As the third largest country in the world by land area, behind only Russia and Canada, it is no surprise that there are some incredible highpointing experiences in the United States.

But, before you can travel to each of the state-specific high points (e.g., Mount Whitney, Mount Elbert, etc.), you need to know where they are located. In this interactive map, you’ll find the location of the highest point in each state as well as some information about it and its elevation.

So, without further ado, let’s explore each state’s highest point from highest to lowest!

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Alaska

Denali: 20,310 ft

When it comes to United States state high points, we start strong with Denali — the highest point in the Alaska Range, stretching along the Alaska-Canada border for 600 miles. It is the highest point in North America and the third-highest of the Seven Summits, behind only Mt. Everest and Aconcagua.

In the United States, Denali was recognized as “Mount McKinley” beginning in 1917. Still, in 2015, the name was officially reverted to Denali — the name the local Koyukon people have used for the mountain for centuries.

California

Mount Whitney: 14,498 ft

The tallest peak in the continental United States is Mt. Whitney. It is located on the boundary of Sequoia National Park and Inyo National Forest and is also only 85 miles away from the lowest place in North America.

Colorado

Mount Elbert: 14,433 ft

The next highest peak in the United States is Mt. Elbert in the Colorado portion of the Rocky Mountains. Mt. Elbert is in San Isabel National Forest in Lake County, CO.

Washington

Mount Rainier: 14,411 ft

Mt. Rainer of the Cascade Range is the fourth-highest peak in the United States and the highest of the Pacific Northwest peaks. The highest point of the mountain is called Columbia Crest. It is also the most glaciated summit within the continental United States and contains 26 glaciers.

It is located just southeast of Seattle and Tacoma in west-central Washington.

Wyoming

Gannett Peak: 13,804 ft

Fifth on our list is Wyoming’s Gannett Peak, located in the northern part of the Wind River Mountain Range. The peak is the highest point of the Rockies outside of Colorado and straddles the continental Divide. On the north and east slopes of the peak is Gannett Glacier, the largest single glacier in the Rocky Mountains.

Gannett Peak is recognized among mountaineers as one of the toughest mountaineering challenges in the nation.

Hawaii

Mauna Kea: 13,796 ft

The next highest peak in the United States is Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano around one million years old. It is located on the Island of Hawaii. Mauna Kea is the second-highest peak on an island, only after Puncak Jaya in New Guinea.

The mountain is actually the tallest in the world when measured from base to peak, at more than 33,500 feet tall. However, because it starts so close to sea level, it is not typically labeled as the “tallest” since this measurement typically uses elevation rather than height.

Utah

King’s Peak: 13,528 ft

The highest peak in Utah is King’s Peak, which is located in northeastern Utah in the Ashley National Forest. The peak was named after Clarence King, the first director of the United States Geological Survey.

New Mexico

Wheeler Peak: 13,161 ft

Wheeler Peak is located in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the southernmost sub-range of the Rocky Mountains. It is one of the top peakbagging pursuits for highpointers as it is one of the few places in New Mexico where you can see a true alpine “mat” of stunning flowers in various colors.

Nevada

Boundary Peak: 13,140 ft

Nevada’s highest point, Boundary Peak, is in Boundary Peak Wilderness. As the ninth-highest state point in the nation, this peak is nothing short of spectacular. It provides amazing views in all directions, as described below.

• North — Mono Lake basin
• East — Nevada’s Basin and Range
• South — White Mountains Wilderness
• West — Sierra Nevada Mountains

Montana

Granite Peak: 12,799 ft

The tenth-highest peak in the United States is Granite Peak in Montana. About ten miles north of the Montana-Wyoming border, northeast of Yellowstone National Park, the peak is in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness.

Idaho

Borah Peak: 12,662 ft

As the highest point in Idaho and the state’s only active glacier, Borah Peak is definitely a must-see stop in your high point journey. The Peak rose one foot after a 6.9 magnitude earthquake in 1983.

Arizona

Humphreys Peak: 12,633 ft

The highest natural point in Arizona is part of a group of dormant volcanoes commonly known as the San Francisco Peaks. Humphrey Peak is about 11 miles north of Flagstaff, AZ, within the Kachina Peaks Wilderness.

Oregon

Mount Hood: 11,239 ft

The next highest peak in the United States is Mount Hood, a potentially active stratovolcano located in the Cascade Volcanic Arc. Its last eruption was in 1781. Additionally, although it experienced a 3.9 magnitude earthquake in June 2021, experts do not believe this has changed the volcano’s dormant state.

The peak can be seen from Portland, OR, and gives the metropolis a stunning backdrop.

Texas

Guadalupe Peak: 8,749 ft

Known as the “Top of Texas,” Peak Guadalupe is part of a Permian-period reef that 251-299 million years ago was part of a vast inland sea.

South Dakota

Black Elk Peak: 7,231 ft

The highest peak in South Dakota, and east of the Rockies in North America, is Black Elk Peak in the Black Hills. It is located near Mount Rushmore National Memorial, which, before it became a patriotic tribute to four US presidents, was a place to pray and gather for the Native people of the Great Plains called Six Grandfathers.

This mountain was renamed Black Elk Peak, from Harney Peak, in 2016 to honor a medicine man and leader of the Lakota people commonly known as Black Elk. Black Elk was also called Heȟáka Sápa, “The Sixth Grandfather,” Six Grandfathers played a significant part in his spiritual journey in the 1870s that ended at today’s Black Elk Peak.

North Carolina

Mount Mitchell: 6,684 ft

The highest point in the Appalachian Mountains is North Carolina’s highest point, Mt. Mitchell. It is also the highest mountain in mainland eastern North America, and in 1915, it became North Carolina’s first state park.

Tennessee

Clingmans Dome: 6,643 ft

The highest point in Tennessee is Clingmans Dome, the highest mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This peak is the third tallest mountain east of the Mississippi River, just under Mt. Mitchell and Mt. Craig.

New Hampshire

Mount Washington: 6,288 ft

Mt. Washington is the highest mountain in the Northeastern United States. It is known for its erratic and temperamental weather and is in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains. It holds the world record for the highest measured wind speed unassociated with a tropical cyclone or tornado.

Virginia

Mount Rogers: 5,729 ft

The highest natural point in Virginia is Mt. Rogers, named after the state’s first State Geologist and founder of MIT (the Massachusetts Institute of Technology), William Barton Rogers. The mountain is located in the southwest area of the state, and most of it is contained in the Lewis Fork Wilderness.

Nebraska

Panorama Point: 5,429 ft

Nebraska’s highest natural point lies near the point where the state and Wyoming meet on the northern boundary of Colorado. This point is a low rise on the High Plains rather than a mountain or hill marked by a stone marker and guest register.

New York

Mount Marcy: 5,344 ft

Mt. Marcy is the highest point in New York. It is located in Essex County in the Town of Keene and is at the heart of the Adirondack High Peaks region in the High Peaks Wilderness Area and is a much-loved destination for hikers.

Maine

Katahdin: 5,268 ft

Katahdin, sometimes called Mount Katahdin, is the highest peak in Maine and the centerpiece of Baxter State Park. The mountain was named Katahdin, meaning “Great Mountain,” by the Penobscot Native Americans and designated a National Natural Landmark in 1967.

Oklahoma

Black Mesa: 4,973 ft

The highest point in Oklahoma is Black Mesa, a mesa spanning Colorado, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. This mesa is known as a geological wonder due to the plateau forming at the top. The highest point of Black Mesa in Oklahoma can be found in northwestern Cimarron County.

West Virginia

Spruce Knob: 4,861 ft

The twenty-fifth highest peak in the United States is Spruce Knob in West Virginia. This peak is the highest of the Allegheny Mountains and Appalachian Plateaus and the thirteenth most-isolated peak in the continental United States.

Georgia

Brasstown Bald: 4,784 ft

The highest peak in Georgia is in the Blue Ridge Mountains at Brasstown Bald. This peak is in the northeastern region of the state and on the border between Towns and Union counties.

Vermont

Mount Mansfield: 4,393 ft

Mount Mansfield is the highest point in Vermont and resides in Mount Mansfield Natural Area, which became a National Natural Landmark in 1980. The area is known for rare arctic flora not found anywhere else in the northeast and a gorgeous red spruce-balsam fir forest.

Kentucky

Black Mountain: 4,139 ft

Kentucky’s highest point, Black Mountain, is one of only a few private land highpoints. The mountain is also known as Katahrins Mountain, and the area around it has been under private ownership as a mining area for a long time. Black Mountain is a critical area for the continued growth of the Northern Hardwoods forests and ecosystem.

Kansas

Mount Sunflower: 4,039 ft

While Mount Sunflower is the highest point in Kansas, it is not actually a mountain or even really a hill. The elevation gradually increases as you move further west throughout the state but remains virtually indistinguishable from the rest of the High Plains terrain.

The highest point in Kansas is on private land, but there is a picnic area and a sunflower sculpture garden where visitors can sit.

South Carolina

Sassafras Mountain: 3,554 ft

South Carolina’s highest point is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains. In 2019, the Sassafras Mountain Tower opened on top of the mountain, positioned eleven feet above the mountain’s highest point.

North Dakota

White Butte: 3,506 ft

White Butte is the highest point in North Dakota. It is located in the southwestern part of the state in Slope County in the Badlands. Unlike many of the other high points in the nation, the “peak” of North Dakota is more of a plain than a point, as buttes are flat-topped towers of rock.

Massachusetts

Mount Greylock: 3,487 ft

Located in the northwestern corner of the state, Mt. Greylock is the highest point in Massachusetts, and its summit can be seen from as far as 90 miles on a clear day. On its slopes, you can find the only old-growth red spruce stands that are known to exist in the southern part of New England.

Maryland

Backbone Mountain: 3,360 ft

The summit of Backbone Mountain is located on private property and is commonly called Hoyle-Crest. To access this point, you must use a foot trail that begins in Virginia from a point off US Route 219, south of Silver Lake, VA.

Pennsylvania

Mount Davis: 3,213 ft

The highest point in Pennsylvania is located on Mt. Davis, named after John Nelson Davis, who was a veteran, surveyor, and naturalist most well-known for his study of the mountain's wildlife. Mt. Davis is located in Forbes State Forest.

Arkansas

Magazine Mountain: 2,753 ft

North of Blue Mountain Lake in Logan County is Arkansas’ highest point, Magazine Mountain. Despite the name, this peak is not actually a mountain but rather a mesa surrounded by steep cliffs and hard rock.

Alabama

Cheaha Mountain: 2,405 ft

Sometimes called Mt. Delta, Mt. Cheaha is the highest point in the state of Alabama. It is located in Cheaha State Park, a few miles northwest of the town of Delta.

Connecticut

Mount Frissell, south slope: 2,382 ft

Mount Frissell is one of the most prominent peaks of the Taconic Range, which straddles the border between Massachusetts and Connecticut. The south slope of Mt. Frissell along the Massachusetts border marks the highest point in Connecticut, as the peak of the mountain itself is in Massachusetts.

Minnesota

Eagle Mountain: 2,301 ft

The highest point in Minnesota is Eagle Mountain, a part of a large rock formation at the northeastern part of Minnesota. This formation is called the Duluth Complex.

Michigan

Mount Arvon: 1,979 ft

Michigan’s highest point is the peak of Mt. Arvon, a privately-owned mountain in the Huron Mountains. Though it is owned by Weyerhaeuser, visitors are allowed.

Wisconsin

Timms Hill: 1,951 ft

Timms Hill, located in the town of Hill in Price County, is the highest point in Wisconsin. There is an observation tower at the site that gives visitors a 30-mile view of the area.

New Jersey

High Point: 1,803 ft

The highest point in New Jersey is aptly named High Point, which is the name of the peak of the Kittatinny Ridge. The peak is located in High Point State Park and is marked by the High Point Monument, which was erected in 1930 as a war memorial.

Missouri

Taum Sauk Mountain: 1,772 ft

Missouri’s highest point is Taum Sauk Mountain, located in the Saint Francois Mountains. The mountain was named after Sauk-Ton-Qua, a Piankeshaw chief, and in 1991, a 7,448-acre state park around the mountain was created.

Iowa

Hawkeye Point: 1,670 ft

The highest point in Iowa by elevation is not a great mountain or hill but rather a piece of land that the Sterler family farmed on for decades. The family has since donated the land to the local government, and people can visit the area.

Ohio

Campbell Hill: 1,549 ft

Located two miles northeast of downtown Bellefontaine is Campbell Hill, the highest point in Ohio. Today, Campbell Hill is the site of the Ohio Hi-Point Career Center — a career technical school in the city of Bellefontaine.

Indiana

Hoosier Hill: 1,257 ft

Indiana’s highest point is another one of these locations that are on private land. It is on Hoosier Hill, marked by a boulder, and in a forested area surrounded by farmland. The high point of Hoosier Hill is around 30 feet higher than the surrounding farmland.

Illinois

Charles Mound: 1,235 ft

Like Indiana’s highest point, Charles Mound, Illinois’s highest natural point, is on private property. Visiting hours are limited to daylight hours on only the first full weekends of June, July, August, and September. The spot can be found on Jean and Wayne Wuebbels’ farmland.

Rhode Island

Jerimoth Hill: 812 ft

Prior to 2005, Jerimoth Hill was difficult to visit as the landlord at the time prohibited visitors from seeing the area. Now, the State of Rhode Island owns the land, and the high point can easily be reached by walking up a 3-mile path off of Hartford Pike.

Mississippi

Woodall Mountain: 806 ft

Located in Tishomingo County, Mississippi’s highest point, Woodall Mountain, is in the northeast part of the state. It is also known as Yow Hill or Yow Mountain and is also referred to as “America’s Bloodiest High Point.” This is about the Battle of Iuka that took place there in 1862 during the Civil War.

Louisiana

Driskill Mountain: 535 ft

Also known as Mt. Driskill, Driskill Mountain is the highest natural point in Louisiana. It is located about 5 miles southeast of Bryceland, and a large pile of rocks marks the highest point.

Delaware

Ebright Azimuth: 448 ft

The forty-ninth high point in the United States, otherwise known as the second-lowest high point in the nation, is in Delaware. This point is located on Ebright Rd. and is referred to as Ebright Azimuth.

Florida

Britton Hill: 345 ft

Florida’s highest point is Britton Hill, which is 345 feet above sea level. While most of the time, high pointers are looking for amazing views and challenging hikes or climbs to reach their destination, if you are collecting the whole set of United States high points, you’ve gotta get them all!

This high point is located near the Alabama border in Walton County.

District of Columbia

Point Reno: 409 ft

Most of Washington D.C. is around 20 feet above sea level, which makes Point Reno, the designated name of the highest point within Fort Reno, a high point by comparison. As of 2007, the marker for this high point is in an open field between Wilson High School and Deal Junior High School just off Nebraska Avenue, NW.

Wrapping Up

Maybe you are looking to trek through diverse terrains as you traverse the United State’s highest points. Or maybe you’re more interested in casually exploring the incredible high points throughout the nation. We hope this quick exploration of all 50 states (plus D.C.) has helped spark your enthusiasm for your next adventure!

Start planning your journey exploring state highpoints by making your own interactive map!

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