Hallasan in Winter (2026-27): Cutoffs, Crampons, Reservations

Snow on the rocky top of Hallasan under a deep blue sky

Written by YUNA, the pen name behind Hello Korea Tips. Every guide is checked against official sources before it goes up.

Topic:

Last checked: November 1, 2026

Be past Hallasan’s last checkpoint by 11:30 a.m., or you won’t see the summit. That rule runs until March 31, 2027, and it’s an hour earlier than in summer. If you didn’t get a reservation, or you’d rather not race the clock in snow, I’d hike to Witse Oreum: from Eorimok by bus, or from Yeongsil by car or taxi.

Quick answer

  • ⏱ Summit cutoff: 11:30 a.m. at trailheads and last checkpoints, until March 31
  • 📱 Booking: needed for the summit; foreigners verify by email on the English page
  • ✅ No booking? Yeongsil or Eorimok to Witse Oreum

What are the winter cutoff times?

Thick snow weighing down the branches of a pine on Hallasan under a blue sky
Snow on the trees of Hallasan, the highest mountain in South Korea.

Jeju moved the cutoffs up on October 1, by as much as three hours on some trails. These are the last entry times at each trailhead.

Trail Last entry Goes to
Seongpanak 11:30 a.m. Summit, booking needed
Gwaneumsa 11:30 a.m. Summit, booking needed
Eorimok 12 p.m. Witse Oreum, South Wall junction
Yeongsil 12 p.m. Witse Oreum, South Wall junction
Donnaeko 10 a.m. South Wall junction
Eoseungsaengak 5 p.m. Short walk, no summit

Those trailhead times are easy to misread. The checkpoints higher up matter more: Jindallaebat Shelter on Seongpanak and Samgakbong Shelter on Gwaneumsa stop summit-bound hikers at 11:30 a.m. as well. So entering Seongpanak at 11 will not get you to the top.

Seongpanak to Jindallaebat takes about 3 hours, so 8:30 a.m. is the limit on paper. That pace may not hold in snow, so 8:30 is not a safe last start, and the full hike is 19.2 km there and back. I’d start by 7. If that’s more than you want on a winter trail, the Witse Oreum hikes below need no booking.

Everyone has to start down from the summit by 1:30 p.m. at the latest. The later descent times are 2 p.m. at the South Wall junction, 3 p.m. at Witse Oreum, and 3:30 p.m. at Jindallaebat and Samgakbong. I couldn’t confirm whether those mean leaving the shelter or being past it, so I’d plan to be past them by then.

Entry starts at 5 a.m. in winter, going by the park’s September 2026 notice and its English pages. Its Korean booking page still shows 6 a.m. for November to February, so check your reserved time slot before you leave.

Seongpanak or Gwaneumsa? Seongpanak is 9.6 km and about 4.5 hours one way. Gwaneumsa is shorter at 8.7 km but takes longer, about 5 hours. For a first winter summit, I’d book Seongpanak.

No reservation? Hike to Witse Oreum

A wooden staircase along the Yeongsil Trail with green hills and mountains behind
Wooden stairs on the Yeongsil Trail, shown here in the green season. Photo: Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Yeongsil looks like the obvious pick: 3.7 km to Witse Oreum, against 4.7 km and about 2 hours from Eorimok. Don’t choose on that number alone. Only small vehicles can use the Yeongsil approach road, so bus riders first walk 2.5 km, about 40 minutes, which makes it 6.2 km to Witse Oreum. Eorimok’s trailhead is a 10-minute walk from its bus stop.

By bus, I’d take Eorimok. By taxi or rental car, I’d take Yeongsil. Both carry on to the South Wall junction if you pass the Witse Oreum checkpoint before 1 p.m. in winter. It’s 5.8 km from Yeongsil, about 2.5 hours one way, and 6.8 km from Eorimok, about 3 hours.

Neither trail reaches the crater, so decide what you came for. If it’s Baengnokdam, you need a booking and a summit trail, and Seongpanak is 19.2 km there and back. If it’s snow on the upper mountain, Witse Oreum gets you there with no booking, and from Eorimok it’s about half the distance, 9.4 km there and back.

There’s a third choice with no booking: walk Seongpanak as far as Jindallaebat Shelter, or Gwaneumsa as far as Samgakbong Shelter, as long as you keep to the entry times. You’d turn back below the top after about 3 hours one way on Seongpanak, so I’d pick Witse Oreum over this. Donnaeko, Eoseungsaengak, and Seokguram need no booking either.

Yuna’s pick

Fit, booked, and flexible on dates: Seongpanak, starting by 7 a.m.

First winter hike, or no booking: Eorimok to Witse Oreum by bus, Yeongsil by car or taxi.

Short on time: Eoseungsaengak, with entry until 5 p.m.

How do you book the summit?

Hallasan's summit crater in winter, with patchy snow and a white frozen lake
Baengnokdam in winter. You only see this with a summit booking.

Only Seongpanak and Gwaneumsa reach Baengnokdam, the crater lake at the top, and both need a free booking at visithalla.jeju.go.kr. Limits are 1,000 people a day on Seongpanak and 500 on Gwaneumsa, and there’s no waitlist.

  1. Switch language: use the English page. If you can’t do the Korean ID check, sign up there with email verification.
  2. Book on the right day: bookings open at 9 a.m. KST on the first working day of each month and cover the next month. For January, that’s December 1. Expect a queue.
  3. Finish the form: a date with no personal details stays incomplete and cancels itself after a day.
  4. Save your QR code: it comes by email from “visithalla,” so save it to your phone the night before. At the gate, each hiker shows one QR code and an ID such as a passport.

Older articles can mislead you. The “reservation-free” month from November 27 to December 27 was a 2024 event, and Gwaneumsa’s summit section, closed for repairs from August, reopened on September 24, 2026. Both trails are on normal booking now.

For help with a booking, try the Jeju Tourist Information Center on +82-64-740-6000. If you still need data for email and maps in Jeju, my eSIM guide covers that.

⚠️ Heads-up

Cancel if you can’t go. One no-show bans you from booking for 3 months, and a second bans you for a year. Hiking on someone else’s QR code has meant a one-year ban too.

Do you need crampons on Hallasan?

Snow on the rocky top of Hallasan, seen past bare trees and tall dark firs
Snow on Hallasan, seen past bare trees and dark firs.

I couldn’t find a rule that makes them mandatory, but I’d treat them as required. The park tells winter hikers to bring crampons, warm clothes, gloves, and hot water, and Jeju’s notice adds spare clothes and emergency food. Trails can freeze after snow, and that’s when people slip.

  • Crampons: try them on your boots before hike day.
  • Headlamp: the park lists one as a winter basic on the long summit trails.
  • Hot water and food: carry your own for the whole hike.
  • Spare clothes: keep a dry set in your pack.

Sort your gear in Jeju City the day before, and don’t count on a shop or rental counter at the trailhead. Leave fire, alcohol, cigarettes, and single-use lunch boxes behind, because the park bans them and can fine you.

What happens if it snows?

Palm trees and a white building in front of snow-covered Hallasan
Palm trees below, snow above. Sun in town tells you little about the trail.

A snow or wind advisory can close some or all of the mountain, and it happens often in winter. The park publishes closure criteria, such as weather advisories and 30 cm of snow in a day, but each office still decides on conditions. Check the live trail status on the morning of your hike.

A booking won’t get you past a closed trail, and you may not get another date in the same trip. If the summit matters to you, build a spare day into your Jeju plans.

Check the roads too. The park tells hikers to look up the 1100 Road and 5.16 Road before leaving, since those are how you reach the trailheads.

💬 Say it in Korean

오늘 입산 가능해요?

Oneul ipsan ganeunghaeyo?

“Can I hike up today?” Ask this at a trailhead office if the signs are only in Korean.

How do you get to the trailheads?

  • Seongpanak: Bus 181 or 281. The 281 leaves from Jeju Intercity Bus Terminal and takes about 40 minutes. The car park is small and fills early, so the bus is the better bet.
  • Gwaneumsa: Bus 475. The park’s pages disagree on where to change buses, so check the route first.
  • Eorimok: Bus 240 from Jeju Intercity Bus Terminal, about 35 to 40 minutes, then a 10-minute walk.
  • Yeongsil: a taxi or rental car can use the approach road, but the park’s pages give different seat limits, so ask the Yeongsil office first if you’re in a van. Bus 240 stops at the Yeongsil office, so add the 2.5 km walk.

Check your first bus in a map app the night before you hike, and note the last bus back too. If it won’t reach Gwaneumsa or Seongpanak in time, a taxi is worth the money, because a missed cutoff costs you the whole day.

FAQ

Is the summit hike too hard for a beginner in winter?

I’d say yes. Seongpanak is 9.6 km one way and about 4.5 hours up, and you have to come all the way back in the cold.

Can I hike for the New Year sunrise?

Maybe. A booked night hike ran for New Year 2026, and about 2,650 people took part. I couldn’t find a 2027 notice on the park’s site when I checked, so look for one before you plan around it.

Can I get proof that I reached the top?

Yes. Since September 1, 2026, you can get one on the booking site, but you must apply for it and receive it on the day of your hike.

Is there an entry fee?

No. You pay only for parking and facilities. The first 30 minutes of parking are free, and a small car then pays 1,000 won for the first hour.

Book early, start earlier, and keep a spare day. If a time or rule has changed, tell me on the Contact page and I’ll check it. Have a safe hike!

Hwaiting!

Yuna

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Sources and last check

How I put this guide together: from the Hallasan booking site, the park’s FAQ, VISITJEJU, and news reports of Jeju’s September 2026 notice, all checked on November 1, 2026. Which trail to pick and when to start are my own read, not park advice. Nothing here is sponsored. More on how I research every guide is on the About page.

Last checked: November 1, 2026. Trail status changes daily in winter, so please confirm before you travel. This is general information, and your safety on the mountain is your own call. This is an independent guide, not affiliated with Hallasan National Park.

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