Mae Yao-Mae Sai Woodlot

Mae Yao-Mae Sai Woodlot is a reforestation plantation on the edge of Chiang Rai city, planted with native dipterocarp and teak by Thailand’s Forest Industry Organization (FIO). It’s free to walk, open-access, and low-key — closer to a working forestry demonstration site than a manicured park.

The woodlot combines two adjoining forest tracts, Mae Yao and Mae Sai, in Wiang subdistrict on the city’s outskirts. FIO lists it among the plantations it opens for visitors, alongside similar forest recreation sites it manages around the country, and keeps a dedicated phone line for enquiries (0 5360 7467). That’s a genuine, if modest, visitor offering — walking trails through replanted forest — rather than a designed attraction with paths, signage, or a visitor centre.

What’s on the ground is native tree cover that would otherwise have been logged out of northern Thailand decades ago: dipterocarp and teak, the species FIO’s reforestation program specifically targets in this region. The appeal is straightforward — shade, quiet, and a chance to see what a working forestry plantation looks like up close, rather than curated nature-trail infrastructure.

Watch out: There’s no signed opening-hours policy and no facilities to speak of — bring water, wear proper shoes for uneven forest paths, and treat it as a self-guided walk rather than a staffed attraction.

This suits travellers curious about Thailand’s state forestry program more than anyone chasing a classic Chiang Rai photo stop. For a fuller green-space experience in the city, Singha Park has tea plantations, bike trails, and a proper visitor setup, while Somdet Phra Srinagarindra Park is an easier, more central option for a short walk.