No one seems to know for sure how Bong Hill got its name.
The etymology is even more elusive than the trailhead leading toward Athens’ famed bump.
But the name doesn’t seem to matter. The hilltop elicits glowing reviews from locals, ranging from hikers and Ohio University students to Athens County Sheriff Pat Kelly.
“I’d say it’s a very cool place to go because you can look out over Athens,” Kelly said. “It’s neat.”
In the past, Kelly said the hill just outside the city limits was anything but cool for county law enforcement officials.
During the early 1990s, Kelly said deputies drove or climbed Bong Hill most weekends to track down lost hikers.
But in the last three or four years, Kelly’s office has not gotten a single call about lost hikers or illegal drug use on the hill — something Kelly said has occurred previously.
“Years ago, that’s where everybody went to party,” Kelly said. “… It’s definitely been a problem in the past.”
Nowadays, Joe Stewart, an OU junior studying history, said he makes the almost two-mile hike once or twice a semester to spend time throwing a Frisbee with friends.
Stewart hears rumblings of drug use at the hill from time to time but said most hikers just enjoy the view of Athens and the chance to get outdoors.
“That’s the one place in Athens where you can take in all of Athens,” Stewart said. “You might not experience it but you can at least see it and check out the whole thing.”
Kelly warned hikers like Stewart, though, that the hill is actually private property.
Katie Tabor, a fifth-year OU communications student, lives in a house adjacent to the hill at the foot of a gravel driveway that twists and turns through more than 100 acres of forest.
Although Tabor doesn’t know if her house and the hill are on the same property, she said she infrequently interacts with lost hikers.
One group of friends actually made the trip up her winding driveway after they mistook it for a “Bong Hill parking lot,” she said.
The house’s proximity to Bong Hill makes it one of the most scenic pieces of real estate in Athens, Tabor said, adding that the novelty of the scenic hilltop view hasn’t worn off since she moved in this past June.
Other hills, such as Radar Hill at The Ridges, may attract more hikers, but Bong Hill still remains Tabor’s favorite.
“(The view from Radar Hill) doesn’t encapsulate the city like it does here,” Tabor said. “…It’s really pretty up there. The view — you can’t beat it.”
sh335311@ohiou.edu
@SamuelHHoward
