Hamilton County High Point Trip Report

1 area on North Bend Road, 500' SW of Colerain Ave. (960+ ft)

Date: January 27, 2008
Author: Andy Hatzos

The highest point in Hamilton County (part of the greater Cincinnati area) is certainly one of the easiest I've yet to claim. The high point is atop Mount Airy, one of the many hills in the area. It's just east of Monfort Heights, and just north of a few of Cincinnati's not-so-nice neighborhoods.

I approached the high point from Monfort Heights, near the I-74 interchange with North Bend Road. This road turns off to the east just north of the freeway interchange, and from there it's just over a mile to the intersection with Colerain Ave. The area in question is on the south corner of this diagonal intersection. I parked in the parking lot of the Mt. Airy United Methodist Church, which is immediately southwest of the high point.

The high point area itself has been built over by a large, castle-looking structure. This structure is actually the Mt. Airy Tanks, which hold a large quantity of water for the city of Cincinnati. It makes sense to put it on the highest point of land in the county! As the structure was built right over the highest land, the area was obviously disturbed. The highest remaining land is somewhere along the perimter -- which is mostly walk-able. There is one fenced off area near a building marked "Mount Airy Pumping Station" -- but this is along the slightly lower southwest end of the main structure. If there was any higher land within the fence, it was negligible by COHP standards.

PICTURES:
Picture 01 (145 k) - The Mt. Airy Tanks, as seen from the parking lot at the church next door. The highest point is somewhere in the lawn on this side.
Picture 02 (186 k) - A sign in front of the tanks on North Bend Road.
Picture 03 (125 k) - This sign is posted above a door at the north corner of the structure.
Picture 04 (130 k) - The view toward the south. Parts of the Cincinnati skyline are visible -- although not the main "downtown" portion.
Picture 05 (145 k) - The view of the south corner of the tanks. The only fenced-off area is to the left (southwest).


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