Taiwan’s Forestry Bureau improves campground on Xiakelo Trail ahead of maple leaf season

台灣林業局在楓葉季前改善霞喀羅露營步道

Hikers are welcome to camp at the grounds of the former Baishih Police Station


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Forestry Bureaus' Hsinchu Forest District Office completed a project to improve the environment surrounding the Baishih Police Station campground on the Xiakelo National Trail on Saturday (Oct. 15). The preparations were finished just in time for the upcoming maple leaf season, when many hikers come to see autumn foliage along the trail.

The improvement project included clearing a landslide at the 16-kilometer mark, rearranging camping spaces, renovating the latrines, and placing new campground signs, the office said in a press release.

The Xiakelo National Trail is located between Wufeng Township and Jianshi Township in Hsinchu County. The trail is a popular maple-watching destination in autumn when the entire hill is covered in red.

“It was a major road for people in the local settlements to connect to the outside world,” an introduction to the trail on the bureau’s Forest Recreation website said. “During Japanese Rule, construction work was carried out to turn it into a police patrol road and police stations were set up. Today, many ruins can still be seen.”

The office has planned 60 camping spaces around the grounds of the former police station, with 30 spaces reserved for mountain hiking groups with guides, and the other 30 are open for regular hikers, who can register to camp onsite.

The office added that hikers can also spread out to camp at other old stations along the trail, as the camping spaces at the Baishih Police Station are quite limited.

For more information about parking and accommodation, visit the Xiakelo eco-tourism's Facebook account.