Top 6 'Full Beans' Ride+Run Routes on Hong Kong Island
We’ve mapped our Top 6, full length R+R tracks on the Island. Whilst each location offers up a variety of potential running options, with varying degrees of difficulty and length, these “full beans” circuits comprise our most fun, most hardcore R+R routes, from each location.
Five of our locations are situated in one of HK Island’s four main country parks; we select one from each of Pok Fu Lam, Aberdeen and Shek O and two from the Island’s largest country park, Tai Tam. Our sixth location is the only one to straddle more than one country park; its a bit of a beast, not for the faint hearted!
These routes were honed over the course of repeated excursions, featuring plenty of wrong turns, inclement weather including the occasional typhoon, wild boar, spider and snake encounters and some epic, headlong tumbles into the dirt. Oh, and one broken ankle. It’s been a fun journey. And we’re just getting started!
All routes run in a loop, measure 15-20km in length, with a manageable 400-800m elevation gain, taking approx. 1.5 to 2.5hrs to complete (see blog “Method to our Madness” for guidance on timings and ratings scale).
All GPX files are downloadable from our website. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
1. Big Wave Bay (Dragon's Back)
Our original and most coveted R+R combo, takes in a stunning ride along the south side of the Island. A winding, two-way lane that clings to the coastline for a full 15km stretch, from Shouson Hill down to Big Wave Bay. This ride is a treat for any road-goer, providing epic views as you cross Tai Tam Reservoir and then on to the faster, gently-twisting section of Shek O Road, carved into a hillside that plays acoustic backdrop to the braaaap of HK’s collective petrolheads; it is truly a unique HK experience.
The run comprises the shortest and fastest of our Top 5 routes but arguably its most renowned, cutting through Shek O Country Park, up and over the legendary Dragon’s Back. The runnable, mid-length track compliments the longer ride and leaves time for some post-run r&r of a more relaxing kind, with a swim and/or visit to one of the local restaurants/bars. Most of our R+R locations are stuck on a hillside or down an obscure backroad so we make the most of the amenities here. As always, it’s possible to add a loop here and there for extra km’s but as our original R+R layout, we personally can’t mess with it.
2. Sir Cecil’s Ride (Mount Butler)
Tai Tam represents the largest of HK Island’s country parks, occupying 20% of its total land area and stretching from Stanley in the south to North Point in the er, north.
In between lie some of Hong Kong’s most impressive viewpoints and/or gruelling hill climbs, depending on your perspective (The Twins, Violet Hill, Mount Butler), as well as HK Island’s largest reservoir.
Only fitting then that we establish two locations here, one each in the north and south.
Nestled in the north of Tai Tam Country Park, we discovered this lesser-known location by accident, and it quickly became our second, go-to, R+R route.
It was here we also began to appreciate the benefits of scooter access higher up the mountainside, as the walk up to this remote location is not especially exciting (in contrast with the ride!) The approx. 6km flattish loop around Sir Cecil’s Ride offers up a useful training route; using the scooter as base for water/food allows you to travel light (any chance to dump the hydration pack). The ride takes you up a quiet, winding single track road to Mount Butler Receiving Station. Plenty of friendly local hikers and cyclists frequent this area but the location still has a feeling of seclusion – at least by HK standards – and as scooter-riders it feels like a road less travelled, accessible to those in the know. For all these reasons, we’ve probably returned to this location more than any other in recent years.
Back to our chosen full beans route. Not an easy choice given the various options available here but we’ve combined our favourite runnable sections from the area with some technical trail and an ascent of Mount Butler. This all combines for a brilliant challenge involving fast-running, mostly sheltered, forested trail. It’s often hard to believe you’re only a stone’s throw from HK’s bustling metropolis when up in these hills.
3. Repulse Bay (The Twins)
The second of our Tai Tam Country Park routes, this one in the south. Together with Big Wave Bay, this location is best visited early to avoid the crowds, although its more commercial location provides creature comforts in the form of post-run sea swim, showers and restaurants. Our preferred start is further up the hill, using “unofficial” off-road parking nearer the opening of the park. From here it’s a quick scramble right into the trail action. The ride is short & sweet taking in some of that free-wheeling South Island coastline. The run is a little more hardcore with the most challenging combination of length and elevation, from our Top 5 selected routes. It incorporates the legendary Twins and Violet Hill before dropping down to reservoir level and back around for an inviting closing stretch; a slightly uphill section of forested trail with views of the reservoir and near the end, crossed by a sheltered fresh-water stream; nature’s generous cooling-off gift after a long run.
4. Wan Chai Gap (Aberdeen Reservoir)
As central as it gets, easily accessed from all sides of the Island. Magazine Gap Road is the premier riding route for sweeping views across the city, by day or night although we only head halfway up for this location. A multitude of running options around Aberdeen Country Park (believe me, we’ve tried them all).
This one takes in the finest stretches of the Hong Kong Trail, serving as a foundation for our longest and fastest-running HK Island route. There are three not insignificant hills to scale but the rest is just open track, with views of the reservoir and both north and south sides of the Island, along the way. This area allows you to tailor a route to suit specific preferences on length and time of run, with the full suite of 5-25km trail options available here.
5. Tai Tam Reservoir (Shek O and Tai Tam Country Parks)
This location is on the border of Tai Tam and Shek O country parks, setting up our first intra-park R+R route. Exciting stuff. The ride is basically ‘half a Dragon’s Back’, parking up in a secluded spot just shy of Tai Tam Reservoir. The run is a mix of fast running concrete trail, an inviting stretch that skirts the underside of the Dragons Back, and two decent sized hills, one with a particularly steep and technical descent (GPS at the ready). That latter descent is a departure from our usual fast-flowing runs so not one for the purists. But occasionally the honey badger in us wants to get off-piste and wade through some sketchy terrain. And this ticks the box.
6. The Peak (Pok Fu Lam Country Park)
This track takes us to the very top of the Island, a fitting end to this series, after starting out at sea level for our original Big Wave Bay route. In fact, each route has brought us further up into the hills with progressively more stunning vistas to match. The Peak is where all the tourists come for commanding vistas of the city and the whole Island.
The ride winds its way invitingly first up the north side and then south side of the Island’s central hill range, finishing with a flourish amongst old colonial remnants of the (less touristy), top of the Peak. This area marks the start of the HK Trail and we run its early stages as part of our route, with sweeping views of the South and West of the Island.
A final, full loop of the Lugard/Harlech Road circuit provides a 360 degree snapshot of the whole island; a perfect end to this route and our HK Island full beans series.
