cycle.tw

East · Yilan: Yilan City, Luodong, Dongshan, Wujie and Zhuangwei

Yilan Lanyang Plain loop (Kavalan multi-route)

宜蘭濱海蘭陽平原多元路線（噶瑪蘭）

A 50.5 km official loop across the Lanyang Plain from TRA Yilan Station, mostly on river embankment paths past Luodong, Meihua Lake, Dongshan and the Zhuangwei coast, with about 17 km on roads.

Checked November 2026Paths close and change. Check the official source before you ride.

Length
50.5 kmSource and notes below
Route shape
Loop
Surface
Surface not stated
Traffic
Path with road sections
Level
Moderate
Riding time
About 3 h 35 min at an easy 14 km/h, not counting stops Estimate ride time
Families
Not a family ride
Climbing
Not measuredNo official figure, so none given
Start
TRA Yilan Station forecourt
Official mapDownload GPX (official line)Estimate ride time

The map loads here. Official map

Line: national cycling portal (MOTC), with its road types. Base map: National Land Surveying and Mapping Center.

Rest stops and stations along the official line

Rest stops

  • 冬山車站(兩鐵轉運站) (toilets, accessible toilet, drinking water, map board, first-aid kit, repairs, bike ramps at the station, bike rental)
  • 東港榕樹公園 (toilets, drinking water, food and drink)
  • 新南休閒農業園區 (toilets)
  • 羅東運動公園 (toilets, accessible toilet)
  • 親水公園 (toilets, accessible toilet, drinking water, map board, first-aid kit, repairs)
  • 宜蘭車站(兩鐵轉運站) (toilets, accessible toilet, drinking water, food and drink, map board, first-aid kit, repairs, information desk, bike ramps at the station)
  • 壯圍沙丘旅遊服務園區 (toilets, accessible toilet, drinking water, food and drink)
  • 7-11宜蘭凱旋門市 (toilets, accessible toilet, drinking water, food and drink)
  • 梅花湖風景區遊客中心 (toilets, accessible toilet, drinking water, food and drink)
  • 全家宜蘭縣府店 (toilets, drinking water, food and drink)

Train stations that take bikes

Listed by the national cycling portal (MOTC). Services and hours can change: treat these as a guide, not a guarantee.

About the lengthNational cycling portal (MOTC) multi-route 880301001000, 'Yilan coast and Lanyang Plain multi-route (Kavalan)': 50.50 km The portal's drawn main line measures about 51 km, which matches its stated 50.50 km. Some stretches are drawn twice (both sides of a road or bridge), so adding up every drawn stretch gives about 58 km; that larger figure is not the ride length. Yilan County describes the plain's bikeways separately (Dongshan River about 24 km, Lanyang River about 19.2 km, Luodong River about 6.5 km) and gives no length for this loop.

Why these labels

Traffic and path type: A mix, by the portal's per-stretch road types. Measured on its drawn line, about 34 km is shared walking and cycling path (mostly river embankments), under 1 km is bike-only (the Lanyang River crossing), about 8 km is a slow lane beside traffic and about 9 km is mixed traffic with no separation. The mixed-traffic parts are the streets from Yilan Station (about 1.3 km), the approach to Meihua Lake (about 1 km) and the coastal roads around Dongang Banyan Park and the Zhuangwei Sand Dune visitor area (about 6.5 km). The slow-lane parts are east of Dongshan Station (about 2.4 km) and between the National Center for Traditional Arts, the coast and Zhuangwei (about 5 km). Yilan County's 2024 notice closes the embankment tops of the Dongshan River (both banks), Luodong River (right bank) and Lanyang River (both banks) to cars and scooters.

Families: At 50 km with about 17 km on roads (9 km of it mixed traffic with no separation), the full loop is not a family ride. Families can use the embankment sections closed to cars, such as the Dongshan River, as shorter out-and-back rides.

The national cycling portal lists this as one of its official multi-routes (多元路線) for Yilan. It starts on the forecourt of TRA Yilan Station and loops around the Lanyang Plain, joining bikeways that Yilan County also describes one by one: the Lanyang River, the Luodong River, Meihua Lake, the Dongshan River and the coast near Zhuangwei.

From Yilan the line heads south to the Lanyang River and crosses it, then follows embankment paths past Luodong Sports Park to Meihua Lake, where the county says the 2.2 km lakeside road can be ridden or walked. It then runs east to Dongshan Station and north along the Dongshan River past the Dongshan River Water Park and the National Center for Traditional Arts, out to the coast at Dongang Banyan Park and the Zhuangwei Sand Dune visitor area, and back west along the Lanyang River to Yilan.

Most of the distance is on embankment tops that Yilan County closes to cars and scooters, but those paths are shared with walkers, and the stretches near Yilan Station, Meihua Lake and the coast are on roads with traffic. TRA stations at Yilan, Luodong and Dongshan, all on TRA's list for unbagged bikes, make it easy to shorten the loop.

Who it suits

Riders comfortable with a full day of flat riding and some road stretches, who want to link Yilan's river bikeways into one loop with train stations along the way. Skip it with young children or if you want to avoid traffic entirely.

The route

A ride plan, in order

  1. Yilan Station: about 1.3 km of town streets (mixed traffic), then a shared path south to the Lanyang River.
  2. Cross the Lanyang River on the stretch the portal marks bike-only, then follow embankment paths about 9 km past Luodong Sports Park toward Meihua Lake.
  3. Meihua Lake: about 1 km of road (mixed traffic) to the visitor center, then a shared path by the lake. The county gives the lakeside road as about 2.2 km.
  4. East on shared paths to Dongshan Station (a good place to start or stop by train), then about 2.4 km of slow lane.
  5. North along the Dongshan River past Dongshan River Water Park and the National Center for Traditional Arts.
  6. Slow lane toward the coast, then about 6.5 km of coastal roads (mixed traffic) via Dongang Banyan Park and the Zhuangwei Sand Dune visitor area.
  7. West along the Lanyang River on a shared path, then back north to Yilan Station.

Opening hours and closures

Opening hours and closuresNo hours for the paths themselves. Yilan County lists Meihua Lake scenic area hours of 09:00 to 17:30. After Typhoon 薔琵 (October 2026) the Northeast and Yilan Coast NSA reopened the Zhuangwei Sand Dune Ecological Park on 2026-10-25 with clean-up and works still under way, and kept the nearby Xinshui Bikeway closed until further notice (updated 2026-11-02). Check the NSA and county notices after storms.

Getting there without a car

  • Take a TRA train to Yilan Station. The portal puts the start on the station forecourt (Yixing Road Section 2 at Guangfu Road).
  • You can also join at Dongshan Station: the portal says to head southeast about 150 m along Zhonghua Road to the junction with Chengxing Street, where the route passes.

Bringing your own bike: TRA: a bike fully packed in a proper bike bag (no plastic or cloth bags; at most 150 cm long, and length plus width plus height at most 220 cm) can go on any train class; TRA may suspend this on long holidays. Unbagged bikes need a bike ticket on trains with bike capacity, between stations on TRA's list. Yilan, Luodong and Dongshan stations are on that list.

Renting a bike

Yilan County says Luodong Sports Park, Meihua Lake and Dongshan River Water Park have bike rental stations, and its Meihua Lake page says several rental shops operate beside the lake. The national portal lists bike rental at Dongshan Station. Shop names, prices and hours were not verified. YouBike's service area list does not include Yilan County.

Confirm hours, rates and availability directly with the provider. Cycle.tw does not take bookings.

Toilets, water and food

The portal's supply points along the loop: Yilan Station (toilets, accessible toilets, water, food, map, first aid, repair, information, ramps to the platforms), 7-Eleven Kaixuan and FamilyMart County Hall stores near Yilan (toilets, water, food), Meihua Lake Visitor Center (toilets, accessible toilets, water, food), Dongshan Station (toilets, accessible toilets, water, map, first aid, repair, platform ramps, bike rental), Dongshan River Water Park (toilets, accessible toilets, water, map, first aid, repair), Dongang Banyan Park (toilets, water, food), the Zhuangwei Sand Dune visitor area (toilets, accessible toilets, water, food) and Xinnan leisure farm area (toilets). The portal also lists Luodong Sports Park (toilets, accessible toilets).

Safety and conditions

  • About 9 km is mixed traffic with no separation, mostly on the coastal roads near Dongang and Zhuangwei and around Yilan Station. Ride single file and expect cars, scooters and farm vehicles.
  • The embankment paths are shared with walkers and joggers. Slow down near the parks at Luodong, Meihua Lake and the Dongshan River.
  • The plain and coast are open to wind and sun with long stretches between towns. Carry water, and check the CWA forecast and NSA notices after typhoons.
  • Wear a properly fitted helmet.
  • Check the Central Weather Administration forecast before you go. Heavy rain, typhoons and earthquakes close paths, river parks and roads, sometimes for weeks.
  • Wear a properly fitted bike helmet, whatever the law says for your bike.

When to go

Yilan County recommends spring and autumn for its bikeways and advises sun protection and water in summer.

Nearby and related

Emergency: 110 police, 119 fire and ambulance. From a mobile phone, 112 also reaches emergency services.

Sources

Checked November 2026 Next review due December 2026. Spotted a change on this route? Tell us

Printed from https://cycle.tw/routes/yilan-kavalan-multi-route/

More rides in East

  • East · Yilan

    Anong River Bikeway

    安農溪自行車道

    A flat riverside path along the Anong River in Sanxing, mostly bike-only with a few short road links, from Waiziwai Bridge upstream toward Tiansongpi; the portal gives 9.81 km.

    • Path with road sections
    • Easy
    • Surface not stated
    • Families: with care
    Length
    9.81 km
    Route shape
    One way
    Level
    Easy

  • East · Taitung

    Chishang Ring Bikeway and Brown Boulevard

    池上環鄉自行車道與伯朗大道

    Flat farm-road riding through the Chishang rice fields, about 29.8 km for the full ring route per ERV NSA, with plenty of rental shops listed in the township. These are shared farm roads, not a separated path.

    • Quieter roads, shared with vehicles
    • Easy
    • Paved
    • Families: with care
    Length
    29.8 km
    Route shape
    Loop
    Level
    Easy

  • East · Yilan

    Dezikou River Bikeway

    得子口溪自行車道

    A short, car-free embankment path along the Dezikou River from Provincial Highway 9 near Jiaoxi to the Zhu'an river mouth, through fish ponds and wetland farmland known for migratory birds in autumn and winter.

    • Shared walk and bike path
    • Easy
    • Surface not stated
    • Families: with care
    Length
    11.5 km
    Route shape
    Out and back
    Level
    Easy

Questions

Can I do only part of the Kavalan loop?

Yes. The loop passes TRA Yilan and Dongshan stations, both open to unbagged bikes, so you can ride one side and take the train back. The Dongshan River section is closed to cars and scooters by county notice.

Is the Kavalan loop separated from traffic?

Mostly but not entirely. About 34 km is shared walking and cycling path, but about 9 km is mixed traffic and about 8 km is a slow lane, mainly near Yilan Station, Meihua Lake, east of Dongshan and on the coast.