Riding a bike on Taipei's streets is not much fun. There are few bike lanes, the traffic is full of scooters, and riding on the sidewalk is only allowed where it is signed or marked. But the city has a second network most visitors never find. Its rivers run behind tall flood walls, and the parks between the walls and the water hold about 112 km of bike paths: flat, green and away from traffic. That is where to ride.
- Riverside bike paths About 112 km, run by Taipei's Hydraulic Engineering Office
- Rivers Keelung, Tamsui, Xindian, Jingmei and Shuangxi
- Bikes YouBike from an MRT station, or a riverside rental station from NT$40 an hour
- On the MRT NT$80 for you and your bike, weekends all day and some weekday hours
Getting onto the river paths
You reach the riverside parks through gaps in the flood wall: evacuation gates (疏散門) and ramps over the levee (越堤坡道). Most are at the end of a street that runs toward the river. The city's riverside map shows the gates, the paths and the rental stations: Taipei riverside map (Hydraulic Engineering Office).
YouBike docks sit just outside several gates, among them Dadaocheng Wharf, Guandu Wharf, the Gongguan Waterfront Plaza and the Tayou gate, so you can pick up a bike at an MRT station and ride straight in. → How to rent a YouBike
Good to know: when a typhoon or heavy rain is coming, the gates first switch to exit only and then close, and the parks shut until the water goes down. Planned path repairs are posted too. Check the live gate status or the Hydraulic Engineering Office news before a long ride.
Five rides worth doing
Guandu to Tamsui and the coast
The classic. From Guandu Wharf (關渡碼頭) the path follows the Tamsui River out of Taipei into New Taipei's Golden Waterfront bikeway (金色水岸自行車道), past Guandu Bridge, Zhuwei Wharf and the mangrove reserve to Tamsui Old Street, the ferry pier and Fisherman's Wharf. New Taipei puts the full bikeway at about 16.7 km to the North Coast. There is a rental station and a YouBike dock at Guandu Wharf.
- MRT: Guandu Station (Red Line, R25). With your own bike, ride home from Hongshulin (R27): Tamsui Station doesn't take bikes.
- Good for: a half day, sunset on the river, seafood in Tamsui at the end. → Day trip to Tamsui
Around Guandu: the temple and the wetlands
A shorter, easy loop. Taipei Travel's Guandu cycling route takes in Guandu Temple (關渡宮), the riverside park and Guandu Nature Park (關渡自然公園), a wetland for migratory birds. In early to mid November the riverside has a flower field.
- MRT: Guandu Station (Red Line, R25).
- Good for: an hour or two, birds, families.
Dadaocheng Wharf and the old town
Ride in through the Dadaocheng gate at the end of Minsheng West Road to Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕碼頭), with a rental station inside and a YouBike dock just outside. Head north along the Tamsui River, or lock up and walk to Dihua Street and the Xiahai City God Temple. The Blue Highway river boats from the wharf take bikes, to Guandu, Tamsui Fisherman's Wharf or Bali, so you can ride one way and float back.
- MRT: Daqiaotou (Orange Line, O12) or Beimen (Green Line, G13), then a walk or a YouBike to the wharf.
- Good for: sunset at the wharf, combining with Dadaocheng. → Dadaocheng
The Keelung River: Dajia, Meiti and Rainbow Bridge
The Keelung River has the longest paths in the city, about 47 km of them on both banks. Dajia Riverside Park (大佳河濱公園) on the south bank has a rental station and views of the Grand Hotel; Meiti on the north bank has painted flood walls and the Miramar Ferris wheel. Ride east along the river to Rainbow Bridge (彩虹橋), lit up after dark, and finish at Raohe Street Night Market.
- MRT: Dazhi Station (Brown Line, BR14) to walk in and rent; Songshan Station (Green Line, G19) at the Rainbow Bridge end. The Brown Line doesn't take bikes.
- Good for: an evening ride with dinner at the end. → Taipei's parks
The Xindian River toward Bitan
From Gongguan the paths follow the Xindian River south. On the New Taipei side, the route from Huajiang Bridge to Bitan (碧潭) is about 16 km, past riverside parks and over the Sunshine Bridge, which is for walkers and bikes. From October to March, Taipei Travel notes wild ducks and migratory birds along the river. The Gongguan Waterfront Plaza has a rental station and a YouBike dock.
- MRT: Gongguan (Green Line, G07) to start; Xindian (Green Line, G01) at the Bitan end.
- Good for: a longer ride ending at the river and the suspension bridge. → Bitan
Where to rent a bike
| Option | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|
| YouBike 2.0 | Starting from an MRT station, one-way rides | NT$10 per 30 minutes for the first 4 hours |
| YouBike 2.0E (electric) | Longer rides with less effort | NT$20 per 30 minutes for the first 2 hours |
| Riverside rental station | A sturdier bike, a tandem, a child's bike, a helmet | From NT$40 for the first hour (city bike) |
The city has nine riverside rental stations (河濱自行車租借站): Guandu, Dadaocheng, Dajia, Meiti, Jingfu (Guting), Muzha, Guanshan, Machangding and Rainbow. They open 08:00 to 21:00 with the last rental at 20:00, closing 12:00 to 14:00 on weekdays. Rainbow opens on weekends only. They rent city bikes, geared bikes, tandems, children's bikes and helmets, and ask for photo ID or a cash deposit (NT$2,000 or NT$6,000, depending on the bike). Foreign visitors can't return a bike to a different station, so plan a loop or an out-and-back.
Taking a bike on the MRT
- When: Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays from 06:00 to the end of service. Working days from 10:00 to 16:00 and from 22:00 to the end of service.
- Ticket: NT$80 for you and the bike, any distance. Buy it at the information counter and use the wide service gate.
- Where on the train: the first or last car only. Hold the bike the whole time.
- In the station: walk the bike. Use lifts, stairs or ramps, never the escalators.
- Stations that don't take bikes: the whole Wenhu (Brown) Line, Tamsui, Taipei Main Station, Zhongxiao Xinsheng, Zhongxiao Fuxing, Nanjing Fuxing and Daan.
- Folding bikes packed in a bag ride free at any time and any station, like luggage.
Rules worth knowing
- Lights are required at night.
- No phone in your hand while riding: it is a fine.
- No sidewalk riding unless the sidewalk is signed or marked for bikes, and then give way to people walking.
- Keep to the right where there is no bike lane.
- Helmets are not required by law for ordinary bikes. The riverside stations rent them if you want one.
- No riding after drinking: the fines start at NT$2,400.
→ YouBike · → Scooters and other ways to get around · → Getting around Taipei
Sources: Taipei Hydraulic Engineering Office riverside bike path network and riverside bike rental stations (open data, October 2026); Taipei Travel riverside bikeways, a cycling tour in Guandu and Dadaocheng Wharf; New Taipei City Tourism riverside bikeways; Taipei Metro travelling with bicycles; Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act, Articles 73 and 74. Checked October 2026.