Hernando County High Point Trip Report
Date: December 13, 2002
Author: Gene Daniell
For the southern high point, leave I-75 at the US 98 exit and follow US 98 west (though this direction is
signed as nominal north) for about 7.6 miles, then turn left (south) on Griffin Road and follow it for about
2.5 miles, almost to a T intersection with CR 572. (Griffin Road is so signed at US 98, but it is not CR 572
as the DeLorme Atlas mistakenly advises.) (Griffin Road leaves US 98 0.6 mile east of a major intersection
where the truck route of US 98 diverges south, so it may be just as easy for people coming from the east to
drive to this intersection then come back east 0.6 mile.) There is a new building off Griffin Road in the high area,
not yet signed but evidently intended to become some sort of commercial establishment - unlikely to
prevent access to the high area, in fact it may provide convenient parking. The high point seems to be
behind (west of) an outbuilding.
For Chinsegut Hill, continue west to the junction of US 98 and US 41 near Brooksville (2.0 mile from
Griffin Road), then follow US 41 north about 4.2 miles to where CR 581 forks left. The road to the top of
Chinsegut Hill leaves left 0.3 mile up CR 581; take the right at a fork about halfway up the hill.
Since Chinsegut Hill is possibly the steepest cone in FL, rising at least 170 feet in a half-mile in all directions,
I decided to make the ascent on foot. I saw no "No Trespassing" signs (but for a number of reasons -
mainly inability to get my carcass moving in the morning - I was hiking after dark and might not have seen them,
though I did see a sign proclaiming the USF land a Heritage Site), and I was passed by several cars on their
way to the conference center without being accosted. You can drive essentially to the top and wander
around the small hotel on the summit area.