Last updated September 18, 2026
USA Peakbagging Challenges: 20 Lists to Climb
American peakbagging ranges from roadside highpoints to expedition mountaineering. The right challenge depends on whether you want geography, elevation, technical progression, a local hiking project or a lifetime list. This guide compares the major U.S. challenge types and shows where each one fits.
Choose a Peakbagging List by the Kind of Project You Want—not by Which List Sounds Hardest.
For national geography: start with the 50 State Highpoints. For a classic single-state mountain project: Colorado’s 14ers or the Adirondack 46ers are stronger fits. For Northeast hiking tradition: use the White Mountain 48, New England 67 or the historic Northeast 111/115 progression. For a lifetime administrative-boundary project: county highpointing is its own category.
Peakbagging lists use different rules—elevation, prominence, administrative boundaries, historical club definitions or curated challenge design. Comparing raw peak counts without understanding the rule produces bad comparisons.
How the Best-Known U.S. Peakbagging Lists Differ
Peak count alone tells you almost nothing. A 46-peak hiking list can take years; a 50-peak national list includes both drive-ups and Denali.
| Challenge | Current count | Rule | Typical character | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 State Highpoints | 50 | Highest point in each state | Roadside → expedition | Travel + national geography |
| Colorado 14ers | 53 ranked 58 named above 14k | 14,000+ ft + 300 ft prominence for ranked list | Trail hike → exposed scrambling | Single-state mountain progression |
| Adirondack 46ers | 46 | Historic list | Long forest hikes, steep trails, herd paths | Traditional Northeast completion |
| White Mountain 4,000-Footers | 48 | Official AMC list | Trail hiking, severe weather, long days | New England entry list |
| New England 4,000-Footers | 67 | NH + ME + VT 4k list | Broader regional hiking | Step beyond NH48 |
| Northeast 111 | 115 today | Historic club name retained | NE67 + ADK46 + Slide + Hunter | Major Northeast lifetime hiking project |
| New England Hundred Highest | 100 | Top 100 regional elevations | Includes off-trail/bushwhack elements | Advanced Northeast list hikers |
| U.S. County Highpoints | 3,000+ jurisdictions | Highest point in each county-equivalent unit | Travel-heavy, obscure access, occasional technical peaks | Lifetime highpointing |
| Washington Bulger 100 | 100 | Traditional top-100 WA list | Remote, technical, glacier and scramble terrain | Advanced Northwest mountaineers |
| Utah 13ers | 19 on GSG list | Utah summits above 13,000 ft | Remote High Uinta backpacking | Isolation + endurance |
Peakbagging Culture Changes by Region.
The Northeast emphasizes club-defined hiking lists; the Rockies emphasize elevation lists; the West Coast adds remoteness, volcanoes, glaciers and technical objectives.
Three Very Different Ways to Peakbag Across America
National lists are less about one mountain range and more about travel, access, logistics and long-term record keeping.
50 State Highpoints
The classic national highpointing project. The difficulty range is enormous: many state highpoints are short walks or roadside stops, while Denali is a full expedition. The Highpointers Club recognizes 48-state and all-50 milestones.
U.S. County Highpoints
A true lifetime project built around county and county-equivalent boundaries. The challenge is not just climbing—it is research, private access, travel, obscure points and maintaining records across thousands of jurisdictions.
Six-Pack of Peaks
A curated regional model rather than a strict elevation or prominence list. Useful for new peakbaggers because the project is small enough to finish in a season and can build hiking consistency.
State & County Sub-Lists
Many peakbaggers break large national projects into state-sized goals: all county highpoints in one home state, regional state-highpoint clusters, or local county lists before expanding nationally.
Elevation, Remoteness and Technical Progression
Western peakbagging lists tend to become more serious as elevation rises and trail infrastructure drops away.
Colorado 14ers
53 ranked peaks under the common 300-foot prominence rule. The list progresses from high-elevation trail hiking into exposed scrambling and serious route-finding.
Utah 13ers
High Uinta objectives where remoteness, backpacking distance and weather can matter more than technical climbing.
Wasatch Range Peaks
A strong local challenge for Utah hikers who want a repeatable mountain project close to population centers.
Bulger 100
A much more serious top-100 style objective that can involve remote approaches, scrambling, snow, glacier travel and technical mountaineering.
California High-Peak Lists
Sierra peakbagging can range from trail summits to alpine rock and cross-country terrain. Always define the exact list before counting progress.
Cascade Volcanoes
A natural progression from hiking volcanoes toward glacier travel and more technical objectives such as Rainier, Baker and Hood.
The Northeast Has the Deepest Club-Based Peakbagging Culture in the U.S.
These lists are historically defined, which is why current measured elevations do not always match the names or old thresholds perfectly.
| List | Current count | Organization | Important nuance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adirondack 46ers | 46 | Adirondack Forty-Sixers | Historical list remains 46 even though several peaks are now known to be below 4,000 ft. |
| White Mountain Four Thousand Footers | 48 | AMC Four Thousand Footer Club | Often called the NH48; the official club name is White Mountain Four Thousand Footers. |
| New England Four Thousand Footers | 67 | AMC Four Thousand Footer Club | 48 New Hampshire peaks plus Maine and Vermont additions. |
| Northeast 111 | 115 today | AMC Four Thousand Footer Club | Historic name retained after later list additions. |
| New England Hundred Highest | 100 | AMC Four Thousand Footer Club | Includes sub-4,000 ft peaks and true bushwhack objectives. |
Which Peakbagging Challenge Fits You?
The strongest first list is usually the one that matches your geography, travel budget and current skills.
Start Local and Small
Choose a Six-Pack edition, local range list or accessible state-highpoint cluster. Completion momentum matters more than list prestige.
Colorado 14ers or Adirondack 46
Both have strong communities and clear completion identity, but they build very different mountain skills.
50 State Highpoints
This is as much a geography and logistics project as a climbing list.
Western Alpine Lists
Washington, Sierra and Cascade objectives can force progression into snow, glacier, rock and remote navigation skills.
Northeast Club Lists
The White Mountain, Adirondack and AMC lists come with long histories, completion records and recognizable communities.
County Highpoints
Thousands of points, obscure access and huge travel scope make this qualitatively different from a single mountain-range list.
Five Ways Peakbagging Lists Decide What Counts
Most list disagreements come from mixing rule systems.
Height Above a Line
Examples include Colorado 14ers and Utah 13ers, often modified by prominence rules.
Independent Summit Rule
Colorado’s ranked list uses 300 feet of prominence, which is why some named 14,000-foot summits are unranked.
Highest Point in Each Area
State and county highpointing care about boundaries, not whether the highpoint feels like a mountain.
Tradition Overrides New Measurement
The Adirondack 46 remains the Adirondack 46 even after improved elevation data changed which peaks actually exceed 4,000 feet.
Highest 50 / 100 / 200
These lists depend heavily on exact prominence and elevation methodology.
Selected Peaks
Programs such as Six-Pack of Peaks choose objectives for experience rather than strict geographic statistics.
Use the Organization That Owns the List Standard.
When a list has an active club or recognized keeper, its current definition should outrank informal summaries.
Primary list sources
What this guide deliberately avoids
- Calling one list objectively “hardest” without a defined criterion.
- Treating every 14,000-foot summit as a ranked Colorado 14er.
- Assuming historical list names still equal exact modern peak counts.
- Claiming every overlapping summit automatically counts toward every club’s rules.
- Using stale completer totals when the owning organization publishes a current registry.
USA Peakbagging FAQ
These answers use the current standards of the organizations that maintain the lists.
What are the most popular U.S. peakbagging challenges?
Major examples include the 50 State Highpoints, Colorado 14ers, Adirondack 46ers, White Mountain 48, New England 67, Northeast 111/115, New England Hundred Highest, U.S. County Highpoints, Washington Bulger 100 and many state or range-specific lists.
How many Colorado 14ers are there?
14ers.com currently recognizes 53 ranked Colorado 14ers under the 300-foot prominence rule plus five named unranked 14ers, for 58 named summits above 14,000 feet on its list.
How many Adirondack 46ers are there?
The completion list remains 46 peaks. Some historical members of the list are now measured below 4,000 feet, but they remain required by tradition.
Why is the Northeast 111 actually 115 peaks?
The historic club name was retained after list changes. AMC says the current list has 115 peaks: the New England 4,000-footers, Adirondack 46ers and Slide and Hunter in the Catskills.
How many people have completed all 50 state highpoints?
The Highpointers Club recorded 395 all-50 completers as of August 25, 2026.
What is a good beginner peakbagging list?
Choose a local list with mostly hiking objectives and low travel friction. Six-Pack of Peaks, regional day-hike lists and accessible state-highpoint clusters are practical starting points.
Can one summit count for multiple lists?
Yes. Mount Elbert, for example, is both a Colorado 14er and the Colorado state highpoint. But overlap must be checked list by list; do not assume every summit transfers to every club definition.
Do I need to register to be a peakbagger?
No. Club registration is optional. Organizations can provide recognition, patches, numbers or completion records, but the climbing itself can be pursued independently.
Open the Live Peakbagging Guides
Move from the national directory into the challenge that actually matches your region and current skills.
Start With a Challenge You Can Visit Often—Then Let the List Expand Your Map.
Peakbagging works because it turns one summit into a system. Choose a list with enough difficulty to create progression, but enough accessibility that you can keep returning to it.
Explore US Mountains
Every major American range, list and challenge in one place — pick your next one below.
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Health, altitude, and nutrition content is reviewed by Taylor Ludlow (Registered Nurse) and Brigg Hoopes (Nutritionist).
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