Some beautiful bright red Indian paintbrush around to add little pops of color! 50 Best Hikes in Utah Valley | Explore Utah Valley Campground gates lock at 10 p.m. and reopen at 8 a.m. Firewood and ice is available at the campground office. At the right time of year, the beautiful Buoi River & its tributaries are great for bathing. Its gorgeous scenery and the river looks very inviting, with a distinctiveturquoise colour, which, as far as I know, is how the river got its name:bi means pomelo, a fruit with greenish-blue skin and flesh. We hiked this after doing the Pine Loop. When I last rode it (2018), the section of, Just south of Mai Chau, there are a couple of good, short and enticing little side roads leading west off QL15. Or is there somewhere where you can find phone numbers and call ahead? All well paved roads and perfect to drive. On the second back-road (DT12B) theres a nearby hot springs (Kim Boi) and a waterfall (Tu Son), both of which can be visited as a quick stop or overnight. I just want to notice that the road along the Ma river is a mess due to the traffic, there are a lot of trucks, and the road conditions are very bad sometimes. I both hiked and mountain biked this trail, mountain biking was technically doable but it was not the best ride as there are many spots where getting off to walk felt necessary. Visitors may also enjoy the Huber Grove, which features the Huber Farmhouse and Creamery. Ive written this guide in 5 sectionsgoing anticlockwise on the loop (although you can ride it in ether direction). After a long day riding the Lao Loop it becomes quite dream-like. The trail is very rocky at some points, and very sandy at others. The more time you have for these routes the better. Thanks for the update. You can browse all my southern routes here. People come and go freely (some not ordering any food) to share some tea and have a smoke and a chat before going about the rest of their day. By the roadside, youll see billboards with annotated maps of the nature reserve. We were a bit uncertain where it ended because it connects to another unnamed trail. We are planning on returning to Vietnam, hopefully Sept/Oct 2021, assuming the world has returned to some sort of normalcy by then. Took the maze trail and pooped around to ale it a little longer. Two nice routes are: Road QL6 to Nga Ba Co Noi then turning east on road QL37 all the way until it joins QL32 and take that all the way until it meets QL4D at Binh Lu. In particular, the route to Cun Pheo, where there are some homestays, is worthwhile if you have time. Nice trail for the area. Do you have any suggestions to improve our plan? easy, delightful and a good short morning hike. I want to give some updates regarding the status of the differents roads we took. These trails range from nearly-level to more challenging, and pass through various habitats including woodlands, wetlands, and old fields. Its one of Vietnams most ambitious engineering projects: the road runs nearly 2,000km north to south along the Trng Sn mountain range, which is the spine of Vietnam. It was very pretty, clearly marked, easy there-and-back trail. Once again thanks for the amazing work you do. We ended up just parking in the dirt area right next to the trail. We dont want to take highway 1, but want to take some nice routes. Im planning a bike trip up around North Vietnam for a week early in the new year. Pinetop Vacation Rentals with Tenney Properties | Pinetop Vacation Come between March and June for the best turquoise waters; after that the heavy rains start to turn the river a mud-brown. I dont smoke, so I cant vouch for the special qualities of Lao tobacco, but it does smell good. Wonderful Trail! Seems like a shame to have to pass that place over instead of staying. Id imagine youd need to visit government or police offices (cng an) in the bigger villages in order to attempt to get a permit to stay in Moung Lat. I was hoping you could give me some advice on how best to get up to H Giang from Phong Nha via part of the Limestone Loop. Thanks for the updates on road conditions its very useful to me and other riders. Very nice, easy, well maintained trail. Thanh Hoa Province, a few hours southwest of Hanoi, offers wonderful scenery & excellent riding roads. Oak Hollow has electricity and water only. The well-marked trail is smooth and easy to navigate from the parking area. Try to avoid visiting on weekends when it can get rather crowded. Perhaps the most romantically-located of all the homestay clusters in Pu Luong is Ban Hieu. Finally, at the southern entrance to Pu Luong Nature Reserve, road QL15C crosses a bridge over the Ma River, joining road QL217 and entering the town of Canh Nang. You'll need to leave pups at home dogs aren't allowed on this trail. Hi there, Hoa Hong makes a pleasant night stop if you left Hanoi late in the day and are running out of daylight. Drive 700 yards down Fire Service Road 50 and park to your left at the entrance of the Pine Loop trail. I like to think of Vietnam as a long dragon: its head is the northern bulge around the Red River, its body the long, narrow central stretch, and its tail is the Mekong Delta in the south. Quiet roads meander through steep valleys cloaked in bamboo forests & mountain passes twist toward remote Lao border crossings on this motorbike loop The sights along the way make that a little hard to believe, however. View sales history, tax history, home value estimates, and overhead views. However, theres still some lovely countryside on QL15 to Ngoc Lac and more on the Ho Chi Minh Road, plus some bonus side routes to a couple of gorgeous waterfalls. It starts right before you cross the creek. Either way, at the, Back on the main road heading due north there are a couple more one-way side-route options. Trail was great. If biking, I recommend going just a bit further up the road to what is listed as "section line trail". 2018 Utah State Parks. Its a sprawling, rather ugly place, but has a lively village atmosphere in the mornings and early evenings, when good, cheap food is available from streetside vendors. Things To Do Outdoor Activities Hiking Hiking On This Page There are over 125 miles of hiking trails in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Yet we lost track and n the end of connector and ended up with climbing a hill. Red Mountain Trail . These new settlements are dusty and feel like fairly unpleasant places. We currently are in the homestay of the Tu Son waterfall. They interviewed me for about an hour and a half, very polite but also very specific and probing questions into my entire life and background. I feel really lucky to have found your website. easy, delightful and a good short morning hike. The Limestone Loop itself was an amazing ride, one of my favorites as far as natural beauty and getting off the beaten track, especially QL15C. Here you can turn right (due east) back to QL15 if you want to take the shorter route (marked in red on my map), but the most scenic option is to turn left (due west) onto DT520 towards Muong Lat. Otherwise it has been a great trip so far. Pu Luong Hostel is the best option, if not try Ngoc Thuy or Son Thuy guest houses, neither of which are much to shout about. The Pine Tree Hollow Loop begins at the east end of the Lower Falls picnic area. Do you know if the road conditions up in the Ha Giang area over to Ma Pi Leng is better? Hi Tom, We were a bit uncertain where it ended because it connects to another unnamed trail. Clearly marked. Clearly marked. There are two main clusters of homestays, both of which are reached via pretty little lanes through the countryside just west of Mai Chau village. Recently upgraded, this is one of the best riding roads in Vietnam: theres no traffic but the road is wide and in decent shape as it soars over jungle-clad mountains towards the landlocked nation of Laos. On the whole I think this is a good, if challenging, cycling route. No specific parking, but thankfully random areas to park to get to a trailhead. Vietnameses guys told me I was crazy to try to get there and in fact, with those condition, if was almost true! However, in order to get to Thanh Ha Province from Hanoi, its first necessary to face the long, soot-blackened crawl out of the capital and through the grim industrial suburbs. . But theres a bit more of a risk with the weather in that region. View All Results. However, please keep comments polite and on-topic. Thanks for sharing it. Very nice, easy, well maintained trail. I cant open the Limestone Loop maps. The Limestone Loop is best done in 3-5 days. Or do you think the Tomb Rider route is better? Good to follow. On the Laos side there was no place to stay, basically just one noodle hut and eight or so people selling goods on the ground. This motorbike loop, spreading southwest of Hanoi, is only a few hours ride from the capital, and yet it takes in some of the most picturesque scenery in the country, and covers some very remote corners along the border with Laos. The French, who called these mountains simplyCalcaire (Limestone), had a hard time pacifying Vietnamese resistance here in the late 19th century. We crossed over a bit off trail and saw a road, crossed the road to see the beautiful overlook. AZT/C - Fort Valley Loops #81. . Whats the best route from MAI CHU to Sn H? Rolling down the other side of the pass the views are superb you hit road DT520. Alex. At the Lung Van intersection you have some options: turn back the way you came or turn this side-route into a loop back to Mai Chau. You are within trees for a good portion of the hike, and trail is easy to follow. Im looking at riding late December/early January. Directions: Traveling through Heber on AZ 260, turn right directly past Tall Timber recreational park onto FR 50. Im currently on the second section of the Limestone loop (riding a Honda XR 150). (435) 654-9112, Lofty Peaks Adventures at Wasatch Mountain State Park provide snowmobile and summer ATV rentals. A pop of color on the oak tree or in the sky reminds me that the forest will again bloom with color with a little rain. CL12B was the worst road weve seen on the entire trip. Its a much better idea to drive it in two. We have done Pine Loop separately, so today we decided to try Heber Hollow Trail. Im thinking to make a trip out and do this loop, I just wondered if you knew a nice way out there from Hai Phong city that would avoid going into hanoi or spending too much time around container trucks. Lots of flies though. At night in your homestay, leave the wooden windows open to catch the cool breeze off the rice paddies and lovely views at dawn. Is it just me? It shows all the homestay areas, roads, pathways, rivers, wildlife spots, waterfalls and other places of interest. I just went yesterday. Nebo Bench Trail Provo River Parkway Bonneville Shoreline Murdock Canal Battle Creek Falls Trail This is not a loop trail. So there will be 4-6 scooters and a 12 seat minibus doing a combination of the loop trips youve describe. A loop would be best so my friend and I can just hire bicycles. Please refer to my maps and text for this. We went off the trail and did some of the Maze trail then looped back around to FR 50. Im at the Valley View Hotel in Mai Chau. We ended up just parking in the dirt area right next to the trail. Easy hike, pretty all around as I love trees so much; however, not a whole lot of changes of beauty or anything extravagant so I have it 3 stars . Its a transitional province between northern and central Vietnam. Sandy and rocky terrain. We did this with 3 scooters and a 12 seater minibus for my 87 yr old mum, my in-laws, my wife and 6 year old son. For the bit between Thanh Ha and Mai Chu, would you suggest going along the river on QL15 or through the reserve on QL15C if I only had time for one? Generally considered an easy route, it takes an average of 1 h 11 min to complete. But let me know if you find a good route. I like to think of Vietnam as a long dragon: its head is the northern bulge around the Red River, its body the long, narrow central stretch, and its tail is the Mekong Delta in the south. Drive 700 yards down Fire Service Road 50 and park to your left at the entrance of the Pine Loop trail. This is an ideal scenic loop by motorbike. Last updated August 2018 |Words and photos by Vietnam Coracle. The distances arent that big, but half of the roads are small and windy. Sadly time is a factor and I am planning on taking 10-12 days to do the trip. The main road is fine, but the dirt track are a nightmare. I wanted to hear your suggestions because its clear that you are quite knowledgeable about riding throughout the country. Bathrooms are clean with hot water showers. The path continues to loop around, coming up to a barbed wire fence leading you back to the trail head. Well marked trail, some horse poop on trail, no problem just walked over or around it, saw about 10 deer, nice easy and relaxing walk. Either way its a pretty long ride (at least two days), but these are the roads that are generally in good condition. From thereon we will drive to Hue, where we will sleep for 1 night. (Especially of the latter). (Sorry if this question has already been asked!) Great road to drive with an average pace of 40 km/h+. Very nice, easy, well maintained trail. But continue down the lane into the valley and, as road conditions deteriorate, youll reach the homestays in Kho Muong village, in particular Pu Luong Treehouse and Rice Road Homestay. Going to lock this in!! The trail is very rocky at some points, and very sandy at others. Bursts of reds and orange coming through the tree line gave an illusion of a fire, but luckily, it was the sun setting in the west. How is the roads condition these days? Generally considered an easy route, it takes an average of 1 h 11 min to complete. Your guides have gotten me from HCMC up to Phong Nha in one piece these past few weeks and I am so grateful, especially as a solo first-time rider! It was like entering Narnia: I could have been in any century since rice cultivation began here back in around 3000BCE. easy, delightful and a good short morning hike. Either way it doesnt seem worth the risk staying in this town at this time. Nice work. After that you can either continue on the loop to Mai Chau and hit Highway QL6 back toward Hanoi (the first part out from Mai Chau is scenic) or loop back to the Ho Chi Minh Road to Hanoi instead (the section from Cam Thuy to around the Perfume Pagoda is great), but inevitably the last hour or so into Hanoi on either route is grim. But youd be mad to miss out on the food here, especially dinner, which can be anything between 100,000-200,000vnd ($5-$10) per person. Road QL15 heading south of Mai Chau is undergoing repairs in some sections, but is still a scenic ride. For the Laos loop, check the comments below, because people have had issues around the borders post-Covid, especially with overnighting in Muong Lat. there was no trail connecting the two trails! However, there are several other, cheaper, simpler homestays in the area, too, like Mr Bas Homestayamong others. After speaking with them for a while they told me I could rest for a while but I would have to leave. The border police are essentially in charge of people coming in and out of the country, and right now thats a huge responsibility. Mountain View Ranger District 321 Highway 414 PO Box 129 Mountain View, WY 82939 . Thanks for the quick response, and really appreciate you working on the update! Road QL217 ploughs through steep valleys carved out of the limestone mountains. One little side note: parking is not well marked. I understand that this is a very open question and that weather is a major contributing factor to your answer, especially in this region. Its June 15 now and my schedule is open until early August. FIND YOUR WAY OUTSIDE is a trademark of AllTrails, LLC. Nice hike in Aguirre Springs nra, no real trail from pine tree loop to Indian hollow, just hike down into to arroyo, better to start from pine tree loop. Each section of the guide below contains a description of the ride plus my recommendations for food, drink and accommodation along the way, all of which are marked on my annotatedroute map. Its hard to see the beauty in this one. This trail gets some traffic, but it does not have a reputation as a "go-to" trail. Their location is one of the highest in the area watching the valley below, and for 450k/night including breakfast, its very worth it. Starting from Hanoi we will take section 1, then we will take section 2. These tracks are used for collecting wood and other forest resources, which are then either used locally or packed onto old Dodge-style trucks bound for factories and workshops. This is currently the first route of yours Im doing whilst having a month in the North. Im actually going to Mai Chau & Pu Luong starting tomorrow (25th October) & saw this article and so will be doing a very similar trip (Im starting from near Nam Dinh and not Hanoi). Combining several good, mountainous roads spreading west of Pu Luong Nature Reserve towards the Lao border, I like to call this section the Lao Loop. Just because we are doing it backwards and from a mid point. Nice ups and downs and a bit challenging at the elevation! This bamboo bridge near Ban Hieu is good fun, but the condition of road DT432A (for just 1km) is atrocious. How would one go about getting a permit? A peaceful loop through a quiet section of ponderosa pine forest. Thanks for the web site and nice road to explore! My question is given we have a mini bus following along with us are there any roads, or options, you would avoid due to road conditions. Anyways, what was disappointing is the fact I never read the comments under this post especially regarding the permit issue in Muong Lat. Pine Hollow Loop is a surprisingly picturesque trail in American Fork Canyon. One result of this is that the original course of the riverside road has been elevated: the old one is now submerged. Finding the start of the trail was a little tricky, it looks like a foot path going to a home. Nem chua is a kind of raw, cured pork patty, but that doesnt do it justice. Might try to do both versions of the it and end up doing the really scenic section of the 520 from both directions. Many thanks in advance. After passing isolated hamlets of wood-and-thatch homes, the road climbs a spectacular pass with an access road to Bo Cung Cave, which is definitely worth a visit. Rainbow Rim #79. For example, parts of the red route and green route in the High Roads should be avoided, as should parts of the Northeast Routes. Its a transitional province between northern and central Vietnam. Ah, thanks for the update on the loop! Ive just completed the lao loop, roads are in good condition, some minor dirt rock sections but a scooter can make it no problem. I was leaning towards the western half since it would allow us to possibly ride the Lao Loop as well. Pine Loop Trail #44. View Owner Dashboard Track your estimate and nearby sale activity. Set among sublime landscape just a few hours southwest of Hanoi, the homestays in Pu Luong Nature Reserve are some of the most atmospheric & romantic places to stay anywhere in Vietnam. according to the signs the road should be finished in 2016 so it will be a great ride when it is done , anyways,thank you for all your posts. At Lang Chanh, a little village surrounded by pretty countryside, I dined with a family of military veterans. It was very pretty, clearly marked, easy there-and-back trail. Last review before we tried it was April 2021- starts out on Pine Tree Trail and your supposed to pick up a connecting trail to get to Indian Hollow Trail. I can well understand why you have fallen in love with Vietnam having lived and worked in Hanoi for 6 years back in the 90s. But it is still a beautiful position and once you find a homestay you really like it still has plenty of charm. This year, 2020, has been one of the driest seasons we have had in many years. I would like to avoid going into Hanoi or its suburbs. So just keep an eye on the weather. The town of. I know the weather wont be the best but was wondering which loop you think would be better: the limestone loop or the extreme northwest loop? Mai Chau will be the first stop on my trip and id really like to stay in a homestay. Huge piles of horse poop on the trails, to the point where someone must be raking it into the middle of the trail?? Thanks Tom for Quick reply ! Pine Tree loop is wonderful but we needed a short loop in the evening, this doesnt seem to exist as mapped. Its a long but gorgeous one- or two-day ride out to the Lao border on twisting mountain passes to Muong Lat, and then back again along the Ma River valley, before rejoining road QL15 near Mai Chau. Thanks for the great guide. One little side note: parking is not well marked. Beautiful flora. Perfect, sounds like there arent too many ways to go wrong. Sleeping in a homestay in Mai Chau is very fun & atmospheric, but it can get quite crowded these days, Route: Mai ChauPu LuongCanh Nang (plus side routes)| Distance: 60-100km[MAP]. However, road conditions can be a problem in the northwest. Thanks again for the guide, its awesome. Im glad it was a good ride last time but those climbs must have been pretty tough! Some horse poop. In Ban Lac hamlet, I would skip the main homestay drag and head a bit further along the lane. This is a great loop and a well thought out guide to it. The planning is a bit thight, im fully aware of it, but we want to see as much as possible and dont take highway 1. This trail was super easy to track and follow even for directionally challenged people like me. Thanks for the update. Meandering uphill, the first cluster of homestays is at Ban Hang, a hamlet of wooden houses by the riverbank, which is accessed via a very steep side-road. On the southern side of the loop the roads appear to be new and in great condition. The owners of the eatery were both octogenarians. Whats the state of the full Lao Loop at the moment? Huge piles of horse poop on the trails, to the point where someone must be raking it into the middle of the trail?? From Pu Luong to Tam Coc, QL217 was quite rough last time I rode it, and Im not sure of the condition of QL45. You just have to keep your eye out for the cairns. Yes, Pu Luong is gorgeous. Thanks for the reply once again. The area is either deforested or has undergone severe fires. I have convinced my wife that doing the northern loop is a great idea. We crossed over a bit off trail and saw a road, crossed the road to see the beautiful overlook. L Li was vastly outnumbered by Chinese forces, so he and his army practiced guerrilla tactics; ambushing Chinese troops and then retreating to the safety and cover of the Calcaire and the M River. Beautiful flora. Having said that, I had perfect conditions there in January a few years ago. We tried to make it to the peak but there were signs saying no trespassing near the end of one of the trails. For information on how we grade trails, please click here. easy, delightful and a good short morning hike. Sorry to hear about road QL12B, but QL47 sounds like a good and interesting ride. Going to take the Laos loop over Tet in hopefully one day, will update if theres any change from what youve described so brilliantly. Things start to get really scenic when Highway QL6 (in excellent condition) veers west and ascends the wide, steep Thung Khe Pass. I just called Puluong Treehouse in order to book a family room and they quoted the price of VND2,6 million/night, So it is more like a resort now and not inexpensive anymore. Had to turn back since we were losing daylight. Please bear in mind that I am currently updating the text in this guide: the map is complete, but the information in the guide is still being updated and should be finished by the end of this week. As for elevation, unless you stick entirely to the coast, you are going to have to deal with some pretty big climbs. No bathrooms. All loops have restrooms with showers. Ive always found it very difficult to get my hands on a physical copy of the map, so instead I take a photo of the billboard and save the map to my phone so Ill always have it as a reference and resource while in the reserve. Its probably at the best phase as its rideable and no cars want to go. From what I have read maybe the Golden Loop is a better option then? Otherwise, road from Mai Chau South East down towards Laos then back up to Pu Luong is in great condition, all brand new tarmac and concrete. One question regarding the border pass/permit in Muong Lat does this mean you can just pass there if you dont stay for the night? Both of those routes are good. We were a bit uncertain where it ended because it connects to another unnamed trail. Some horse poop. After crossing the Ho Chi Minh Road, QL217 was undergoing repairs last time I was there (October 2017). You could easily take a week if you had the time. I found a spot to watch the sunset and brewed a coffee on my camp stove. It feels very off the beaten path, but, in fact, the homestays here are quite popular (especially with French travellers), and one of two are fairly high-end. In Phong Nha we will explore some caves and will stay a total of 2 nights probably (1 full day). I do love the whole thing. We sat on a log to enjoy the forest breeze and solitude. Bnh had spent his life in the army. Much of the Limestone Loop travels through Thanh Ha, a province of limestone pinnacles, rivers and rice paddies.