2023-05-15: Campbell Hill

Ohio: State High Point 25/50. Elevation 1549'.

I left Indiana's Hoosier Hill a little after noon and immediately began heading east towards my next destination in my three-day highpointing road trip. The high points of Ohio and Indiana are less than two hours away from each other, unusually close for the flat midwest states, and the route I took between them was all backroads, giving me an excellent look at the real Ohio outside of the interstate. I crossed the border only a few minutes after leaving Hoosier Hill, and stopped for a contingency picture to document my first time in the state. Ohio has long held a slight interest for me as the closest state to New York I had never visited, but on this trip I changed that (the new record holder is Michigan).

Flat cornfields and big open skies were most or less what I expected of Ohio.

The highest point in Ohio, Campbell Hill, is probably one of the least exciting state high points, competing only with Delaware's Ebright Azimuth in sheer boringness. A vaguely noticeable hill on the flat landscape, the summit is located in a very built-up area in the town of Bellefontaine, to the northwest of Columbus. The exact highpoint is on the campus of a vocational high school, and shares a parking lot with a military radar station, so access is limited to business hours. 

Thankfully, businesses tend to be open on Mondays. After a few hours of travelling flat backroads and still failing to find food (now going over 24 hours without a proper meal), I arrived at the highpoint's base. There are two entrances to the high school; the west entrance largely bypasses the school itself and heads directly to the highpoint, but the GPS took me to the east entrance at first. I would recommend using the west one as long as it's open. The parking directly at the top is actually for the radar station, accompanied by all sorts of signage warning about guards and military escorts and the like. The parking for the highpoint is stuck between two aerodromes on the north side of the hill and parking lot.

Signage at the 'trailhead' (edge of the parking lot) curiously forbids sledding down Campbell Hill.

Historical plaque at the summit describes some of the area's history.

A wide view of the summit area, with the flag and bench overlooking the high school in the background.

The view from the top of Ohio isn't the most awe-inspiring vista I've seen but a highpoint is a highpoint.

I stayed at the top of the hill for a few minutes, eager to continue my trip yet wanting to appreciate the state highpoint. I knew it would be some time before I reached the top of another state, and with this at #25, I was halfway done with the states, something that seemed like a fairly notable achievement. That said, the summit was somewhat boring in my opinion, and after taking some pictures and appreciating the moment for awhile, I was back on my way home.

Campbell Hill OH, state high point 25/50. Elevation 1549'.

A view of the various structures at the summit, looking west towards the military installation.

USGS summit marker embedded in concrete at the top. Of the five highpoints reached on this trip, only Ohio and Arkansas had official markers.

My next stop wouldn't be until later that afternoon at Brandywine Falls, just southeast of Cleveland. At 86' high, Brandywine Falls is the highest waterfall in the state, as well as the centerpiece of Cuyahoga Valley National Park, one of several national parks in the eastern US created in the past few years. This had been on my eye for quite some time and, while the park as a whole definitely warrants a full day, the waterfall could be reached in a quick stop on the journey home.

A view of the impressive Brandywine Falls from the main overlook.

Looking down on a mossy cascade lower in the falls.

The colorful eroded bedrock stands out in this shot from a second overlook above the falls.

From here, it was a straight, eight-hour shot back to home - in theory. I had an optional final goal in mind, however: the westernmost point in New York. I had visited the northernmost point, on Barnhart Island, back in 2020, the same year I first climbed the highest point, Mount Marcy (also my first state highpoint). In the interest of collecting more mundane extreme points, I pulled off the interstate just near the border and drove up to Route 5, which runs along the shore of Lake Erie. The westernmost 'point' of New York is technically along its straight vertical 19-mile border with Pennsylvania, so I decided to pick the northernmost road crossing along that border as the west point.

The welcome sign at the western border along Route 5 in the town of Ripley.

Lake Erie is visible over this field, the first time I had seen it in person. At the shore is the northernmost point in PA; I was on the phone at the time so I figured I'd leave trespassing and bushwhacking for another time.

Westernmost point in New York. Ripley NY, 79°45'43" W.

An expansive vineyard grows on the PA side of the border. This region is famous for its vineyards and wineries.

Sunset over Chautauqua Lake, seen from a surprisingly scenic rest area along I-86.

Despite my exhaustion after three days of highpointing, I took the 'long way' via I-86 and I-88 to get home, adding an hour to my trip and avoiding significant tolls on I-90. This was the route I used to take when I went to college in western NY which was interesting to drive again for the first time in years. Audrey stayed on the phone with me until I got home a little after 2 AM, keeping me awake and alert enough to get home safe. My trip safely over and my highpointing challenge halfway done, I slept very well that night.