White Rock Lake Recreation Area: Here Comes the Strawberry Season in Neihu, Taipei

White Rock Lake Recreation Area (hereinafter referred to as the Recreation Area) is home to a dozen of strawberry farms that are opened to the general public, which are especially suitable for families, friends, and couples to spend time together. As a matter of fact, we paid a visit to the “Family” where there is an observatory deck on the opposite side providing a birds-eye-view on Taipei 101. With parking spaces made available both in front of the store and on the roadside, it is truly a blessing for visitors who choose to drive a car.
The strawberry farm owner Mr. Kuo introduces a natural farming method that he applies to his strawberry farm. Since no pesticides are applied to the strawberry farm during the entire course of strawberry cultivation, the general public may set their minds at ease when picking strawberries in his farm. In particular, the strawberry farm also boasts some special designs such as vertical farming methods so that the visitors need not squat down when they pick the strawberries; wide aisle between strawberry beds so that the visitors can pass by each other easily; plastic pavement so that the visitors won’t get mud all over their sneakers and the ladies may even wear high-heels when they pick the strawberries in the strawberry farm.

With kiln baked pizza gaining popularity over the years, the farm owner built a kiln right next to the strawberry farm to provide visitors with one more option for their launches. If you want to bake one pizza for yourself, you may make a group reservation of more than 10 persons to Family in advance. As a matter of fact, Mayor Ko once made a kiln baked pizza for himself during his visit to the White Rock Lake Recreation Area.

In the “Farmer’s Rest Station” of White Rock Lake Recreation Area, you may find a seasonal limited meal called strawberry salad wraps made from freshly-picked strawberries and seasonal vegetables. Each bite of strawberry salad wrap will bring you the freshness of vegetables and the sweet & sour taste of strawberries with a crunchy texture. Based on the principle of “farm-to-table”, the food ingredients come from the farm at the back to which the organic farming methods are applied. Without any pesticide further added, the natural farming method is the best presentation of carbon footprint reduction.

Aside from the strawberry vegetable wraps, the colorful glutinous rice dumplings are also popular among the tourists. A pot of colorful glutinous rice dumplings resembles pieces of dreamlike colorful puzzle with blue for Asian pigeonwings, black for sesame, purple for pitaya, pink for taro, and orange for carrot. Each color comes from the color of the natural food ingredients without any artificial coloring further added so that the visitors are able to eat healthy with great fun. Highly recommended, you must give it a try.

Located halfway up to the mountain top, the White Rock Lake Recreation Area is a place where you can walk along the Bishan Road while looking far into the distance at Taipei 101. To find a better view, you may walk for another 10 minutes to the dragon boat rock where you can gain a birds-eye-view on the entire Neihu District including Songshan Airport, sunset, and the night view.
The dragon boat rock is huge white sandstone to which you can apply some photography skills of forced perspectives to create some photos that make others feel that you’re climbing the rock single-handed. It is a scenic spot worthy of your visiting and punch-in on your mobile devices.

While taking a leisure walk in the White Rock Lake, make sure not to leave out some famous scenic spots. To begin with, the White Rock Lake Suspension Bridge is the first stop that you must pass through to gain access to the recreation area. Connecting the parking space and other stores at the recreation area, the suspension bridge saves the tourists from the trouble of traveling through the mountainous landscape. After passing through the suspension bridge, you will arrive at the Houhu Wetland which is home to many animal species and among the most popular scenic spots that couples love to take photos together.

If you want to travel with ease, you may take into account some package tours provided by the local stores. Through the guided tour, you’re introduced to the natural ecology, humanistic cultures, and historical relics of White Rock Lake Recreation Area. You will also pass through the spring & autumn walkway to visit some scenic spots such as Houhu Wetland and Couple Tree along the way. Afterward, you may pick some strawberries on the strawberry farm or enjoy some vegan diet at the Farmer’s Rest Station. A half day tour to the White Rock Lake Recreation Area saves you from the trouble of scheduling your own itineraries.

Run by the second generation of business operators, Farmhouse Café is such a popular restaurant that a seat is hard to come by on holidays. You may choose to enjoy your meals outdoors and look far into the distance at the green mountain. There are also fun facilities in the restaurant so that the family can spend a good time together.
In particular, the restaurant offers pasta that is significantly different from the regular pasta sold on the market. By adding natural food ingredients to the pasta, the restaurant develops pasta with green noodles made from spinach and pasta with yellow noodles made from pumpkin, which are smooth in texture and natural in flavor.

Located in the Bishanyan Temple of Neihu District, Taipei City, White Rock Lake is one of the suburban countryside of Taipei Metropolitan Area. Compose of white quartz sandstone, the geology here also includes stream flow and different species of fish clustering together and that is the reason why people call it White Rock Lake. In 2016, the White Rock Lake Recreation Area is established to include several strawberry farms and local restaurants which are not only suitable for a weekend jaunt on holidays but also a place where organic farming education is provided.
Halfway up to the mountain top is a place where many people admire the beauty of Taipei Basin while hiking along the way. After taking the bus at Neihu metro station at the foot of the mountain, it only takes 15 minutes for the minibus number 2 to travel from the metro to the bottom of the Bishan Road before passing by many stores within the recreation area. During the holiday when the traffic is busy, you are recommended to take public transportation with greater convenience. If you choose to drive a car, you may park your car in front of the temple before passing the suspension bridge to gain access to the stores in the recreation area.

Address: No. 58-1, Bishan Rd., Neihu Dist., Taipei City, Taiwan (R.O.C.) (where you can park your car at the roadside close to the strawberry farm at the end of Bishan Road)
TEL: 0933-880679 Mr. Kuo
FB: https://www.facebook.com/StrawberryFarmer
Business Hours: 11:00 AM to 18:00 PM on holidays and reservation in advance on weekdays.

Address: No. 43-2, Bishan Rd., Neihu Dist., Taipei City, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
TEL: 0928-206900
FB: https://www.facebook.com/農驛棧-781372481930047

Address: No. 38, Bishan Rd., Neihu Dist., Taipei City, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
TEL: 0975-638765
FB: https://www.facebook.com/martinfarmes
Official Website: http://white-stoness.org/Page/Home/Index.aspx