Hiking in Kennedy Town up High West

Table of Contents

From Urban Chaos to Mountain Top Chill Hike High West in Kennedy Town

Hiking in Kennedy Town up High West, is certainly not an easy task, but it is well worth the effort. Here is a quick preview of the reward that awaits you at the top of High West!

To escape the urban jungle and enter into the literal one, all you’ll have to do is climb the ~2,100 stairs up to the top of High West. By the time you summit this spectacular peak, you’ll be high above all the urban-churn, and you’ll be enjoying spectacular 360 degree views of the city below! If you can summit on a sunny day, the views are even more spectacular!

Fast hikers, plan on 1.5 hours round trip. Average hikers, plan on 2.5 hours. But no matter who you are, I guarantee you’ll love the views at the top! So, get on your hiking shoes, bring a bit of water, and get hiking! It all begins from Kennedy Town too, so Mt. High West is super accessible.

If you’d to go hiking in Kennedy Town up High West, but you’d like us to guide you, we LOVE sharing this gem of a hike with folks, so just click below, send us a message, and we’ll be back in touch with you shortly!

Want to read this post later? Pin it on your Pinterest board!

What You’ll Need

For this hike, all really need is some water, and you’ll be good to go! I really like the Hydro Flask water bottles*, as they’re sturdy, and best of all, insulated. If it’s hot, I put some ice in the bottle, and if it’s cold I’ll fill it with warm/hot water. Either way, don’t use a plastic disposable bottle. We and Mother Earth say thank you in advance! (If you’re keen to start living a little greener, check out our Living Greener Guide to Hong Kong or even Hong Kong’s first zero waste store!)

You can fill up your water bottles right here at this water bottle filling station.

Filtered, UV treated, and slightly chilled, this water bottle filling station is perfectly located at the base of Mount High West.

Where to Start Hiking up High West from Kennedy Town

This route, round trip is ~6.2km (3.85 mi), but it’s got quite a bit of elevation gain. If you’d like to see the route on Google Maps, check out the Mt. High West route map here.

Rock Hill Street is the starting point for hiking Mt. High West in Kennedy Town — The trail starts in Kennedy Town where Sands Street turns into Rock Hill Street. The pin in the photo is linked to Google Maps here.

The stairs at the beginning of Mt. High West in Kennedy Town — From that point, start heading up the large set of stairs. Don’t take the elevator, that’s cheating.

Kennedy Town to Pok Fu Lam Road (300 stairs to climb)

More stairs you'll encounter when hiking Mt. High West in Kennedy Town — Thereafter, keep climbing up and to the left. In other words, head up the stairs towards that purple wall.

You will encounter the Lo Pan Temple while Hiking in Kennedy Town up High West — Eventually, you’ll get to the Lo Pan Temple. Lo Pan is the patron saint of Chinese builders and contractors, so if you’re a tradesperson, pay your respects! Once you’re done, head up the stairs that snake around the back of the temple.

Pok Fu Lam Road is dangerous to cross when Hiking in Kennedy Town up High West — Keep climbing until you reach Pok Fu Lam Road. At the road, turn right, and walk for a minute or so.

Use the subway to get under Pok Fu Lam Road while hiking in Kennedy Town up High West — Make a hard right down into the subway, and cross under to the opposite side of Pok Fu Lam Road.

You will pass this Sinopec Gas Station while hiking in Kennedy Town up High West — If you’ve crossed correctly, you’ll end up in front of this Sinopec gas station.

Sinopec to the Paved Road (638 stairs to climb) – You’re Hiking up High West

300 down! About 1,800 more steps to go! We never said hiking in Kennedy Town up High West would be easy, but we promise you it’s massively rewarding!

There are still more stairs to do while hiking in Kennedy Town up High West — Just on the left side of the gas station you’ll see yet another set of stars. And indeed, you’ll head up those too.

This is a small rest area en route to Mt. High West — Once you reach the resting area with the gazebo, head up and to the right.

Turn right here when you hike Mt. High West in Kennedy Town — Once you reach this set of benches, again, head up and to the right.

Head up and to the left when you hike Mt. High West in Kennedy Town — Where the trail forks, head up and to the left.

Transition to the road here as you head up High West — Eventually, the trail turns into a paved road. If you’ve reached this point, you’re on the right track! Keep going. Soon the views of the city below are going to be AMAZING!

Enjoy this section without stairs — Keep walking up the road. And make sure to enjoy the veritable tunnel of jungle.

Not sure you wanna navigate this on your own? We’d be glad to guide you on this hike! Just click below, send us a message, and we’ll be back in touch with you shortly!

Turn left here to continue to hike Mt. High West in Kennedy Town — When you reach this junction, take a left. In doing so, you’ll be heading towards The Peak.

Turn Off From the Paved Road to the BBQ Sites (262 stairs to climb) – Keep Hiking up High West

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming… Or more practically speaking, if your legs are burning at this point, take a rest and enjoy the verdant jungle beauty!

We usually take the stairs when we hike Mt. High West in Kennedy Town — At this point you can continue up and to the left (via. the paved path), or you can head up and to the right via. more stairs. Both the paved path and the stairs end up in the same place. On this day, we preferred the stairs. Either way, both paths offer plenty of beautiful views.

You have two choices here if you want to hike Mt. High West in Kennedy Town — Head up these stone stairs!

Sign to Pinewood Battery along the hike up Mt. High West in Kennedy Town — The stairs take you to the historic Pinewood Battery as well as a nice barbecue site.

Enjoy the bamboo forest when you hike Mt. High West in Kennedy Town — Once you’re on this section of trail, you’ll immediately enter into a bamboo forest, so take some time to enjoy the gentle swishing calm of the softly rustling bamboo leaves. It’s splendidly magical!

The Pinewood Battery is a nice place to take a rest when you hike Mt. High West in Kennedy Town — Once you arrive at the Pinewood Battery, just head straight on through.

Hiking in Kennedy Town up High West — Eventually, you’ll reach this barbecue site. Walk straight through it, and head up the stairs towards The Peak via the Lung Fu Shan Fitness Trail.

Pass through this small playground — After a bit more time, you’ll get to the end of the stairs, and you’ll meet back up with the paved path. When you reach the paved path, take a right and keep heading uphill until you reach this point, the Hatton Road Public Toilet (not pictured). And then you guessed it, head up this small set of stairs. Hiking in Kennedy Town up High West will make you feel the burn, but don’t worry, the views at the top are WELL worth it!

Playground to the Summit (567 stairs to climb) – Final Push to the Summit of Mt. High West

Walk straight through the park to the Treacherous Trail — Walk straight through this little park/playground until you reach a small set of stairs going down. Head down those stairs, and continue to follow the path. At this point you will be on the Treacherous Trail.

Head straight here — Walk until you reach this open area, and then head up the set of stairs near the small white sign.

Views from the summit of Mt. High West in Kennedy Town are beautiful! — Eventually…you’ll reach the summit of Mt. High West!

This is where hiking in Kennedy Town up High West pays off majorly! More often than not, you’ll be rewarded with BEAUTIFUL views and a refreshingly stiff breeze! At this point, take a load off, congratulate yourself, and make sure to give your legs a rest before you head back down those 2,100 little buggers!

Again, if you’re keen for us to guide you up Mt. High West, give a click below, and let us know. We’ll get back to you ASAP!

So there ya have it! Hiking in Kennedy up High West is a great way to escape the city and get back into nature. If you’re looking for another Hong Kong Island based adventure, check out our Jardine’s Lookout hiking guide or our family friendly Hong Pak Trail hiking guide. If you’re looking to have an off the beaten path adventure in Hong Kong, consider hiking the Ng Tung Chai waterfalls up in the New Territories or even hiking Tai To Yan – The Dragon’s Back of the New Territories. And, whatever you do, if you have any questions, we’re always here to help. Just leave us a comment below, and we’ll be back to you in a flash. Happy hiking!

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Author ForSomethingMore

12 Comments

Norm 6 years ago Reply

Stairmasters!!! Looks like an awesome hike!!
- forsomethingmore 6 years ago Reply
  
  It’s one of our favorites! I sure wish you could do it with us 🙂
Amelie 6 years ago Reply

Hi there! Thanks for this blog post, I did this as a sunset wine hike yesterday and it was lovely. I was wondering if you know how long (how many meters or km) is this total track, from Kennedy Town to the top? I forgot to track it and I was hoping you guys did. Thanks in advance!
- forsomethingmore 6 years ago Reply
  
  Amelie,
  
  Thanks for your appreciation! I’ve just added a Google Map route for this hike. If you’d like to see it, the link is in the “Where to Start Hiking in Kennedy Town” section. In case you don’t want to look there, the route is ~6.2km (3.85 mi) round trip. Good question! Thanks for that 🙂 Happy hiking, and please let us know if you have any other questions. Cheers!
Jo 6 years ago Reply

Followed your step by step directions and pictures to get on top of mount high west. Thanks to you our unorganized trio made it to the top 🙂 I am a blogger too so I can tell when I see a good, informative blog – great job girl!
- forsomethingmore 6 years ago Reply
  
  Hi Jo,
  
  Thanks for the kind words! We are always trying our best to provide our readers the inspiration and information they need to craft their own off the beaten path adventure travel experiences, so I’m really pleased to hear you found our post on High West so informative 🙂 Have you thought about checking out Suicide Cliff or Razor’s Edge Ridge? They are both GREAT hikes, and you can find them in our Experiences tab in the Hong Kong section. Cheers!
Tonkin Voyage Travel 5 years ago Reply

Thanks so much for the great post! It looks amazing, but quite challenging for my family with two children. Keep up with your good work!
- forsomethingmore 5 years ago Reply
  
  Tonkin,
  
  Thank you for the kind words! High West is definitely a challenging one, but WELL DONE on making it up there with your family and two children! Impressive stuff! Let us know if you’re looking for other family-friendly adventures!
ruby 5 years ago Reply

hi i watched your hiking guide and liked the way that you suggest us to use the required things to bring before doing hiking.the thing is i would like to ask u about the drone that u have recommend to use is 899 hk dollar?u said order from.amazon.is it really good quality and durable m?
- forsomethingmore 5 years ago Reply
  
  Hi Ruby, thanks for the question! We love that drone. We have had it for about 9 months now, and so far it’s been VERY durable, very small (so it’s portable) and very high quality! If you have more questions send us an email at hello@forsomethingmore.com 🙂
Jo 4 years ago Reply

On one of your headings, “Kennedy Town to Pok Fu Lam Road (300 stairs to climb)”. Did you mean 300 steps or 300 stairs?
- forsomethingmore 4 years ago Reply
  
  Hi Jo,
  
  What we meant is that there are 300 stairs to climb. You could also say 300 steps, as we see those terms to be synonymous.