The peak is located to the south of Fox and Turner's Gaps, and marks the beginning of geographic change in South Mountain from a solitary narrow ridge to a broad highland plateau, as it nears the convergence with Catoctin Mountain.

The Appalachian Trail passes just to the southeast of the summit but a spur trail leads from it to the crest near an old fire tower and former Federal military microwave communications facility and concrete tower, now used by the FAA.

The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club maintained Bear Springs Cabin is located on the eastern slope of the mountain.

The first published use of the modern name came in 1934 when the Civilian Conservation Corps erected a fire tower on the summit.

The fire tower was staffed through the late 1940s and used by hikers to obtain views of the Middletown and Hagerstown valleys until it was fenced off by the state of Maryland in the 1980s.