihmen Reservoir is not only a visitors’ favorite in Taoyuan but also a popular spot for sport events. The Taoyuan Half-marathon attracts thousands of runners to the area every year. It is a rare ecological marathon, where runners enjoy the red maple leaves along the track, making it a physical challenge as well as a natural and cultural feast for the eyes. In addition to running, there has also been hiking and biking events, making Shihmen Reservoir a destination for sports and fitness activities.