Tun Fuad Stephens Park, a popular park for joggers in Kota Kinabalu, is also a place to go for a short casual hike. The hill, called Bukit Padang, is located within the park area. There are multiple hiking trails to reach Bukit Padang peak.
While there are also other trailheads from the other side of the park, five of them are the official ones, which start within the park. (The above roadmap was taken during Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO), so the paths temporarily turned to one way direction to minimize close contacts)
Bukit Padang Trail 6
Just jog anti-clockwise along the trek and you will encounter Trail 6 first. It is the newest, longest, and my most favorite trail from Tun Fuad Stephens Park. I love the shady path that starts from the beginning till the last quarter part of the trail to the summit.
Just keep right on the split paths to stay on trail 6. Go left to switch to trail 5.
Trail 6 has some comfortable uphill that is fun and good enough to train your breathing technique.
Does this look like Twister Fries? Or am I just hungry?
Just before reaching the peak, there are these big rocks here, where you can enter to enjoy the view.
The view by the rocks. Some rocks were full of names and scribbles carved by visitors.
Bukit Padang Peak
Upon reaching the peak, there’s this hilltop pyramid structure. You can also find a cross further up a little bit.
Walk past the peak and you will reach a wide hilltop area with exercise equipment.
There’s the view of the city and the coast on the West side.
And the mountainous view on the East side.
You may spot the magnificent Mount Kinabalu in the distance.
Other Trails
During normal times, you may freely go up and down via any trails you like. During RMCO, however, trail 2 is the only way down.
If you run past the starting point of trail 6, you will encounter the starting points of trail 5 and 4.
Run further up, and you’ll find this bridge that crosses the lake (which was closed during RMCO).
Just behind the bridge, is trail 3, also known as Tangga Seribu (Thousand Stairs). For those who like to hike with steps, you can take this path.
Using this path, you will pass by the area where people practise Tai Chi.
Read about ‘The Killer Stairs’ in Bukit Gasing & Lambir Hills National Park
Tun Fuad Stephens Park Jogging Trek
Things you would see when jogging along the trek. The jogging trek is actually quite short, it is very possible to complete a circle in less than 15 minutes of running.
There was a mini water park with slides, which had stopped operating a long time ago.
At the end of the jogging trek, is a seafood restaurant on the lake.
At the exit around the parking area, there are stalls around selling fruits, vegetables and food, where I stumble upon this unique looking mini durians.
I was told that these are Dalit Durians, which are wild and can only be found in Borneo. They are very small and the taste is so good! Very sweet and fragrant with strong fermented-like aroma, yum!
*Captain Planet passing by* Remember, please take care of our environment, and please don’t destroy the Nature. Leave no trash behind and take back only photos and memories (and also some trash if you can). Walk on the designated path and stay in the middle as much as you can, so that the exposed soil doesn’t spread/corrode further. BE ONE WITH NATURE *flies away*
Have this guide helped you? Tag @meowtainpeople in your hiking stories & posts!
Affiliate Links to support this site:
Yay for transparency!: The links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a booking/purchase after clicking the links. I recommend only products and companies I use. Your support helps me keep the site going 🙂
Want to do the same affiliate marketing with your site? Use this AccessTrade platform link to receive RM5 reward.
