Round Hilltop

Round Hilltop is a flat topped hill with great views to the south and west. It is about a 2 mile hike from Bear Rocks parking lot. Access is from an old unused fireroad about .25 miles south of Bear Rocks parking lot. This road gets you close, but you really need a map to reliably find the spot. Camping on top of this hill is beautiful and soft (because of the grass) but very windy. There is reliable water source about a half a mile north of the hilltop through some trees.

Bare and Unsheltered

Looking down from the bare round hilltop, you can see the open grassy area that heads towards Cabin Mountain along the Raven Ridge Trail. The hiking in this area is quite easy as long as you follow the old fireroads. As soon as you get off them, you are likely to find yourself slogging through a highland bog among cranberries, or ankle deep in grasslands that have been flooded by recent beaver construction. But, the Raven Ridge Trail that heads towardsCabin Mountain is very easy although it can be a challenge to find it among the many unmarked and dead-end trails.

Windy but Beautiful

The campsite at the left was idealic--except for when the winds came. There were beautiful shade trees to rest under and setup for cooking. The ground was covered in several areas by soft long grasses that made for very comfortable sleeping. I would even consider not bringing a sleeping mattress if I knew I was coming to this site.

During a July trip, we had some of the most incredible winds--no rain--just wind. My rough estimate would be that the winds exceeded 40 mph. We didn't get any pictures of the tents bending in the wind because we were feverishly trying to get packed to move to lower ground.

About a half mile to the south or southwest are some lovely sheltered campsites along some streams. These campsites also overlook large open prairie areas, but the lower areas tend to have more rocks and more bugs. On top of the hill, the wind keeps the bugs away. If you proceed further down to the southwest, you will run into beaver ponds, dams, and nearly impassible marshland. You end up having to walk the perimeter of the marsh to get to the other side of the valley.