Ohio

Ohio

On the summit

Cambell Hill, 1,549ft

Date climbed: Nov 23, 2007 9:25am

“Can you boys breathe up there? Did you remember to bring your oxygen masks?” our Grandma Wright asked over the phone with a giggle. She was joking, of course. We were calling her from the top of Campbell Hill, the highest point in Ohio. At 1,549 feet it obviously isn’t high enough to require oxygen but still the view that you get from the nice little summit park is, well, the best in the whole state!

Have you ever noticed that, on many US road atlases, the highest point in each state is labeled? All the way from Denali to Britton Hill, the cartographers are nice enough to place a little black triangle and label on the state high points just to add a bit of trivia to their maps. On our many visits to Columbus, Ohio for Thanksgiving each year Eric and I noticed that the highest point in the state of Ohio wasn’t all that far from Columbus. At sixty miles, it still seemed like a long drive to us, but over the years, as our high-point driving distance threshold diminished, Campbell Hill began to seem within the realm of possibilities.

On the summit

On Thanksgiving Day 2007 we asked our dad if he would be up for the long drive, and he enthusiastically said yes. The three of us set out on our little adventure at 8am the next morning and headed northwest. Forty-five miles later we passed by Mad River Mountain, one of the few ski slopes in Ohio, and knew we were getting into the high country. Central Ohio had just gotten some snow so we really felt like we were driving into the mountains.

Campbell Hill began to grow in the distance. We turned northeast and were pleasantly surprised to find that the gate to the Ohio Hi-Point Career Center was open. We parked in the lot and after a quick walk soon found ourselves on the roof of the Buckeye State. Campbell Hill is actually contained within the Hi-Point Career Center, but they’re nice enough to open the gates from Monday through Friday for highpointers like us.

We were pleased to see that Ohio is proud of its high point. At the top there’s a very nice plaque, signs, bench, and an excellent view. Our little adventure to Campbell Hill began a day-after-Thanksgiving highpointing tradition that next year would see us on top of the highest point in Indiana.