Location: Hsinchu City&County/Taoyuan/Miaoli
Distance: 214km Elevation Gain: 3,026m
This post is unusual compared to our regular routes as it includes multiple days covering three counties, but there was one primary objective: Beipu Cold Springs in Hsinchu County, with a starting point in Hsinchu City and ending in Miaoli City, using the High Speed Rail (HSR) to get to and from the start/finish points.
Doing a trip such as this will be very appealing to riders who want to get out of the city for a few days to explore more remote areas which are difficult to access on a day ride. Starting from Hsinchu HSR station, head northeast to get on County Road No. 118 (AKA LuoMa/Roman Rd. – named such as it connects the town of Mawudu in Hsinchu District in the west and stretches east to Luofu in Taoyuan). This is an excellent area for cycling, and it has been covered in several posts, including #061 to Shimen Reservoir.
At the 59km marker, the No. 118 connects to Provincial Highway No. 7, the North Cross-Island Highway, which is covered in posts #009 & #040. As can be seen from the GPX track and map below, the above route was the first two days of the trip, doing a loop in the Taoyuan area of north Taiwan. Now we want to focus on the third day, which will introduce the rider to new roads that we haven’t covered before.
Descending from Baling town on the No. 7 at the 9.5km marker, the rider takes a left turn on Local Rd. Tao 63, which runs parallel to Shimen Reservoir; this is an excellent small country road which is heavily forested and only gets busy on weekends. Several nice coffee shops to stop for a break.
Eventually, you’ll exit the reservoir area onto Provincial Highway No. 3B for a few kilometers before you connect to Provincial Highway No. 3 at the 54km marker.
Head due south on the No. 3 until you reach the town of Beipu, which is in Hsinchu County. Beipu is a bustling town popular with tourists for its Hakka and Atayal Indigenous culture. This is the best place to pick up refreshments and snacks.
From here you need to get onto County Rd. Chu 37 to reach the main objective of this post, Beipu Cold Springs. Everyone knows Taiwan is famous for its hot springs, and we have covered them in numerous posts around the country, but there are only two cold springs – the other one is in Su’ao on the east coast and is covered in #027 of our series.
The Chu 37 is excellent riding, passing through a few small villages on a narrow country road. At the 13km marker, you’ll see a few buildings and the entrance to the cold springs over a bridge on the Daping River. The cold spring park has changing rooms, so if you bring an extra pair of shorts on a hot day, it’s a great place to cool off.
If you continue east on Chu 37, it will connect you to Nanzhuang covered in #080, but on this occasion I backtracked to Beipu town in order to get to Miaoli HSR station.
This is a straightforward route back to the No. 3 and head south. On this occasion, I took a shortcut through the hills on Local Road Chu 41 & 49 as the most direct route to Miaoli HSR station, but naturally there are a dozen roads to choose from.
Below is an image of the four-day route. You can see the starting point: Hsinchu High Speed Rail Station, and the ride finishes at the Miaoli High Speed Rail Station.
Day 1: HSR to Hsinchu: night ride up the No 118 Luoma Rd
Day 2: From Guanxi Hsinchu to Baling Taoyuan on the N Cross Island Highway
Day 3: From Baling on the North Cross Island Highway to Shimen Reservoir and on to Beipu cold springs
Day 4: Beipu to Miaoli HSR Station
Here is the GPS info for this ride; the 4 days have been merged into one file to give you a clear idea of the location and elevation gain involved. This route covers over 200km, and the elevation gain totals over 3,000 meters.