Summit Seeker

The Highest Point in Every State

The highest point in the United States is Denali in Alaska at 20,310 ft. In the lower 48 it is Mount Whitney in California at 14,505 ft. The lowest state high point is Britton Hill in Florida, 345 ft.

The 50 high points at a glance

The 50 state high points span 19,965 ft, from Denali down to Britton Hill. Half of them are above 4,590 ft and half below. 4 top 14,000 ft; 13 top 10,000 ft; 22 top 5,000 ft; 33 top 3,000 ft; 37 top 2,000 ft; 45 top 1,000 ft. 5 states top out below 1,000 ft: Rhode Island (811 ft), Mississippi (807 ft), Louisiana (535 ft), Delaware (449 ft) and Florida (345 ft).

East of the Mississippi the highest is Mount Mitchell in North Carolina (6,684 ft), only number 16 on the national list. SummitSeeker has a trail guide for 40 of the 50 high points, and 29 of those guides quote a route distance from a published source. 49 states also have a page ranking the tallest peaks we cover there; follow the state name in the table.

Bar chart of the highest point in each of the 50 states, in feet, highest first 0 5k ft 10k ft 15k ft 20k ft Alaska 20,310 California 14,505 Colorado 14,440 Washington 14,400 Wyoming 13,809 Hawaii 13,803 Utah 13,534 New Mexico 13,167 Nevada 13,147 Montana 12,807 Idaho 12,668 Arizona 12,637 Oregon 11,249 Texas 8,751 South Dakota 7,244 North Carolina 6,684 Tennessee 6,643 New Hampshire 6,286 Virginia 5,711 Nebraska 5,432 New York 5,343 Maine 5,270 Oklahoma 4,975 West Virginia 4,862 Georgia 4,784 Vermont 4,395 Kentucky 4,139 Kansas 4,041 South Carolina 3,554 North Dakota 3,506 Massachusetts 3,489 Maryland 3,370 Pennsylvania 3,213 Arkansas 2,753 Alabama 2,405 Connecticut 2,386 Minnesota 2,302 Michigan 1,979 Wisconsin 1,951 New Jersey 1,802 Missouri 1,772 Iowa 1,671 Ohio 1,548 Indiana 1,257 Illinois 1,235 Rhode Island 811 Mississippi 807 Louisiana 535 Delaware 449 Florida 345
Bars are drawn to one linear scale in feet. Green: SummitSeeker has a trail guide for that high point; grey: not yet.

All 50 state high points, ranked

# State High point Elevation Hike
1 Alaska Denali 20,310 ft 28 mi round trip (source)
2 California Mount Whitney 14,505 ft 22 mi round trip (source)
3 Colorado Mount Elbert 14,440 ft 9.75 mi round trip (source)
4 Washington Mount Rainier 14,400 ft 15 mi round trip (source)
5 Wyoming Gannett Peak 13,809 ft 40 mi round trip (source)
6 Hawaii Mauna Kea 13,803 ft 13 mi round trip (source)
7 Utah Kings Peak 13,534 ft 27 mi round trip (source)
8 New Mexico Wheeler Peak 13,167 ft 8.2 mi round trip (source)
9 Nevada Boundary Peak 13,147 ft 10.5 mi round trip (source)
10 Montana Granite Peak 12,807 ft 24 mi round trip (source)
11 Idaho Borah Peak 12,668 ft 8 mi round trip (source)
12 Arizona Humphreys Peak 12,637 ft 10 mi round trip (source)
13 Oregon Mount Hood 11,249 ft 8 mi round trip (source)
14 Texas Guadalupe Peak 8,751 ft 8.4 mi round trip (source)
15 South Dakota Black Elk Peak 7,244 ft Trail guide
16 North Carolina Mount Mitchell 6,684 ft 11.2 mi round trip (source)
17 Tennessee Kuwohi 6,643 ft —
18 New Hampshire Mount Washington 6,286 ft 8.4 mi round trip (source)
19 Virginia Mount Rogers 5,711 ft Trail guide
20 Nebraska Panorama Point 5,432 ft —
21 New York Mount Marcy 5,343 ft 14.8 mi round trip (source)
22 Maine Mount Katahdin 5,270 ft 10.4 mi round trip (source)
23 Oklahoma Black Mesa 4,975 ft 8.7 mi round trip (source)
24 West Virginia Spruce Knob 4,862 ft —
25 Georgia Brasstown Bald 4,784 ft 1.2 mi round trip (source)
26 Vermont Mount Mansfield 4,395 ft 8.1 mi round trip (source)
27 Kentucky Black Mountain 4,139 ft 3 mi round trip (source)
28 Kansas Mount Sunflower 4,041 ft —
29 South Carolina Sassafras Mountain 3,554 ft Trail guide
30 North Dakota White Butte 3,506 ft 1.5 mi round trip (source)
31 Massachusetts Mount Greylock 3,489 ft —
32 Maryland Hoye-Crest 3,370 ft 2 mi round trip (source)
33 Pennsylvania Mount Davis 3,213 ft 1.6 mi round trip (source)
34 Arkansas Mount Magazine 2,753 ft —
35 Alabama Cheaha Mountain 2,405 ft Trail guide
36 Connecticut Mount Frissell 2,386 ft —
37 Minnesota Eagle Mountain 2,302 ft Trail guide
38 Michigan Mount Arvon 1,979 ft Trail guide
39 Wisconsin Timms Hill 1,951 ft Trail guide
40 New Jersey High Point 1,802 ft a 3.5-mile loop (source)
41 Missouri Taum Sauk Mountain 1,772 ft Trail guide
42 Iowa Hawkeye Point 1,671 ft —
43 Ohio Campbell Hill 1,548 ft —
44 Indiana Hoosier Hill 1,257 ft —
45 Illinois Charles Mound 1,235 ft 2 mi round trip (source)
46 Rhode Island Jerimoth Hill 811 ft 0.3 mi round trip (source)
47 Mississippi Woodall Mountain 807 ft 2 mi round trip (source)
48 Louisiana Driskill Mountain 535 ft Trail guide
49 Delaware Ebright Azimuth 449 ft Trail guide
50 Florida Britton Hill 345 ft Trail guide

State names link to that state's ranked list of the tallest peaks we have guides for (49 states). A route distance is listed only where a published route source gives it, linked as "source". For the other high points, open the trail guide.

High points with a footnote

  • Connecticut (Mount Frissell, 2,386 ft): The summit of Mount Frissell is in Massachusetts; Connecticut’s highest ground is on its southern slope at the state line.
  • Michigan (Mount Arvon, 1,979 ft): A 2024 survey measured nearby Mount Curwood about 0.4 ft higher (1,979.3 vs 1,978.9 ft); the Michigan DNR and the Highpointers Club still list Mount Arvon.

Questions

What is the highest point in the United States?

Denali in Alaska, at 20,310 feet. The highest point in the contiguous 48 states is Mount Whitney in California, at 14,505 feet.

Which state has the lowest high point?

Florida. Its highest point, Britton Hill, is 345 feet above sea level, followed by Ebright Azimuth in Delaware at 449 feet.

How many state high points are over 14,000 feet?

4: Denali (Alaska, 20,310 ft), Mount Whitney (California, 14,505 ft), Mount Elbert (Colorado, 14,440 ft) and Mount Rainier (Washington, 14,400 ft).

What is the highest point east of the Mississippi River?

Mount Mitchell in North Carolina, at 6,684 feet. It ranks 16 of 50 state high points; all 15 high points above it are in states west of the Mississippi.

Where do these elevations come from?

Each figure is the published USGS / National Geodetic Survey elevation on the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88), as listed in Wikipedia’s list of U.S. states by elevation (read 2026-10-15). Other published figures, including some in USGS's own summary table, differ by a few feet because they come from older surveys or an older datum.

Elevations: USGS / NGS elevations (NAVD 88), via Wikipedia’s list of U.S. states by elevation, read 2026-10-15. The District of Columbia is not a state and is not listed.

National trail map NH 48 4000-footers