Home»Parks and Nature Preserves»Cacapon State Park

The tallest mountain at Cacapon State Park carries the appropriate Cacapon name, but it's actually one of several peaks that surround the Cacapon watershed basin. Still, rising some 2,300 feet in the air, Cacapon Mountain dominated its surroundings, including the lodge and golf course.

The lodge overlooks a championship golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. that's known for a double green more than 100 yards wide. There's also a tennis court, nature center, and swimming area here -- something for everyone to enjoy.

The 6,115-acre park has plenty of hiking and horse trails, ranging from an easy one-third mile trek to a five-miler that's fairly rugged and steep and winds upward to the top of Cacapon Mountain. There's a somewhat easier way up, though -- a 4.5-mile drive up a winding road that leads to a scenic overlook. I use the word "somewhat" because the road is open May through October only, and the last mile or so is perhaps best traversed in a four-wheel drive vehicle. But it's worth every growl of the engine and scrape of the tire; the views from the wood platform at the top of the overlook are nothing short of spectacular.