Sorae-san is a decent sized hill (299m) on the border of Incheon and Gyeonggido. The walk up is like any other forested hill in Korea, but views from the summit are surprisingly good. On a clear day you can see all the way to Bukhansan in the north, over Incheon to the coast, and east towards Gwanaksan.
You can approach the mountain through Incheon Grand Park, which is a large and pleasant enough park on the south-western edge of Incheon. The shortish walk up Sorae-san is worth doing if you are in the area, but perhaps not one to go out of your way for. Track notes at the end.
Sorae-san 소래산 from Incheon Grand Park: The Scenery
My wife Sophia downplayed the views on this walk so I left my camera at home. I thought the views were rather good and missed having optical zoom for the best views of the day towards Bukhansan. Good enough to show you what to expect though.
Here’s a video from the summit:
Track Notes
We came from the Incheon side, taking a bus to the main entrance to Incheon Grand Park. Walk east through the park, choosing your own way. (We took different routes on the way out and back). You want to head to the major highway per my embedded map below. Also where I’ve started my red line in the topo map above. You walk on a wide track besides the highway (which is above you), then head onto walking tracks. There’s a network of tracks up the mountain and you can chose your own way. They are all similar. To get views of Bukhansan walk just a little north of the summit along the ridge. (We actually continued on down that way, which is a bit more scrambly than the other routes). You’ll need just half a day for the whole walk, and moderate fitness.
Going under the highway will take you to a strip of restaurants and cafes catering to people visiting the park and mountain. Quite a nice vibe. If you live in Incheon then you might also consider climbing Gyeyangsan further north.
I love korea.