Going to the Highest Point in Ohio

At 1,549 feet above sea level, Campbell Hill is the highest point in Ohio and is located about 60 miles northwest of Columbus.

Located on the grounds of a vocational-technical school, the Hi-Point Career Center in Bellefontaine, Ohio.

Named for Charles D. Campbell who owned the land from 1896 to 1937.

Once an Air Force Base

This hill was once home to the 664th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron of the United States Air Force and a part of North American Air Defense Command (NORAD).

Military personnel used radar and computer equipment to locate and identify aircraft as friendly or suspicious and relayed information to a central site in Battle Creek, Michigan.

This Cold War site was operated until 1969 and is now a civilian site for the school.

OUR TIME HERE

At the Highest Point in Ohio

Parking for the high point is at the back of the Hi-Point Career Center and up the hill. Here we found radar equipment from the former base along with markers for the high point among large trees. A picnic table is also available if you want to have a snack or lunch here.

Certificate for making it to the high point.

Recording Our High Point

You can open a drawer in a cabinet by the high point and inside is a notebook to sign which includes those who have come before. Notebooks like this are found at many other high points. I also found a certificate for making this high point that I helped my son fill out.

Hiking Up

To add some height to our walk. My son and I walked down the mowed hill to the bottom and ran back up.

Which is a good little hike and gives a sense of accomplishment.

The gas station is probably completed by the time I posted this. Bellefontaine's water tower is past the trees. — The gas station is probably completed by the time I posted this. Bellefontaine’s water tower is past the trees.

Views

The view from the top includes a convenience store in the distance and the former base operations.

Geological survey marker at the high point. — Geological survey marker at the high point

Final Thoughts

If you are driving from Columbus to Cleveland and have the time and want to bag a high point this is an easy one to do!

Hours

Since it is on the campus of the technical school the hours are 6:30 a.m. – 10 p.m., Monday- Friday, 6:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. If you want to visit on Sunday, you will have to make special arrangements by calling 937-599-3010.

If the main gate is closed, you can enter through the walk-in-only gate to the left of the main gate.

Another Claim to Fame

Also, in nearby Bellefontaine is the “Oldest Concrete Street in America 1891”, which is Court Avenue by the courthouse.

DETAILS

Drive: Take Interstate 55 out of St. Louis then exit onto Interstate 70 and go east to Ohio. Then exit onto U.S. Highway 68 to go north. In downtown, Bellefontaine you make a right onto E. Sandusky Avenue (Ohio Highway 540) and then look for the entrance to the Hi-Point Career Center on the right after crossing the overpass above U.S. Highway 33.

Address:

2280 OH-540, Bellefontaine, OH 43311

Piatt Castles (ANOTHER NEARBY ROADSIDE ATTRACTION)

The Piatt Castles, built by brothers Donn and Abram S. Piatt in the 1860s and 1870s, are two chateaux built in a Gothic design just east of West Liberty, Ohio. The castles are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Hours: Regular hours daily from 11 am – 4 pm, closes an hour later in the summer, check the website for more information.

Admission:
Single Castle: Adult $15, Youth (age 5-15) $9, Senior (age 65+) / AAA: $13

Both Castles (Combination Ticket) Adult $25, Youth (age 5-15) $15, Senior (age 65+) / AAA: $20

Address: 10051 Township Rd 47, West Liberty, OH 43357

MORE HIGH POINTS

My son Andrew at the high point in Indiana

Throwback Highest Point: Rhode Island

*My son Andrew when he was two on top of the rock at Jerimoth Hill in Rhode Island. He was picking up the sign-in paper for all those who made it at elevation 812 feet.*

We’ve gone to some of the other high points including Jerimoth Hill in Rhode Island. I did this with my son when he was a toddler and we were out on the East Coast.

Address:

Jerimoth Hill, Foster, RI 02825

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