Stone Gate Mountain Camp | Stone Gate Mountain rock arch
Views of the ‘Stone Gate’, a rock arch on a cliff.

Stone Gate Mountain Camp hike

Try out the 9km+ trail at Stone Gate Mountain Camp—hike the stairs to the 'Stone Gate', continue up past the waterfalls, and cross the ridge to complete the full loop.

Level 4
A long descent to finish with several steep scrambles on loose footing, strong hiking experience recommended. 3–4 hours of hiking over approx. 9km. (Can I do it?)

This hike is not currently scheduled

Contact us for schedule updates or set up a private hike

For this walk we will visit Stone Gate Mountain Camp, a private camping area in the mountains just north of Huairou City.

It’s named Stone Gate Mountain for a large rock arch up on a cliff face.

The first part of the hike takes us up paved trails and stairs to the Stone Gate, where a lookout platform has been built. It’s fairly steep on the way up.

From the arch we continue through the hills to a small temple, by a valley road.

The easier version goes down that valley road and back out to the start point, crossing a few spots where the road was washed out by summer floods.

The longer version continues up the valley road to take a look at the waterfalls: one called the Big Sister, the other the Little Sister. There should be pools of water below the waterfalls right now, and we’ll probably see tadpoles and little frogs.

Farther up the road ends, and we get on to rough hill paths and trails to cross over at a pass and then through the hills and down into another valley.

The trail down to finish is long and tricky, with some very steep descents down wild gullies and crevices that require care to negotiate successfully. Parts of the trail are well-formed and pass through sparse forest, but there are long sections that zig-zag down narrow paths on brushy hillsides as well as the previously mentioned steep scrambles. (We wouldn’t be able to do this part safely in rainy weather and would change the plan.)

COVID-19 and participation precautions

The current precautions are minimal. Please read in full here: Operating hikes under COVID-19 precautions

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Photos and trip reports: Stone Gate Mountain Camp hike

  1. Stone Gate Mountain Camp hike, 2021/08/26

    Stone Gate Mountain Camp hike, 2021/08/26

    See 20+ photos from a hike up to the hills above Stone Gate Mountain Camp—green hills, water and waterfalls, rocks and cliffs, and views all the way back to Beijing’s CBD.
  2. Stone Gate Mountain Camp, 2021/04/10

    Stone Gate Mountain Camp, 2021/04/11

    We visited Stone Gate Mountain Camp for a hike in the hills above—see 15 photos of flowers and blooms, cliffs and mountains, and the ‘Stone Gate’.

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