Late autumn hiking with kids in Jinshan, a colorful fairy tale in the mountains and fields

Outdoors is my spiritual sanctuary
🍑Autumn in Shijiazhuang is short but passionate. On weekends, I take the kids to escape the city and dive into the embrace of Jinshan in Jingxing. There are no crowds like at Xiantai Mountain here, only mountain paths dyed red by torch trees and the blue waves of Zhanghewan Reservoir. Even the kids kept exclaiming, "It feels like walking into a cartoon!"

📍Destination: Jinshan, Jingxing (less known but full of surprises!)

🚘Transportation: 80 km from downtown, about 2 hours by car, no highway needed, winding mountain roads friendly for new drivers.

🍁Family-friendly route:

Buy tickets at the visitor center → take an electric shuttle for 5 minutes to the trailhead (can drive in if few people) → Kongcui Valley (clear creek, kids can play with water guns) → Lingtan Shuyu (check in at the waterfall background) → Eighth Route Army Command Post (tell a little red story) → Lanke Terrace (rest and snack) → Suspension bridge section (highlight! Best spot to overlook red leaves, super dreamy for photos)

💡Tips: The whole loop takes about 5 hours, but with kids you can go slowly in sections. We took 6 hours playing along the way; the kids collected leaves for collages and counted persimmon cakes, never once complaining about being tired!

👍Reasons to recommend:

Zhangshiyan landform + red mountains and clear waters, the autumn colors have amazing layers;

Few people and quiet, kids can run freely;

The suspension bridge and Furong Village sections have wide views, with red leaves and sea of clouds in the same frame.

👎Notes:

The cloud ladder is steep, recommended for kids over 5 years old;

No convenience stores along the way, bring enough water and energy bars;

Many steps going down, make sure kids wear non-slip shoes!

🌈Unexpected gain:

On the way down, we passed the Shizhuang river beach and saw stalls drying persimmon cakes, a golden sea. The kids saw "drying autumn" for the first time, excitedly imitating villagers flipping persimmon cakes, and kept saying on the way back that they wanted to draw it in their diary~

💓A note to parents:

Autumn nature is the best classroom. Instead of worrying about the destination, just take the kids out. In our hiking team, the kids searched for pine cones and chased light and shadows together. That pure joy is something screens can’t give.