From Dahu to Tai'an in Miaoli: A Hidden Cycling Route Through Mountain Towns Beyond Strawberry Season

Dahu Beyond Strawberry Season

When it comes to Dahu in Miaoli, most people only think of the traffic jams during strawberry season. But strip away the tourist label, and the mountain-town route from Dahu toward Tai’an Hot Spring and Mount Manapan—about 35 km with roughly 900 m of climbing—is a quiet route that combines Hakka settlement culture with mid-elevation forests.

Route Structure

The Maples of Mount Manapan

Mount Manapan is one of central Taiwan’s most famous maple-viewing spots. From late November to December each year, the slopes on both sides of the trail turn red. Riding to the trailhead area is enough to take in the layered autumn colors—a visual highlight exclusive to the fall season.

Hakka Culture Refresher: A Mountain Town to Read While You Ride

The hidden value of this route is that it strings together a complete chapter of Hakka migration and settlement history in Taiwan. Once you understand this context, the mountain roads become more than just roads:

• Dawo Cultural and Ecological Park: Preserves the “Chuanlong Canal” irrigation technique used by early Hakka settlers to divert water for farming—one of the few traditional water-management landscapes still in operation in Taiwan
• Mount Manapan Old Battlefield: The site of fierce fighting between the Atayal people and Japanese troops during the “Dahu Incident” in the Japanese colonial era. Interpretive signs near the trailhead are worth stopping to read in full
• Tai’an Hot Spring’s Dual Identity: Once a police outpost during the Japanese colonial period, today it is a hot spring resort town—soaking after the ride is this route’s hidden perk

Treat these spots as “reasons to stop,” pair them with Hakka lei cha and ban tiao as ride fuel, and this trip upgrades from mere exercise to a cultural ride with real depth.

Seasonal Strategy

December through March is strawberry season, when traffic and crowds peak—not recommended. The best riding windows are April to June (green scenery, little rain) and late November (maple colors, but start early to avoid crowds). Afternoon thunderstorms are common in the mountains.

Supplies and Hot Springs

Dahu’s town center has the most complete supply options. The Tai’an Hot Spring area has restaurants and bathhouses—soaking after the ride is this route’s hidden perk. Supplies are scarce along the mountain sections, so stock up fully.

Extensions: Two Hakka Town Through-Ride Combinations

The Dahu–Tai’an section can be extended outward to form a more complete Miaoli Hakka town through-ride. Pick one based on your fitness level:

• Deep Mountain Version (Advanced): From Tai’an toward Wenshui, connect to County Road 62 and head deeper into the mountains. Narrow roads, steep grades, and even scarcer supplies; total distance can stretch past 55 km with climbing exceeding 1,300 m. For those seeking quiet, hard roads
• Loop Version (Intermediate): Return to Dahu and take Provincial Highway 3 toward Zhuolan, passing grape and carambola orchards and the Da’an River terrace landscape, forming a roughly 60 km Hakka food loop with denser supply points and more even difficulty

A shared reminder for both: afternoon thunderstorms are frequent in the mountains, so set out early and return early; the farther into the mountains you go, the wider the gaps between supply points—bring extra water and food.

Extensions

You can head toward Wenshui and connect to County Road 62 to go deeper into the mountains, or return to Dahu and take Provincial Highway 3 toward Zhuolan to form a Hakka town through-ride.

Everyone knows Dahu’s strawberries, but few remember its mountain roads. The true hidden gem isn’t a place nobody goes—it’s a place everyone passes by without looking up.

Related Reading

• Miaoli Tai’an Hot Spring Mountain Routes: The Complete Climbing Training Guide for the Central Cross-Island Highway
• Miaoli Tongxiao to Nanzhuang Mountain Routes: The Complete Climbing Ride Guide to Hakka Mountain Towns
• Miaoli Touwu to Shitan Yimin Temple Route: A Mountain Riding Guide to Hakka Yimin Culture
• The Steep Slopes of Hakka Mountain Towns: Riding into Shitan, Encountering Xianshan