State High Points of the United States: A brief overview.
Ebright Azimuth Monument Marker, Delaware
High Point, New Jersey and its equally famous obelisk.
State high points with brief descriptions
Alabama. Cheaha Mountain, 2405 feet, 733 meters. Description: High point on prominent mountain ridge. Access: Paved road close to summit. Features: State park with summit house and tower.
Alaska. Denali or Mount McKinley, 20,320 feet, 6196 meters. Description: Prominent mountain peak; highest point in the United States and North America. Access: Extreme; expeditionary/guided climb for experienced mountaineers only. Closest access is by propeller plane to base camp on glacier well below highest point. Denali National Park offers beautiful distant views of the peak and is accessible by motor vehicle Caveats: high altitude, extreme weather, avalanche, exposure.
Arizona. Humphreys Peak, 12637 feet, 3852 meters. Description: Prominent mountain peak. Easiest access: hiking trail which gains 3,300 feet from Arizona Snow Bowl.
Arkansas. Signal Hill on MagazineMountain, 2753 feet, 839 meters. Description: High point on prominent mountain. Access: short walk from paved parking lot/road. Features: State park with monument marker.
California. Mount Whitney, 14,505 feet, 4,421 meters. Description: Highest point in contiguous United States; prominent mountain. Access: 11 mile trail from Whitney Portal gains 6,100 feet. Caveats: high altitude.
Colorado. Mount Elbert, 14440 feet, 4400 meters. Description: Prominent mountain; highest in U.S. Rockies and second highest in contiguous United States. Access: Foot trail from base climbs 4,400 feet to summit. Caveats: high altitude.
Connecticut. Mount Frissell south slope, 2379 feet, 725 meters. Description: South shoulder of Mount Frissell, Massachusetts. Access: By Appalachian Trail.
Delaware. Ebright Azimuth, 448 feet, 137 meters. Description: Arbitrary point of land in piedmont with no prominence. Access: suburban street. Features: point of interest/historical marker among a bough of trees with a park bench. Access is easy and public.
District of Columbia, (Washington, D.C.). Fort Reno Park, Tenleytown, 409 feet, 125 meters. Access: Urban park accessible by automobile or foot.
Florida. Britton Hill, 345 feet, 105 meters. Description: high point of knoll in hilly Florida panhandle. Access: road/car. Features: Monument marker.
Georgia. Brasstown Bald, 4784 feet, 1458 meters. Description: Prominent mountain in southern Blue Ridge Mountains. Access: Paved road goes to within 500 vertical feet below summit. Features: Visitor center and lookout tower.
Hawaii. Mauna Kea, 13796 feet, 4,206 meters. Description: Prominent extinct shield volcano. Access: Cinder road travels to summit cones. Features: A number of astronomical observatories are located among summit cones.
Idaho. Mount Borah, 12,668 feet, 3,861 meters. Description: Prominent peak. Access: very steep foot trail gains 5,200’ in 3 and 1/2 miles. Features: Scene of a 7.3 magnitude earthquake in 1983 with visible fault-scarp at base of mountain. Caveats: difficult climb with some exposed portions.
Illinois. Charles Mound, 1235 feet, 376 meters. Description: high point of expansive mound. Access: dirt road. Features: sign, marker.
Indiana. Hoosier Hill, 1257 feet, 383 meters. Description: nondescript high point with little discernible prominence. Access: private property with public access; picnic table and sign.
Iowa. Hawkeye Point, 1,670 feet, 509 meters. Description: nondescript point on uplands with no significant prominence. Access: paved road on former farm land made public. Features: granite marker.
Kansas. Mount Sunflower, 4039 feet, 1,231 meters. Description: Arbitrary point of land with no noticeable prominence on high plains of western Kansas. Access: dirt roads. Features: impromptu sculptures, markers.
Kentucky. Black Mountain, 4145 feet, 1,263 meters. Description: High point on prominent ridge. Access: dirt road. Features: radar dome. Caveats: mountain privately owned by coal company; permission needed to access and ground unstable due to coal shafts.
Louisiana. Driskill Mountain, 535 feet, 163 meters. Description: high point of prominent piedmont hill. Access: dirt road used for hiking. Features: sign, cairn, and register box.
Maine. Baxter Peak, Mount Katahdin, 5268 feet, 1,606 meters. Description: highest point of prominent mountain. Access: various foot trails including Appalachian Trail. Features: northern terminus of Appalachian Trail.
Maryland. Backbone Mountain, 3,360 feet, 1024 meters. Description: Arbitrary high point on Maryland side of ridge; ridge reaches higher elevation in West Virginia as it runs 39 miles in length. Access: bushwhack hiking from US 219. Features: historical marker on Hoye-Crest.
Massachusetts. Mount Greylock, 3,489 feet, 1,063 meters. Description: Prominent mountain. Access: Paved toll road to summit or by various footpaths including Appalachian Trail. Features: Sixty foot Veterans War Memorial Tower, lodge, expansive parking lot; all part of Mount Greylock State Reservation.
Michigan. Mount Arvon, 1978 feet, 603 meters. Description: on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula; prominent highpoint in Huron Mountains. Access: more than a mile and a half bushwhack from nearest dirt road.
Minnesota. Eagle Mountain, 2,301 feet, 701 meters. Description: Prominent highpoint in Northern Minnesota Ranges. Access: 3.5 mile hiking trail. Features: Plaque on summit.
Mississippi. Woodall Mountain, 806 feet, 246 meters. Description: prominent hill in southern Appalachian piedmont. Access: road hike, open-country. Features: monument/plaque and also the scene of Civil War battle.
Missouri. Taum Sauk Mountain, 1,772 feet, 540 meters. Description: Prominent highpoint on broad summit with steep slopes in ancient St. Francois Mountains, among the oldest exposed rocks in the United States. Access: Road to within few feet of summit; also part of a state park. Features: Lookout tower and plaque as well as picnic tables.
Montana. Granite Peak, 12,799 feet, 3,901 meters. Description: Prominent mountain peak. Access: Long approach with difficult climb containing technical aspects. Caveats: Severe weather in season such as electrical storms in summer, Grizzly bears, exposure.
Nebraska. Panorama Point, 54,26 feet, 1,654 meters. Description: nondescript highpoint with no noticeable prominence on High Plains in southwest corner of state. Access: dirt road. Features: small monument.
Nevada. Boundary Peak, 13,147 feet, 4,007 meters. Description: sub-peak of higher neighboring Montgomery Peak in California with summit above timber line. Access: dirt road, foot trail, open-country hike. Caveats: high altitude, few sources of water.
New Hampshire. Mount Washington, 6,288 feet, 1,917 meters. Description: Prominent mountain; treeless, boulder strewn summit. Access: numerous hiking paths including the Appalachian Trail, toll-road, and cog railway. Features: observatory on summit along with parking area and cog railway station, visitor center and well-developed tourist amenities. Caveats: well-known for severe weather that changes quickly and includes some of the highest recorded wind speeds on earth.
New Jersey. High Point, 1,803 feet, 550 meters. Description: Highest point on prominent Kittatinny Mountain. Access: paved toll road within short walking distance. Access: car or Appalachian Trail connecting to spur trail (Schawangunk-Monument). Features: 220’ granite obelisk with observation windows.
New Mexico. Wheeler Peak, 13,167 feet, 4,013 meters. Description: Highest peak of prominent mountain ridge with beautiful alpine tundra meadows. Access: hiking trail from Taos Ski Resort. Features: small historic monument on summit.
New York. Mount Marcy, 5,343 feet, 1,629 meters. Description: Prominent mountain. Access: Hiking trail which gains 3,300 feet from Marcy Dam. Features: summit plaque.
North Carolina. Mount Mitchell, 6,684 feet, 2,037 meters. Description: Highest peak of Black Mountains and highest point east of the Mississippi River. Access: by hiking trail or by toll road. Features: Large parking area within short walk to summit observation tower with well-developed tourist amenities; park of Mount Mitchell State Park.
North Dakota. White Butte, 3,508 feet, 1,069 meters. Description: Prominent butte formed from residual sedimentary rock. Access: foot trail on privately owned land opened to public with donation suggested at drop box.
Ohio. Campbell Hill, 1,548 feet, 472 meters. Description: Highest point of otherwise nondescript upland. Access: by car on the grounds of a vocational school opened to the public. Features: historical marker.
Oklahoma. Black Mesa, 4,973 feet, 1,516 meters. Description: Arbitrary point of land in namesake state park on expansive mesa which extends into neighboring Colorado and New Mexico. Access: foot trail. Features: granite marker.
Oregon. Mount Hood, 11,249 feet, 3,429 meters. Description: Prominent volcanic peak. Access: technical climb on glaciers for experienced mountaineers only. Caveats: changeable weather, glacial seracs.
Pennsylvania. Mount Davis, 3,213 feet, 979 meters. Description: High point on prominent plateau. Access: dirt road to summit. Features: observation tower and plaque.
Rhode Island. Jerimoth Hill, 812 feet, 247 meters. Description: Prominent hill. Access: footpath. Features: Not much; just a clearing in the woods. Well known in the past for being one of the most inaccessible high points because of property owner’s access although summit is owned by BrownUniversity an open to public.
South Carolina. Sassafras Mountain, 3,554 feet, 1,083 meters. Description: Prominent mountain. Access: Road to within 300 feet of summit. Features: small monument marker.
South Dakota. Harney Peak, 7,244 feet, 2,208 meters. Description: Prominent granite dome. Access: Three and one half mile hiking trail from Sylvan Lake. Features: Stone observation tower.
Tennessee. Clingmans Dome, 6,643 feet, 2,205 feet. Description: Prominent peak and highest point in Great Smoky Mountains and in Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Access: Paved road to within 300 vertical feet of summit. Features: Fifty foot observation tower.
Texas.Guadalupe Peak, 8,751 feet, 2,667 meters. Description: Prominent limestone peak in namesake national park. Access: Strenuous hiking trail climbs almost 3,000 vertical feet to summit. Features: pyramid monument.
Utah. Kings Peak, 13,528 feet, 4,123 meters. Description: Prominent peak. Access: Ten mile hike from closest trailhead. Caveats: High altitude, lightning storms in season.
Vermont. Mount Mansfield, 4,393 feet, 1339 meters. Description: Prominent mountain with treeless summit ridge. Access: dirt toll road to within one mile and 500 vertical feet of summit. Features: Ski area on slopes and mountain house at terminus of toll road.
Virginia. Mount Rogers, 5,729 feet, 1,746 meters. Description: Prominent mountain and most northerly of 5,000 foot peaks in southern Appalachians. Access: hiking trail including Appalachian Trail. Features treeless meadows and wild pony herd which roams the summit plateau.
Washington. Mount Rainer, 14,411 feet, 4,392 meters. Description: Prominent volcano with largest collection of glacial ice in contiguous United States. Access: Technical glacier climb for experienced mountaineers only or with guide. Caveats: Fast changing weather, seracs, high altitude.
West Virginia. Spruce Knob, 4,863 feet, 1,482 meters. Description: High point on prominent ridge. Access: Road. Features: Observation tower at summit.
Wisconsin. Timms Hill, 1,952 feet, 595 meters. Description: Highpoint of uplands. Access: road. Features: observation tower.
Wyoming. Gannett Peak, 13,809 feet, 4,209 meters. Description: Prominent peak in Wind River Range. Access: foot trail, and technical climb involving glacier crossing and belays up rock wall. Caveats: For experienced climbers only, long approach from any road, fast-changing weather, high altitude.
Disclaimer: Author assumes no liability for the intrinsic risks of travelling to and hiking among remote points of land and/or in mountains, backcountry, and private property. Use your best judgment and know your limits!
