Morgan County High Point Trip Report
Date: November 6, 2000
Author: Mike Schwartz
Take US 522 about four miles north of the state line, and turn left into the well marked Cacapon State
Park. Zero the odometer. Once in the park, bear left twice, following signs to Cacapon Mountain
Overlook. At 0.9 miles, bear left at sign for the Overlook, pass through a gate just uphill, and drive a
decent gravel road to the crest. After 4 1/2 miles, the road approaches the two microwave towers shown
on the topo, and curves around to the right, heading north. About 0.2 to 0.3 miles north, look for BM
Ridge on the crest just to the left of the road. It's on a clump of white boulders, marked by a cairn clearly
visible from the road at this time of the year. In foliage season, a little exploring might be required to find
the cairn. All the ground to the north is lower, so BM Ridge (actually the boulders nearby) mark the
county high point.
Drive another 0.3 miles north to an overlook on the right, with lovely views to the east. Ho-hum, another
drive-up. Not exactly. The gate at 1.0 miles was locked and signed "closed for the season, mountain
overlook 4.5 miles." At 45 minutes before sunset, too long a hike. I drove to Park Headquarters, and
literally begged the amused rangers for the gate key and permission to drive to the summit. Desperation
worked, and they sent me over to the lodge, that looked like a great place to stay, to sign out the key.
Only provisos were to lock the gate behind me and be careful. The gate is closed from October 1 to
Memorial Day, initially for the fall fire season, and then for the winter.