Cacapon State Park
This is the first geocache of 9 located on
a 2.5 mile circuit hike in beautiful Cacapon State Park near
Berkeley Springs. Cacapon State Park received its name from being
located in the shadows of the wide expanse of Cacapon Mountain.
This mountain is the highest peak in the eastern panhandle of West
Virginia reaching an elevation of 2,300 feet. The Cacapon River
parallels the mountain in a meandering route beneath the mountains
western slope.
Cacapon (pronounced CaCApon) is a derivative of a Shawnee Indian
word meaning "medicine waters". It refers to the areas renowned
medicinal waters, which have been acclaimed throughout history for
their healing powers. These waters come to the surface
approximately ten miles from Cacapon at the nearby Berkeley Springs
State Park..
Cacapon Resort State Park is a beautiful
area of over 6,000 acres. There is something for everyone here. A
virtual labyrinth of over 20 miles of hiking trails, a trap
shooting range, horseback riding, swimming and boating, as well as
fishing in the large lake and reservoir. The park also has
accommodations of 24 cabins and a main inn for weekend
getaways.
With 20 miles of interconnecting trails,
from the easy nature walks, to the longer circuits that climb to
the ridge on Cacapon Mountain, there are trails for every level of
hiker.
The Circuit Hike
The circuit I describe makes use of
several of the trails, some are very well marked and some not, but
by following your gps from cache to cache in sequence you will find
your way 
around this circuit hike with no problems. I would suggest you
waypoint your vehicle just in case. Maps can be picked up in the
lobby of the lodge. The map at the right has the circuit hike
outlined in red. The hike starts on
the Piney Ridge Nature Trail but pulls off to the right at a
path that is not marked at information marker #8 - watch for this
turn closely - it is a hard trail to spot! The turn between #4-#5,
and #5-#6 takes special attention. Please read careful the
directions on these cache pages. This circuit hike is mostly
wooded, but will take you past some beautiful rock outcropping as
well as circle the lake providing you with a beautiful view of the
lake and valley below. You will climb ~ 500 feet if you chose to do
the entire circuit hike. Trails are clear but sometimes hard to
follow, so be alert. NO bushwaching is required to claim any of the
caches on this hike, the caches range from being right on the trail
to no more than 50 ft off the trail.
I suggest parking at
the lodge. Park your car and walk to this first cache located at
the head of the Piney Ridge Nature Trail loop. After "Circuit Hike
Cache #8", you will cross the dam and follow the paved road to the
last cache and then on to your vehicle parked at the
lodge.
Park maps and trail
guides are available at the lodge front desk of the lodge or you
can download a Resort Trail Map at the park web site listed above.
Park is open from 6am to 10pm.
The
Cache
Cache #1 is located at the trail
head sign not far from the parking lot at the lodge. It should be a
easy park and grab at the Piney Ridge Nature trailhead. Finding
this first cache will surely give you "good luck" for the rest of
your finds. This is a micro riding a larger
host.
This cache has been approved by the
West Virginia Division of Natural
Resources.