Utterly romantic: Hualien’s 13-kilometer “Red Maple Cycling Trail” is aglow in crimson, complete with an adorable ant nest café

▲ Sweet gums by the Danongdafu Cycling Trail have turned red. (Photo / Reporter Cao Yuehua)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

A cold front sweeping across Taiwan has turned the sweet gums in the Danongdafu Plain Forest Park crimson, creating a romantic cycling boulevard. Ride through the forest and enjoy the stunning red foliage scenery — no need to venture deep into the mountains to witness it. The Hualien Forest District Office says that the best time to view the foliage runs from now until the end of December.

▲ The Danongdafu Plain Forest Park offers the best foliage viewing until the end of December. (Photo / Reporter Cao Yuehua)

Located along Provincial Highway 9 in Hualien, the Danongdafu Plain Forest Park features a 13-kilometer-long crimson cycling trail that has now turned red, with fallen leaves covering the ground like an impressionist oil painting. Beyond the sweet gums, species such as the Taiwan beech, large-leaved machilus, camphor trees, Formosan koelreuteria, camphor trees, and wax trees weave together into a magnificent sea of trees.

▲ The park boasts many highly photogenic land art installations. (Photo / Netizen)chun__21Provided, please do not reproduce without permission to avoid copyright infringement)

Covering an area of 1,250 hectares — roughly equivalent to 48 Da’an Forest Parks — the park not only offers spectacular fall foliage but also numerous Instagram-worthy land art pieces, such as a giant wooden sculpture that reads “Love TAIWAN,” a letter wall you can arrange yourself, and colorful posts that make you wonder how such a beautiful hidden gem exists in Hualien.

▲ Inspired by ant nests, designers created an ant nest café, placing several large yellow ants on the roof and grass. (Photo / Netizen)start_fifiProvided, please do not reproduce without permission to avoid copyright infringement)

On the vast lawn, another eye-catching attraction is the ant nest café, designed with the concept of an ant colony, featuring several large yellow ants on the roof and grass — quite amusing.

Visitors can rent bicycles in the park to pedal through the pastoral scenery while enjoying a forest bath in nature. In addition, Danongdafu also offers summer-exclusive fireflies and starry skies. This national first-ever plain forest park is like a treasure trove of nature, waiting for travelers to savor its breathtaking views.

▲ Enjoy the beautiful Milky Way in summer. (Photo / Netizen)wenhsiang_0205Provided, please do not reproduce without permission to avoid copyright infringement)

Danongdafu Plain Forest Park
Address: No. 31, Danong Road, Guangfu Township, Hualien County
Opening Hours: Open year-round; Service Center 08:00–17:00, closed on New Year’s Eve and Mondays (except during winter and summer vacations)