Black Mountain, Kentucky 4,145 feet

Climbed 9/06/2015

Like so many state highpoints, Black Mountain in Kentucky is right on the edge of the state. It's no more than a few hundred yards from the border with Virginia.

The green sign marks the location of Black Mountain, the highpoint.

We entered Kentucky following the twisty Highway 160 up from the town Appalachia, VA. Immediately after the Welcome to Kentucky sign, we turned off onto a (previously paved but now mostly gravel) road that lead up to the summit area, which is owned by one of the local cable companies. We drove carefully up to an area just below the high-voltage towers at the top, then walked up the last little hill.

The summit marker at Black Mountain

The ladder on the summit's observation tower doesn't reach the ground, so for a view we had return to the parking area on the Virginia side of the border. From there, we could see a bit of the legacy of coal mining in the area.