Jefferson County Highpoint Trip Report
ten areas (890+ ft)
Date: January 2, 2005
Author: Bob Schwab
I, like Ken Oeser, hiked up the South Park Hills and found the top fifty vertical feet had been smoothed off
by the brickyard/clay operations at the old BM Riley 2 site. The 900 foot contour is gone and, while the
bump immediately to the north (890+ feet) seems to be the highpoint, it is only one of several 890+ contours
in the county. After scrutinizing a number of areas within Jefferson County, I concluded that the Brooks
and Valley Station Quads appeared to hold the highest ground. I found a total of ten contours which I have
subsequently visited and reported below. I believe Andy Martin or someone with access to KY maps might
want to reexamine this county to verify my preliminary conclusion. What follows is my report of those ten
890+ ft contours.
four areas in the South Park Hills
My advice to visitors is to leave I-65 at the Brooks Road Exit (121). Go west for 0.6 mile to the blinker at
the intersection with Route 1020. Turn right and drive north on Route 1020 for another 2.4 miles.
Along the way, you will pass the intersection with North Lakeview Drive, which provides access to Barracks Road
on the east side of the ridge (ascent route utilized by Levi Foust and Ken Oeser to the old BM Riley 2 site).
After passing the brick works, Route 1020 bends left but stay right and continue north on South Park Road
for another 0.4 mile to an intersection with Granger Road. There is a Charity Missionary Baptist Church
sign here. Turn right and drive as far as you can up this road. When I visited, the gate was closed.
I asked the neighbors and they said it was OK to hike up the ridge as long as I stayed away from the house on top.
I found a good parking place just below the last house before the gate. The road is paved all the way up to
the towers. At the ridge, there is a nice home with a view to your north but bend south and follow the road
up to the last tower. Just west of the tower is a well-used ATV trail that runs the length of the ridge, all the
way down to the old BM Riley 2 site. After you leave the tower area, the second and third bumps you cross
are both above 890 feet. The second area (bump # 3) has a spot elevation of 894 feet. The highest ground
appears to be near a tilted tree. At this point, the path bends sharply west and descends. There is a side trail
that comes up from the east (possibly from Hillview Drive, off from Barracks Road). Stay on the ridge path
and note the memorial tacked onto a tree for a dirt biker who died here this past May. The ridge path will
turn south again and go over a few more bumps before getting to the third contour (Area 3). From here the
path bends west again, encounters a bulldozed area, bends south and drops down steeply before ascending
to the southernmost contour (Area 4). Continue just a bit farther south to satisfy yourself that the original
highpoint is really gone. Note that you drop down about 50 feet to a scene of desolation. The BM site has
been flattened.
four areas on Holsclaw Hill
From Exit 121 off from I-65, drive west 0.6 mile to the blinker at the intersection with Route 1020.
Continue west another 1.5 miles to the crest of the hill and Holsclaw Hill Road. Turn right on Holsclaw Hill
Road and drive north for about 1.6 miles where you'll cross the county line into the Louisville Metro area.
There is a paved turnaround to your left near a horse paddock. Find a place to park here (the pavement area
is posted) and note that you are on a large 890-foot contour (Area 5). The woods to the east is part of the
Jefferson County Forest and there is a trail that follows the ridge off to the northeast. I wandered around
here and also hiked down the horse path (follow the white horseshoe signs) to a second tiny area (# 6) along
the ridge to the north. I thought the highest ground in Area 5 was close to the road, not far from the
beginning of the trail. Continue driving north another 0.3 mile or so, and watch for houses 12503 and 12501
and an old rusty gate. The stone-faced house (#12503) sits on a small contour (Area 7) just south of the old
lookout tower site. The yard around the white house, just north of the rusty gate, is the other 890-foot
contour (Area 8). I had a good visit with Butch, who lives in the house between these two areas (#12501).
He accompanied me as I wandered around the backyards of his neighbors (they weren't home) and visited
the old lookout site. He told me the lookout was taken down years ago and was located in the vacant niche
just south of the rusty gate. He also knew a lot about the original South Park Hills highpoint and even
remembered the original benchmark.
one area on Jefferson Hill
From the previous site, continue on down Holsclaw Hill Road 1.6 miles as it descends north to the
intersection with Mitchell Hill Road. At this point, you can either turn left and drive 1.5 miles south up
Mitchell Hill Road, turn right and go 1.85 miles west on Hill Top Road to the intersection with Snawder
Road; or you can go right 0.15 mile, then left on Keys Ferry Road for 1 mile, then left on Jefferson Hill
Road for 2.25 miles to the same intersection with Snawder Road. Be watchful because Snawder Road is on
a sharp corner and the main road is steep right here. Drive south on Snawder Road to a fork, bear right,
and stop at an olive/tan house at the crest in the road. The fork area really looks like someone's yard and there
are signs about attack dogs but don't be dissuaded. The owner at the olive/tan house gave me permission to
hike through his backyard to the high contour (Area 9) which is northwest of his home. There is some brush
and briars to negotiate here but its not bad. The highest ground seems to be at the far side of the contour.
If the owner is not home, I would recommend that you park at the Snawder Road intersection and bushwhack west,
straight down the ravine then up the other side to reach this one. I don't think you'd want to rile the
neighbor's dogs!
one area 0.5 mile northwest of Metz Gap
From the previous site, descend north 2.25 miles down Jefferson Hill Road to Keys Ferry Road. Turn left
and drive 0.9 mile northwest as the road bends right, then left, then reaches an intersection with a blinker.
Turn left on Penile Road and follow this road as it zigzags for 1.5 miles to Blevins Gap Road. There is a
large Baptist Church here on the corner. Turn left and continue south on Blevins Gap Road for another mile
to Bear Camp Road. Turn left on Bear Camp Road and follow it for 2 miles to just beyond the crest in the
road. There is a white house with a tennis court in the gap. I found a place to park along the road,
just south of this property. Hike north along the highway, past the house, and descend down the road to where
you can see a stream on your left (west). Enter the woods (this is also Jefferson County Forest), cross the
stream and head northwest directly up the steep slope. When you gain the ridge, it will meander west, then
north, then west, then north again. In some places the green briars are quite bad and I found that dropping
off the ridge on the north side made the going quite a bit easier. There is no view at the top but this is
clearly the most remote of the ten areas in Jefferson County.
GPS-derived coordinates for the ten areas (NAD27 datum) are as follows -
four areas in South Park Hills - (Brooks Quad)
area 1: (38° 06' 15" N, 85° 42' 33" W)
area 2: (38° 06' 09" N, 85° 42' 27" W) (spot elevation 894)
area 3: (38° 05' 49" N, 85° 42' 35" W)
area 4: (38° 05' 37" N, 85° 42' 50" W) (just north of old BM Riley 2, original 902-foot site)
four areas on Holsclaw Hill - (Brooks Quad)
area 5: (38° 04' 42" N, 85° 44' 45" W) (large contour, highest ground is east of road, near county line)
area 6: (38° 04' 53" N, 85° 44' 43" W) (tiny spot)
area 7: (38° 04' 50" N, 85° 44' 58" W)
area 8: (38° 04' 52" N, 85° 45' 01" W)
one area on Jefferson Hill - (Valley Station Quad)
area 9: (38° 04' 47" N, 85° 48' 01" W)
one area 0.5 mile northwest of Metz Gap - (Valley Station Quad)
area 10: (38° 04' 55" N, 85° 48' 38" W)