The first time I did the Dragons Back hike I thought I was in for something at least a little bit difficult but it’s really doable by all the most unfit, obese heifers in the world. Most of the Hong Kong hiking websites give you directions starting from North Point so naturally we started the Dragons Back hike at the “end”, from Shek O Road. If you go weekdays, there’s parking about 100m from the entrance of the trail, room for about 5 cars. Weekends you won’t have a shit show of getting a park unless you’re up with the sparrows and even then you’ll need to cross your fingers. If you want to find out what bus to get, just do a Google and your answer should come up first.
Even for the unfitest couch potatoes, from Shek O Road to Dragons Back hike should really only take you 30-45 minutes at the very most. As with a few “hikes” in Hong Kong, it’s not really a hike in our books and more of a stroll up some stairs. At only 300 m elevation it’s not hat high but the Dragons Back hike is well worth it as you get great views over the South China Sea and the exclusive Shek O Country Club. Once you’re at the top of the Dragons back, you can choose to head back to Shek O Road or hike across the top and end up at North Point. We usually run to the end and then back again.
We haven’t actually done this hike for 6 months and like almost all of the hikes in Hong Kong, or anywhere, it’s only worth going on a sunny, clear day (which is part of the reason we haven’t done it for 6 months, seems the sun only shines in Hong Kong about 20 days of the year, the rest of the time it’s covered in smog or pollution. Since there’s not that many good days in Hong Kong, take the opportunity to do the Dragons Back Hike when a good one comes along.
I took Grobbler when he was about 4 1/2 up the Dragons Back hike and he whipped up there in about 40 minutes, over taking all these tosser dressed up in their UnderArmour compression gear, hiking polls, and massive back packs. If your kids are reasonably fit, they can make it up, it’s not a problem for them. If you do it during the summer it’ll be more difficult and you’ll need to bring lots of water.
Dragons Back Hike Level of Difficulty: 2/10
Dragons Back Hike Car Parking: See Google Maps
Dragons Back Hike Views: 7/10
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