Is there anyone with experience regarding Taiping Mountain in Yilan county?
I’d really love to know during which months it would be more likely to avoid foggy weather at the top!
Best time is the fall. But there is always a good chance of fog and rain in the Yilan mountains at any time of year. I would watch for typhoons forming in the Philippines from June on and try to time your ride for days before the typhoon comes. Those days are always sunny, bright, and dry.
also, people can have different definition of best… some consider this a great time to climb Taiping mountain
Last year around this period I went to HeHuan Shan and the weather was amazing. A bit on the cold side, but no fog and clear skies.
I’ve tried to look for some info from fellow cyclists who climbed the mountain and wrote a report for their blog, and they all found fog above 1000/1500 meters.
For me the “BEST” situation would be to avoid the fog at all, I don’t really care about the cold temperature.
Just a couple of weeks ago I went on a small trip with my wife to MeiHua lake (on the way to TaiPing mountain) and looking in direction of TP mountain I could clearly see a lot of fog 
Luckily I don’t need to worry a lot about planning because I live in LuoDong, but the weather I’ve experienced since I moved here has been sapping my spirit: it always rains. Compared to my previous home (Taichung) it feels like moving from Rome to London.
It can be very nice this time of year down in the center and south. But Yilan is incredibly wet and foggy. Especially in the winter. You moved from the best weather in Taiwan to the worst. Yilan is even worse than Taipei. Sorry.
[quote=“Ibis2k12”]Last year around this period I went to HeHuan Shan and the weather was amazing. A bit on the cold side, but no fog and clear skies.
I’ve tried to look for some info from fellow cyclists who climbed the mountain and wrote a report for their blog, and they all found fog above 1000/1500 meters.
For me the “BEST” situation would be to avoid the fog at all, I don’t really care about the cold temperature.
Just a couple of weeks ago I went on a small trip with my wife to MeiHua lake (on the way to TaiPing mountain) and looking in direction of TP mountain I could clearly see a lot of fog 
Luckily I don’t need to worry a lot about planning because I live in LuoDong, but the weather I’ve experienced since I moved here has been sapping my spirit: it always rains. Compared to my previous home (Taichung) it feels like moving from Rome to London.[/quote]
fog in Taiwan’s mountain ranges just have to do with the weather. If it looks cloudy where you live, it’s gonna be foggy up in the mountains. Also, it really depend on what tiem to get to the mountains. On a clear day, the water in the air moves upward to become fog in the mountains around noon time.
So if you are not there in the mountains by 10, chances of you seeing nothing but fog is high. Unless you can beat the speed of it moving up and get to a higher place, then you’d get something like this:
These were taken 2 years ago on new year day somewhere between Miaoli and Taidong, it was drizzling all the way to the trail head. At first everything was just gray and foggy, can barely see your own fingers, then
About to get to the top of the fog
Almost out of the fog
Something holy is about to happen
This is about 10~11 AM. Then we sat then and ate our lunch, by 12:00 everything was gray again.
Are you sure? Yilan tends to be wetter in fall compared to summer. It’s different from Taipei.
As far as I can tell, Yilan is wet all the time. Summer and fall seem the same to me, but that is just my impression. Best to check rainfall figures. MM is probably right.
Living in Luodong, then you just need to be flexible. If it’s a nice day, and the next day forecast is also good, get up early and go for it. Leave at 6, you’d be at the foot of the climb by 7.30, and have a great morning of riding. The cloud may come in later, but you should be done by noon.
And if the weather comes in quickly, then you can always cancel and just loop back down the #51, east side of the Lanyang. Nice road (and hill included).
Taipingshan is still on my list too …
Yeah my impression so far has been the same: this area is just wet all the time
How’s the traffic in direction of Taiping mountain in the morning? Is it a quiet route? I’m still shocked by the conditions of the #9 past Suao, trucks and buses passing by like flies. I hope #7 will be quieter as I plan to go to Taroko park later on this year.
The traffic is not ideal but OK on the north side of the Lanyang River (7C). The earlier you go the less traffic there will be. It is much better than Suao to Xincheng. Personally, I would bag my bicycle and take the 7am bus from Luodong ( 1764) to the junction of 7 and 7A, ride up Taipingshan, and then ride back on the south side of the valley (Datong Industrial Road). This is longer and more hilly than the north side, but virtually no traffic and no trucks. Taiwan cycling at its best.