USA 50 State HIKABLE High Points (No Mountaineering Required)

It's not so easy to find a list of 50 USA state high points that you can actually hike without any mountaineering or scrambling, so I did the research and figured it out for you.

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[MurCurieux]

This would be an amazing book. Classic Class 1 Hikes of USA

[andrewlivingston]

You can go to Campbell Hill in Ohio. It's right next to Ohio Hi-Point Technical School, where my kids graduated from. Best time to visit is on the weekend, due to parking. Side note: when they hold graduation at the school they have the kids walk down from Campbell Hill to the ceremony. As far as hiking... it's only about 100 yards from the parking lot to the top.

[BillandJulia]

So glad you are going to do this series! We will be watching to see what is doable for us!

[spartyhikerfromme]

I agree with your choices for the 6 New England states and New York. For ME, NH, VT, MA and NY there are multiple options. Some of the more popular trails do have a minor Class 2 feature or two. Many of the New England trails have some high step ups (2-3 feet), large boulders or exposed rock slabs or ledges that are relatively easy to navigate, but do require the use of hands for balance, which is technically a Class 2. I am working on completing the 100 highest peaks in New England, so have lots of info. Started a couple of weeks before 64th birthday and looking at number 72 this month. Completed 77 of the 100. I don't want to publish my contact info here, so if you would like my input, let me know how I can reach you.

[MLJ-ks]

Great idea - I can envision several videos coming from this. I have completed a dozen or so state highpoints but I know that some will never happen for me, so I appreciate the list of alternatives.

[marlo]

Thanks for this - a new way for me to plan some adventures! I have merch idea for you. A hanging list of all the hikes with a spot to color in once completed. Etsy has what I am thinking of for state parks, national parks, etc.

[bryanbischof]

I’ve wondered about this. Thanks for putting this together.

[WaltTaylorau]

Alabama is Mt Cheaha... You can hike some of the Pinhoti trial on your way up. It's in Cheaha State Park

[MelissaMurphy-rl]

Thanks so much for doing this!!! I've hit 15 of the state high points but wasn't sure what I was going to do for the states that required ice axes!

[pmedic]

I absolutely love this idea. Would love to add these trails to a bucket list! Sending this to my brother in Utah who does a lot of hiking and may be able to help you out there.

[ArbitraryLifestyle]

CalTopo map with a custom DEM shading layer can help you find highest points with trails easier. For the lower ones you could have a "Low Elevation" DEM layer with a range of 0-1, 000 and every 100-feet in elevation is a different color. Then turn on "Public Lands" and the "MapBuilder Overlay" to weed out a lot of potentials.

[davidplotkin]

What a great idea, Cris, and thanks for putting so much thought and time into researching it. I have a suggestion for CALIFORNIA. You know, it's really 3 states in one: Northern, Southern, and Central (meaning JMT and Sierra area). While it's tough to get anything over 1, 000 feet that isn't in someone's backyard in Ohio, that's a literal walk in the park in California. And since CA is so huge, with such varied geography, I think it's worthwhile to do 3 parts to it. I realize that New York or Texas may also claim that, but the peaks in Texas are few & far between, and you could stuff NY into So Cal. Alternatively you could simply do a Best Coastal Peak and Best Inland Peak since the geographies and hiking challenges/views may be far different. Anyway, just a thought from a Ventura County hiker. Thanks again.

[kasai]

Good list! Though as somebody who spends a lot of time in the mountains in Idaho and doing research for trips, I can tell you Blackmon peak is definitely not a real trail. Both Gaia and Alltrails have put in false tracks that have misled hikers. It's not a hard peak, but the scramble to the summit is class 2. You can find it listed in the Idaho a Climbing Guidebook as a class 2 peak (page 224). Let me know if you want a picture or further evidence. I'd suggest Annie's Peak in the Lemhis (44.57199, -113.61455, 10, 288 ft) or Lookout Mountain (44.19259, -114.75867, 9, 954 ft) as I've mentioned previously.

[bg]

Mt Adams in Washington. Non technical and can be done in one day (most folks choose two.). This time of year having micro spikes is super helpful.

[cschoolf]

I did pioneer peak couple years ago. There’s a definite trail most of the way up till the last part. Which is definitely a scramble in some spots. The hard part is you can get “lost” as you go up to the peak because of all the crazy rocks. Absolutely beautiful hike though. Did it in 13h out and back

[curtiskupferschmid]

Thanks so much for this, this is so cool! What a great challenge/goal.

[relmukneb]

I think Oregon's should be South Sister. 3rd highest peak in Oregon on PeakBagger, 600 ft higher than Steen's Mountain. It's definitely hikeable in late summer without stepping on snow at all. No scrambling, great trail the whole way except maybe 1/2 mile near the top it does get soft and gravel-y near the top and not a single well-defined trail at that point, but a braid of a bunch of equally travelled routes within ~ 20 ft of each other, but no routefinding needed and no dangerous scree.

[Al-S-NH]

I'm not sure if Baxter peak of Katahdin is accessible without at least some scrambling. If so, it's probably a route that passes first through Hamlin peak. The more direct trails usually go through slides and boulder fields.

[Hikingguy]

Big thank you to Maxwell for sending this over re:Idaho. Looks like Iron Creek Point is the winner here:

1. Iron Creek Point (10740’) is the highest peak in Idaho with a motorized use trail. Like many Forest Service trails in this part of the Lemhis, it exists in theory but may not be maintained well in practice (Tom Lopez describes it as “deteriorating” – but even so, the trail shows up as FST 4193 on the current Forest Service interactive map. This is easily the highest peak in Idaho with an official trail running straight to the top. Class 1.

2. Inyo Benchmark (10614’), also in the Lemhis, is class 2 via the quickest route but there is a longer approach which is easily class 1. There is no official trail for this peak, as official trails leading to summits are rare in Idaho (not a single mountain about 11000’ has one); nevertheless, I think you’ll find that there is little tree cover on this SSW route (check the Rick Baugher trip report on LOJ for beta) and even that gives way to an obvious open ridge. This may be spicier than you’re looking for, given the long walk in, but it’s certainly class 1 and technically wouldn’t involve too much route finding.

3. In that vein, Smiley Peak (11508’) is a relatively obscure peak in the southern Pioneers, near a popular campground (named “Iron Bog”). It is virtually always summited from the south, which is class 2, but there is another possibility – you could come up the broad ridgeline from the north, starting in the Lake Creek basin. I haven’t done this myself, but you would be above treeline almost immediately, and it’s a fairly obvious route that would take you directly to the top of Smiley with no class 2 complications. I could tell you more once I’ve summited, as I’m heading up to hike it tomorrow with a fellow peakbagger, and I’ll have a good view of the one remotely steep section (of the north ridge) near the summit.

[UncleTravelingMatt]

Connecticut: The highest peak is actually Bear Mountain at 2, 326. The highest POINT is on Mount Frissell which is the south slope, but only 60 extra feet. It’s only a few miles north of Bear and you can link them together but I think Bear is a better hike with great views at the summit and you can take the Appalachian Trail, or Undermountain trail. Very hikeable with moderate difficulty.