Highpoint #0: Washington, D.C.

There is no set order in which to pursue each of the state highpoints, nor is there a recommended order for that matter.  For all but the skilled alpinists among us, it is probably a safer bet to NOT start with Mt. McKinley (Denali) in Alaska, but otherwise one is pretty free to choose how to go about this adventure.  I am inclined to begin with easier highpoints that do not involve a significant amount of travel at first, and then I will add in cost and complexity as the journey unfolds.  As for my very first highpointing adventure, where should I go?  Well, that’s easy – start with where I live!

Unfortunately, I live in Washington, D.C.  It is not a state, so, for the purposes of counting, this will be highpoint #0, and it will basically just serve as a warm-up for trips to come.  Washington, D.C. is fairly small and doesn’t have anything in the way of mountains, so this was seemingly a VERY easy highpoint to get started with.  Somehow though, I actually had some difficulties in summiting this one. 

First of all, I learned that it is important to do some research before you actually block out the day and jump in the car.  If the highpoint that you are in search of is not a “prominent peak”, you might have some difficulty finding it since it will not stand out in any remarkable way from the surrounding terrain.  Also, there are bureaucratic issues afoot in the case of Washington, D.C. since they actually MOVED the highpoint.  Well, sort of.  Everyone agrees that the highpoint is located in Fort Reno, which is a lovely park that is easily accessible by subway and car alike.  Several years ago, the highpoint was considered to be on the gated off plateau of ground that sits above all of the surrounding park, the plateau of ground where the D.C. Department of Transportation sits.  To claim the highpoint, you would simply walk up to the main gate, as you could not legally proceed any further as venturing beyond the gate would put you on private property.  However, it was later determined that this plateau of ground was actually man-made.  As such, it does not qualify as a “true” highpoint for the district.  Officially surveying the surrounding natural land, the Highpointer’s Club in conjunction with the National Park Service, determined that the real highpoint was “Point Reno” which is located near the Department of Transportation facility.  The city even marked it with an official round marker in the ground and had a special ceremony in 2007 to commemorate the occasion.  Point Reno rings in at a commanding, 409 feet!    

The Highpoint for Washington, D.C.

Okay, so if you actually want to summit this peak, don’t bother with that artificial plateau of ground; just proceed directly to the geographical marker instead.  That sounds simple enough, except I really had no idea where to find it.  On my first trip to Fort Reno, I went up and down every hill and hillock in sight and never saw it.  It started to rain, and my girlfriend was none to happy with this dubious use of time.  I decided to come back on another occasion.  I did just that, and I had just as much difficulty finding this geographical marker the second time around.  Where in the world was it?  I finally decided to have a seat on the lawn and pull up some trip accounts on the internet.  I found some photos taken near the actual site.  I tried to infer what I could from them, but I never did get a sense for where they were taken.  Then I saw a photo that showed the stage they use for the DC Summer Concert Series.  That’s funny, I am sitting right beside an oak tree looking at that very same stage.  That can’t be right.  If the photo was right, that would mean I am basically sitting on the highpoint.  Sure enough, I was less than 5 feet away from it.  The geographical marker is a SMALL disk less than the size of a human hand.  If the grass is a little high, you may very well miss it even if you are a few feet away.  Another lesson learned:  use a GPS if you can.  It will cut out a lot of unnecessary searching. 

Hopefully, a Helpful Map

So what is the easiest way to get to it?  Park on the north side of Chesapeake Street, just west of its intersection with Nebraska Avenue.  Walk across the sidewalk into Fort Reno Park.  You should see a small stage in front of you or to the right of you where they have the summer concerts.  Walk over to it.  Look northeast.  You should see a prominent tree on a small hillock.  To the left there will be a path which proceeds past the plateau where the D.C. DOT sets.  Walk to the tree.  From the tree, walk north about another 10 feet or so.  You should see the black disc in the ground nearby.  I have included photos for reference.  Enjoy!

View of Concert Stage from Highpoint