High Points of the 50 United States
From Florida’s barely-there Britton Hill to the towering summit of Denali — every state has a highest point. Track your progress through all 50 with this interactive checklist.
The 50 State High Points Challenge
The “High Pointers” challenge — climbing the highest point in every US state — is one of the most accessible and geographically diverse peakbagging goals in the world. The 50 summits span every major landscape: Gulf Coast sand hills, Great Plains prairie swells, eastern hardwood ridges, Rocky Mountain granite, and subarctic Alaskan glaciers. No two are alike in character or difficulty.
Use the checklist below to track your progress. Your completions save automatically in your browser. Use the Print button to generate a clean physical copy for your logbook.
The High Pointers Foundation (highpointers.org) is the official organization for this challenge. They maintain current access, conditions, and summit registers for all 50 state high points — and award completion certificates to finishers. Their annual conventions bring together hundreds of high-point enthusiasts from across the country.
The Complete Checklist
| ✓ | # | State | High Point | Elevation (ft) | Difficulty |
|---|
Planning Your High Point Tour
Starting Out
Most high pointers recommend beginning with your home state and nearby states — this builds familiarity with the style of challenge before committing to the big western objectives. The eastern and midwestern states are largely accessible day hikes or short drives, making them excellent early completions. Save the high-altitude Rocky Mountain peaks and Denali for after you’ve developed your mountain fitness and skills.
The Big Three Objectives
- Denali (AK) — 20,310 ft: The crown of the challenge. A full expedition requiring a month, significant mountaineering experience, and NPS permitting. Plan 18–21 days minimum on the mountain.
- Mount Rainier (WA) — 14,411 ft: A glacier-cloaked stratovolcano requiring crampons, ice axe, and rope team experience. Most climbers use a guided service.
- Gannett Peak (WY) — 13,804 ft: The most remote lower-48 high point — a 2–3 day approach through the Wind River Range with glacier travel on summit day.
Elevation & Acclimatization
Seven state high points exceed 13,000 ft (Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, Wyoming). Climbers travelling from sea level should allow acclimatization time before summit attempts on peaks above 11,000 ft. See our Acclimatization Guide for a practical overview of altitude physiology that applies equally to US high-altitude state summits.
Several state high points have seasonal or permanent access restrictions. Charles Mound (IL) is on private land open only certain weekends per year. Hoosier Hill (IN) requires landowner permission. Always check the High Pointers Foundation website for current access status before making a trip.