Jinshanling is the best, as it offers the best photography and it's normally devoid of tour buses. Only 125 km from Beijing.

Since I am pretty sure that you haven't hiked the entire Great Wall, proclaiming a single section to be "the best" strikes me as a bit over the top. Maybe just say Jinshanling is YOUR favorite thus far?

Jinshanling is the best... section to visit as a day trip from Beijing (as the majority of tourists go), ... as it offers the best photography and it's normally devoid of tour buses. Only 125 km from Beijing.

Sorry, should have been more clear.

We went to Huanghuacheng on Thursday morning. It was icy and I slipped (not too badly). But it was AMAZING. My calves are still sore (I didn't realize it would be so steep or I might have done some training for it ahead of time :p)

There were 2 other groups there when we were there - both Chinese families, one with small children. Nice to have it be so open!

Jinshanling to Simatai West hike - WOW!
 

Did the hike from Jinshanling to Simatai West on December 19th. It was a spectacular experience, with perfect winter weather! One of the absolute highlights of my travels worldwide so far.

You do need to be reasonably fit (endurance) and not too acrophobic, but it's not a huge physical challenge.

We basically had the entire section of the wall to ourselves. There were a few roving vendors at Jinshanling and at one or 2 points on the wall, selling drinks and trinkets. Otherwise, we saw a small group of local hikers at the starting point in Jinshanling (didn't encounter them again), and maybe 5-6 local visitors at the Simatai West access point at the end of the hike. Felt really sorry for the vendors actually, it looked like they were spending an entire cold day up there with no one buying.

We chose to go with the tour organized by the Beijing Downtown Backpackers hostel.

I liked certain aspects of the tour a lot:

- Group size of 10 (this can be larger in high season I'm sure) was ideal - small enough not to feel like cattle, but reassuring in such a desolate setting. These were all independent/sophisticated travelers from all over the (Western) world, so small talk was interesting and everyone was very well-behaved.

- The English-speaking guide accompanied us for approximately half the hike, and gave us very clear instructions on where to exit the wall and hike back down.

- It was no problem for the bus to drop us off along the way in Beijing at a subway stop with direct access back to our hotel.

However other aspects really went on my nerves:

- The tour left EXTREMELY early at 6:50am, supposedly because access to the wall at Simatai West closes early during the winter season. However, we took local roads instead of the expressway almost the entire way, lengthening the trip by about an hour! On the way back, the guide suggested taking the expressway for a much longer portion of the route to shorten the journey, but asked us all to pitch in for the toll :rolleyes: Considering this trip was not that cheap at approx. USD 50 per person, it would have made much more sense to just add the toll cost to the price, and use the expressways the entire way.

- We went to the hostel on the previous day to scope out the departure point. They made copies of our passports, but we didn't think to ask whether we could board anywhere else. As it turned out, there was another group boarding from a far more convenient location for us, approximately half an hour after the bus left the stop near the hostel - not really the hostel's fault I guess, but it would have been great if they had mentioned that the bus would be making other pickup stops that may have been more convenient.

- The bus interior was definitely not the newest, seats were completely worn out.

So while I can only say GO on that hike, a private guide or alternative tour operator may offer a better overall experience. Still one of the top days of my life!

I'm trying to figure out if Mutianyu is doable. I've got neurological/mobility problems, so this post is really helpful.

Can anyone tell me what the terrain is like from car park to ski lift entrance? Flat, sloped or steep? Paved, stone, or dirt?

TIA.

Steep walk, part ramp, part stairs. Plenty of spots to rest on the way to the lifts.

I'll be in Beijing for a short trip--3 full days in addition to arrival/departure days--in November.

It looks like an Uber from my hotel to Jinshanling will run about US$100, and to Mutianyu about half that.

So a few questions:
* Would mid-November be crazy busy at either section of the wall?
* Which of these would you recommend? Or perhaps another?
* Would Uber be a good way to go, or would I be better off on a tour? Or does anyone have info on reserving a driver for a day that might be similar cost to Uber?
* Is there a better day of the week to do this? I'll arrive on a Thursday afternoon, so I'd have Fri-Sat-Sun to choose from (while also wanting to do some touristy stuff in Beijing).

As for my hiking abilities, I think I'm in decent shape. I walk about 5-8 miles/day, usually with my dog. We'll go into a regional park near home that is mostly dirt trails (both single and 2-track). I swim with a masters group about 5 times a week, swam a 5k a few weeks ago (and doing a 3-day swim in mid-Oct).
Actually if anyone has info on swimming in/near Beijing, I'd love that too.

1. Aim to visit there on the Friday, if possible
2. Your fitness level appears to be better than most of us, so no worries there
3. Uber (China) might not exist in November, assuming the merger goes through on schedule, but finding a driver is pretty easy
4. Consider using Beijing Hikers (or similar); while I admit that their prices are steep these days, pretty much all of their hikes are more interesting than Simatai/Jingshanling

We hired a taxi through hotel for the day $100. Drove us and waited. 2nd time we hired English speaking driver for about same cost. I will try to find the name and post it later.

We used a driver through Mark Ma, +8613581553100 (seems like too many numbers). We had an english speaking driver for the day for about $100. It was nice to have someone to answer questions about what we saw along the way. Pick up and drop off at the hotel was seamless. You can link to him off tripadvisor. We were pleased with him, although he did try to direct us to eat at his friend's restaurant at the wall. We declined, which did not impact anything.

Wow, thank you for the info on Beijing Hikers! ^
Although they don't yet have their November schedule posted, they have some over the next month or so that I'm assuming would be pretty representative.

Here's one that struck me:
http://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in...eat-wall-spur/

And 420 RMB is about US$64, that doesn't sound too expensive, especially since it includes a meal.


I'll keep checking back, hopeful that there's at least 1 Great Wall hike over the days I'll be there.

When Beijing Hikers first started up, their prices for similar were ~150/person. At that price point, I plugged them without reservation.

At their current price points, 2 or more people would come out ahead by simply hiring a driver, and replicating their hikes (they provide detailed enough instructions to pull this off).

That having been said, following are reasons to keep them on your radar:
-their guides are not people who majored in tourism during college; rather, they are athletic types who will come to your rescue if you fall or get tired
-most of the GW sections they visit do not have formal entry fees, but do have neighbors who are fond of money; Beijing Hikers takes care of these folks behind the scenes
-in general, I despise group tours, but these guys are an exception to the rule

Ok, Beijing Hikers just released their November schedule, and there are 3 possibilities for Great Wall hikes while I'm there.
Anyone have any thoughts on these?

1. High Tower Loop Hike: http://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in...wer-loop-hike/

2. Hemp Village to Gubeikou Great Wall: http://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in...-great-wall-2/

3. Zhenbiancheng Great Wall Loop Hike: http://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in...all-loop-hike/

They're all listed as, "level 3+," and the cost is 400-450, so as far as all of that goes, I'd consider them about equal.

Based on the route descriptions, I'm leaning toward #2, but I'm open to any suggestions.

I would also go with #2, simply because I prefer A to B hikes v. loop hikes. That having been said, weather and schedule fit are far more important variables IMO (all 3 options seem really cool to me).