Black Hills High Point is minutes from downtown Olympia and adjacent to a popular city park with numerous walking paths, bike trails, and logging roads. Despite its proximity to population centers it had been activated only 4 times before my visit, most recently in 2019.
I found roadside parking along Black Lake Boulevard (between the church and power substation) and followed established paths to a gated dirt road forming an access point to Marj Yung Park (formerly Kaiser Woods). For the most part, I used the SOTA Goat app to point the way to the summit. Near the gate, it indicated a 1.2-mile walk with 665 feet of elevation gain.
I tried taking the most direct route, but that proved tricky. The area is popular with mountain bikers and quite a few trails are one way only. Trail intersections are numerous, though, so I was still able to progress steadily toward my destination. Another minor nuisance on my "direct" route was an intervening up-and-down hill that I easily could have skirted to save a little breath.
The final stretch was on wide dirt roads. I believe there's an unmarked property boundary along the way that may limit bike (and maybe foot) traffic for the last portion of the walk.
Just below the summit, on its north side, I found a rough-hewn road forking left and uphill. The road didn't appear on my maps but I took it into the activation zone. I set up in a small saddle close to the road since the summit would have required bushwhacking.
I used my K1 with a 20-meter ground plane and a 2-meter handheld for a successful activation.
Heading back out, I stuck to the main roads and made good progress. That's likely how I will approach the summit next time.
Black Hills HP is not a very pretty hike (at least in mid March) and I caught almost no views. There was a little bit of trash and I came across one makeshift dwelling, but overall the area seems respected and well maintained. As one of the lowest summits in SOTA's Southern Olympics region, Black Hills HP could be a nice starter summit. And it's the most promising half-day activation site near my new home.
Note: The City of Olympia has plans to improve recreation opportunities at Marj Yung Park beginning in 2026, which includes better parking. Black Hills HP is on adjacent land that will probably benefit from those actions.