Most states you can see in one place?

[woodpusher]

I am quite certain it is impossible to see 7 states from Rock City, GA. 
VA, KY, SC are clearly impossible.

http://www.ringbell.co.uk/info/hdist.htm

But what is the maximum number, and where?

It might be as high as 6. 
Candidates:  Mt. Greylock, MA (MA, CT, RI?, NH, VT?, NY)
                   Slide Mt., NY (NY, PA, NJ, CT, MA, VT?)

[Beeper1]

You can see VT from Greylock, but I'm almost positive there's no way you can see as far as RI. 

[AlexandriaVA]

Astronauts/Cosmonauts aboard the ISS could probably see most, if not all, of the lower 48 US states.

From the top of a skyscraper in NYC, you could probably see NY, NJ, CT and PA on a clear day.

[theline]

These days, the National Park Service is claiming a view of just three states from Pinnacle Overlook in Cumberland Gap National Historic Park: http://www.nps.gov/cuga/planyourvisit/gettingaround.htm.

IIRC, the overlook touted a view "on a clear day" of five states, including West Virginia and North Carolina, back when we visited there on our honeymoon. Since that was over 40 years ago, things may have changed. Perhaps pollution obscures the view now or maybe the park rangers got tired of folks complaining that they couldn't see everything advertised. 

[The Nature Boy]

Vermont from Greylock is almost a certainty given its proximity to the border. Rhode Island is an impossibility however.

Mount Washington in NH would have New Hampshire and Maine for sure. Vermont possibly?

[froggie]

Mount Washington in NH would have New Hampshire and Maine for sure. Vermont possibly?

Yes.  There are places in my town where we can see Mt Washington on a clear day, so the reciprocal is also true.

I don't recall offhand from my Mt. Washington trip, but it might also be possible to see part of Quebec.

[Jim]

Yes, Mount Washington is easily visible on a clear day from many parts of Vermont.  I remember reading or seeing something about it being visible from parts of New York as well.  At least this REI page says you can see parts of NY from Mt. Washington: http://blog.rei.com/climb/famous-u-s-summits-mount-washington-new-hampshire/

It's been a while since I have been to the summit of Mount Greylock.  New York and Vermont are very easy to see.  I would not have guessed you can see Connecticut but the Wikipedia article about Greylock says you can.

[Chris19001]

Any place in Southern Utah where you can get the 4 corners & Nevada?  I can recall some spots east of Bryce Canyon where you could see surprisingly far south, but I suspect 5 is a state too much.

[sandwalk]

On top of Pikes Peak near Colorado Springs you can obviously see Colorado, but on a clear day you can also see New Mexico, Wyoming, Kansas, and....to my surprise, Oklahoma.

[The Nature Boy]

Yes, Mount Washington is easily visible on a clear day from many parts of Vermont.  I remember reading or seeing something about it being visible from parts of New York as well.  At least this REI page says you can see parts of NY from Mt. Washington: http://blog.rei.com/climb/famous-u-s-summits-mount-washington-new-hampshire/

It's been a while since I have been to the summit of Mount Greylock.  New York and Vermont are very easy to see.  I would not have guessed you can see Connecticut but the Wikipedia article about Greylock says you can.

I find it difficult to believe that you can see any part of New York from Mt. Washington. Maybe on an exceptionally clear day, ditto with seeing Connecticut from Mt. Greylock.

[Rothman]

Yes, Mount Washington is easily visible on a clear day from many parts of Vermont.  I remember reading or seeing something about it being visible from parts of New York as well.  At least this REI page says you can see parts of NY from Mt. Washington: http://blog.rei.com/climb/famous-u-s-summits-mount-washington-new-hampshire/

It's been a while since I have been to the summit of Mount Greylock.  New York and Vermont are very easy to see.  I would not have guessed you can see Connecticut but the Wikipedia article about Greylock says you can.

I find it difficult to believe that you can see any part of New York from Mt. Washington. Maybe on an exceptionally clear day, ditto with seeing Connecticut from Mt. Greylock.

I can see Mount Washington in MA from my office in Albany, NY.

[jeffandnicole]

On even a semi-cloudy day, from the Delaware Memorial Bridge you can see DE, NJ & PA, including the Philadelphia Skyline about 25 miles away.  As you can see that far north, it stands to reason you should be able to see Maryland which is about 15 miles away, except there's no landmarks that I know of visible from the bridge.

[froggie]

The weather observers at the Mount Washington Observatory tweeted me this afternoon and confirmed that they can indeed see 5 states, including MA and NY, from the top, as well as Quebec and the Atlantic Ocean.

[SectorZ]

You can see VT from Greylock, but I'm almost positive there's no way you can see as far as RI.

From Greylock you can see VT, NY, NH, and CT all fairly easily. NH you have a clear view of Mt. Monadnock, NY and VT are close to see many things, and you can see the cluster of hills in NW CT. RI, no way, there is just too much tall stuff between Greylock and the hills in RI. Jerimoth Hill is barely 800' ASL, everything in central MA is above that in between the two.

[noelbotevera]

On the top of the lift hill of Top Thrill Dragster in Cedar Point, you can probably see Pennsylvania, Canada, Michigan, and that's it. Two states and a country.

[Quillz]

At Crater Lake in Oregon, you can see Mt. Shasta in California, well over 100 miles to the south. And while I believe it might be possible to see Mt. Hood, I don't think Mt. Rainier is visible.

[Buck87]

On the top of the lift hill of Top Thrill Dragster in Cedar Point, you can probably see Pennsylvania, Canada, Michigan, and that's it. Two states and a country.

PA is 100 miles away and MI is just over 40, so I seriously doubt you could see either from a height of only 420 feet.

You can see Canada from the top of TTD though, since its southernmost point of land (Middle Island) is only 14 miles away.

So it's most like just one state (OH) and one Province (ON)

[roadman65]

Whoever wrote in an article in Wikipedia about Bear Mountain, NY saying that five states can be seen from the Perkins Tower on the summit.

I am assuming its NY, NJ, CT, and MA for sure, but what would the fifth, assuming that Wiki was accurate when I saw the article?

[kkt]

From Mt. Rainier you can see Mt. Hood easily on any reasonably clear day, and on a particularly good day you can see Mt. Robbie Reid in B.C.

[Rothman]

On the top of the lift hill of Top Thrill Dragster in Cedar Point, you can probably see Pennsylvania, Canada, Michigan, and that's it. Two states and a country.

PA is 100 miles away and MI is just over 40, so I seriously doubt you could see either from a height of only 420 feet.

Yeah, PA's a stretch from Sandusky.

[Rothman]

You can see VT from Greylock, but I'm almost positive there's no way you can see as far as RI.

From Greylock you can see VT, NY, NH, and CT all fairly easily. NH you have a clear view of Mt. Monadnock, NY and VT are close to see many things, and you can see the cluster of hills in NW CT. RI, no way, there is just too much tall stuff between Greylock and the hills in RI. Jerimoth Hill is barely 800' ASL, everything in central MA is above that in between the two.

You can see Mount Monadnock from Mount Holyoke (Skinner Mt.) in MA, even on a relatively hazy day.

[woodpusher]

OK, it looks like the leaders are:

Pikes Peak - CO, NM, WY, KS, OK
Mt. Washington - NH, VT, MA, NY, ME
Bear Mt. - NY, NJ, CT, MA, one more?

oops....
Mt. Greylock - MA, VT, NY, CT, NH

To be checked:
Clingman's Dome
Southern Utah

[empirestate]

Bear Mt. - NY, NJ, CT, MA, one more?

It could only possibly be Pennsylvania, but I find this type of claim dubious.

[noelbotevera]

Bear Mt. - NY, NJ, CT, MA, one more?

It could only possibly be Pennsylvania, but I find this type of claim dubious.

Seeing Massachusetts from there seems impossible. I'd say the missing state is Pennsylvania, as Pennsylvania is only 47 miles away, maybe more.

EDIT: Digged up a forum that has a topic on the longest sightlines.

[vegas1962]

Supposedly, on the clearest day, one can see a radius of up to 100 miles from the observation tower at Clingman's Dome on the TN-NC border in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  From there, I presume that you could also see SC, GA, VA and maybe KY.