Highpoint #1: West Virginia

Sign Proclaiming Highpoint of West Virginia

With the highpoint in Washington D.C. squared away, I was eager to set out on a road trip and go after a genuine state highpoint.  Geographically, D.C. is located within a few hours drive of no less than 4 highpoints (DE, WV, MD, and PA).  Calculating the distances, I settled on a combo trip that would include the highpoints of WV and MD in the same day.  This is a pretty reasonable duo, in fact, since one has to park in WV to reach the highpoint in MD, but more on that in separate blog post. 

Observation Tower

The highpoint of West Virginia is Spruce Knob, which comes in at an impressive (for the east) 4,863 feet.  It is located in a very scenic area of the state, just down the road from the famous Seneca Rocks, a popular retreat for rock climbers.  It is a fortunate fact that Spruce Knob is at a higher elevation than the Seneca Rocks since the latter’s peak is only accessible by technical rock climbing.  Indeed, Spruce Knob is at the other end of the spectrum in terms of difficulty.  To reach the summit, you can simply drive your car to the top.  It’s a family friendly destination, in that regard. 

View from the top of the Observation Tower

The road to the top is a very windy and steep affair extending for several miles, but the views from the top are well worth the effort.  The road culminates in a parking lot, and there is a sign nearby proclaiming the highest point.  There is a man-made observation tower that lies 900 feet beyond the sign, further uphill.  Along the way though, be sure not to miss the actual USGS marker for the highpoint, which is inconspicuously placed in the ground.  The stone tower is fairly large and has two levels.  The upper level boasts a beautiful panoramic view of mountains all around.  The view is striking in every direction!  It really is a gorgeous place to be, and one does not have to work very hard to get there.  Better yet, at the base of the observation tower, there is a sign for the “Whispering Spruce Trail” which allows you to hike a very short loop back to parking lot.  It is a very easy, well-graded path that commands impressive views at every turn. 

USGS Marker

Overall, Spruce Knob was a lot of fun to visit.  The only advice I would give to the would-be goer is to print out the directions in advance.  There were large swaths of West Virginia where I could not get a cell phone signal, so any last minute routing with the phone’s GPS may very well not be a possibility.  

Whispering Spruce Trail

View of the Trail

View along the Trail