Over the 2022 Chuseok holiday, my family opted for something other than Gangwando. I love this location. Geosan is in North Chungcheong Province but is still very much a part of the mountain range that dominates Gangwan Province. You get slightly smaller mountains; however you still get cooler temps due to the elevation. There are hiking trails galore. Every valley had well established trail heads. There are plenty of family friendly hikes too. Here is a link to the hotel’s website.
The hotel was recently renovated and reopened during the time of covid. It is a smaller facility, but the staff is super attentive and everything was clean and well maintained. The restaurant is nice, although because of low traffic you need to make a reservation prior to being seated. During the weekdays and non holiday times they offer breakfast, which consisted of Haejang gook, a spicy beef stew, or a western style scrambled egg option. I opted for the gook. With that being said, don’t be afraid to try out some of the local restaurants near by the hotel. They cater to hikers and you will certainly get an authentic Korean meal. All the places we visited were cash only.
This region offers many options for fishing. I was able to get out twice. The first day I went to a deeper highland style reservoir that is know for being a decent bass spot, Gyeongcheon Lake. Not to be confused with Gyeongcheon Reservoir. The lake is long, with several prominent inflows. toward one end and a very enticing island. There is plenty of productive shoreline. I opted of the island and the deeper part of the lake. This was a mistake. The only fish I found were shallow. I definitely need to get back and explore some more.
The second spot I fished was Otae Reservoir. This one was loaded. Tons of small bass and bluegill. Access was tough as there is a lot of vegetation along the shore and all the good parking spots were occupied by carp anglers (who fish through out the night and will leave in the morning). Smaller streamers did the trick. There are plenty of other smaller reservoirs in the region worth checking out. Not to mention Chungju Lake- a well know bass mecca.