New Taipei Metropolitan Park 新北大都會公園

9/25/2023

New Taipei Metropolitan Park in Sanchong and Luzhou Districts is my favorite city park in northern Taiwan. It features long green grass fields, lots of sidewalks and places to rest, as well as rivers and ponds. It's a great place to ride a bike and exercise and relax if you are in the area.

Background:
New Taipei Metropolitan Park was first began work in 2008 and it is still undergoing improvements. Originally it's name was "Greater Taipei Metropolitan Park 大臺北都會公園" but its name changed to New Taipei Metropolitan Park 新北都會公園 in 2009 to differentiate it from Taipei City.
It sits on the Erchong Floodway, a flood overflow basin which began construction in 1987 and was finished in 1996. Before that, there were no levees here and Sanchong and the surrounding areas were prone to flooding every time a Typhoon hit, due to the rising of the Tamsui River. The area where the Erchong Floodway sits was once the direction that the Tamsui River flowed before this section silted in, diverting the flow of the river north.
The park is 7.5 km long, which includes wetlands, grasslands, basketball courts, baseball fields, tennis courts, slides, bicycle paths, and much more.

Price:
Free

Hours:
24/7

Tours and Activities:
You can book activities in Taipei on TripAdvisor here, Klook here, or KKday here.

Hotels in Taipei:
We have stayed at and recommend the Yuanshan Grand Hotel, once the tallest building in Taiwan and still the most grand (book on Booking.com here, Tripadvisor here, or Agoda here).
We have stayed at and also recommend Fu Chang Hotel in Ximending, which is within walking distance of Ximending shopping district (book on Booking.com here, Tripadvisor here, or Agoda here).
Looking for a hotel? We recommend booking through Booking.com here, which provides the best quality selection of accommodation in Taiwan.
Find out where to stay in our Taiwan hotels guide or search for the best hotel deals in Taiwan here.

How to get there:
By MRT: Take the purple line MRT to Sanchong Station. The station is inside the park. You can also book an MRT travel pass on Klook here.
By Car/Scooter: From central Taipei, take provincial highway 1 south to Sanchong, and do not cross the bridge toward Xinzhuang. There is plenty of parking on the side of the road near the levee.
Looking for scooter rental in Taipei? You can search on Klook here or KKday here to search for options. You can also check out our scooter rental guide here.
If you are looking for car rentals, you can also search Qeeq here, Klook here, or KKday here. You can also check out our car rental guide here.
By Bicycle: There are many Youbike stations nearby. Also there is a bicycle rental shop near the basketball courts. You can also bring your own bike. I highly recommend riding a bike here, it is safe and fun and there are tons of bike-friendly paths. You can search for rentals on KKday here, and search for tours on Klook here. You can also check out our Taiwan cycling guide here. You can also book a Sunset Riverside Bike Ride and Historical Tour, 4 Hour Cycling in Taipei, Ultimate 8-Hour Cycling City Tour, or Taipei City Bike Tour with Night Market Experience on TripAdvisor here.
For more information, check out our Taiwan transportation guide here.

Map:
Please see below:

Our Journey:

I have been to this park dozens of times. I lived in Sanchong for a short three weeks, and this was my favorite place in the town. Sanchong is a nice place but is mostly crowded and overdeveloped, so this park is a place to escape the hustle and bustle and enjoy wide open spaces.

Check out our drone video above for an overview of the area.

Or check out the 360 degree spherical panorama above.

You can also check out the time-lapse video above of me riding my bike all the way around Sanchong and Luzhou. If you ride all around the park and come back down the Tamsui River, you will make a big circle. The ride takes about 2 hours or less.

View of the park from the levee.

These are walking paths, but bikes can also ride on them.

There is grass everyhwere, but when it rains the grass mainly turns into mud.

Slide area that was under construction in 2019.

Other finished slide area.

Pedestrian bridge that connects the MRT station to the rest of the park.

Opposite view of the park. Notice the giant wedding rings and "love" decorations. Do Taiwan lawmakers think that adding romantic decorations to parks will solve Taiwan's birth rate problems? Think again! They should replace them with playground equipment.

View looking toward Xinzhuang District to the south.

View to the east of the park.

Another view of the park.

View to the west, notice the raised MRT rail that runs along the park.

Tons of people at Taipei Metropolitan Park now that some new slides have been built - 2018.

Some people are sledding down the grass levee at Taipei Metropolitan park! I don't know where you'd get sleds on an island that doesn't snow. Pleas excuse the blurry photo. -2018.