Deer Mountain Retreat is owned by the SDA church in Korea and many of the Korean churches use the facilities there. There is not an English Speaking Church meeting there regularly, however it is one of the two places where English Camp Meetings are held on an almost yearly basis. The retreat is located in the beautiful Korean countryside.
The closest train station is Cheongpyeong on the Gyeongchun Line heading to Chuncheon.
Below is detailed three ways to get to Deer Mountain.
a. Cheongpyeong Station to Deer Mountain by taxi.
b. Cheongpyeong Station to Deer Mountain by bus.
c. Seoul to Deer Mountain by bus.
A. Cheongpyeong Station to Deer Mountain by Taxi
1. Head out of CheongPyeong Station via exit 1.
2. Walk straight ahead and join the end of the queue waiting for a taxi. The end of the line is at the left of the taxi stand when standing with your back to the station. You can jump in a taxi when you get to the head of the line at the right hand end of the taxi stand.
3. Tell the driver you want to go to
사슴의동산
If you don't read Korean you can try to say "sah - sim - ew - ee - dorng - sun" or you can just show the driver the name. ^^
This is the sign on the gate of Deer Mountain, it may help to show this to the driver.
The trip should take about 10 minutes and cost approximately 8,500 won, definitely not more than 10,000 won. The taxi will go past the bus stop where people who take the bus route start walking, so feel free to look at the pictures below if you want.
B. Cheongpyeong Station to Deer Mountain by Bus.
1. Come out of Cheongpyeong Station via exit 2.
2. You will see a bus stop outside the station. This is NOT your stop.
3. Cross the road and go to this stop.
4. Here is the bus timetable that is on the bus stop. According to Google Maps you can catch bus numbers 31-3, 31-4, 31-7, 31-17. However be warned, the buses are not very regular and the bus stop where you get off is not very obvious.
4. Getting off the bus. The trip will take 10 to 20 minutes and the only indication of the stop is this sign.
Here are some pics of the view around the bus stop.
Looking ahead.
To the left.
To the right - an a little bit backwards.
5. Once off the bus continue walking in the direction that the bus was traveling in. You are heading towards the underpass that goes under the highway on the right. The walk from the bus stop to Deer Mountain is about 10 minutes at a strolling pace.
6. Walk through the underpass.
7. On the other side of the underpass turn to the left.
8. Continue until you come to a branch in the road.
9. Take the right hand branch.
10. Follow this road to the end...
Where the road turns into the Deer Mountain driveway.
The view as you come over the top of the hill and down the other side - it is a very small hill.
Camping sites on your right.
Welcome to Deer Mountain. 😄
C. Seoul to Deer Mountain by Bus.
There are two RED buses that start from Cheongnyangni Station and go past Deer Mountain.
a. The first is 1330-44 which runs once an hour.
b. The second is 1330-4 which runs every 30 minutes.
You can catch either of them just outside exit 4 at Cheongnyangni Station,
OR, you can also catch either of them at the bus stop at the intersection by Seoul Main Language Institute (Sahmyook Byeongwon Sagorie). You want to catch the bus that is going in the Sangbong/Mangu (Costco) direction.
Obviously there are lots of other stops where you could catch these buses, but you can research those for yourselves.
The route is pretty much the same for both buses and you get off at the same stop as the people who take option B above. (The bus from Cheongpyeong Station.) So scroll up and read those directions carefully. It is probably a good idea to tell the driver where you want to get off because the stop is not at all obvious. The entire trip will take around an hour and 45 minutes, give or take a bunch depending on traffic.
Below is further information in Korean if you're interested.
