The Fifty Road Summits

[Snappyjack]

New Jersey's high point, called High Point, has a road that leads right up to a parking lot at the summit. It's about a 1 minute walk from the lot to the High Point Monument.

Is this the hill with the light shining from it that is visible on I-84 westbound in New York approaching the Delaware River?

Yes, there's a stone tower monument at the top that lights up at night. To get to it, you get off at Exit 1 in New York, go into New Jersey on NJ 23 and the turn off to get there is a couple miles down the road.

[Michael in Philly]

New Jersey's high point, called High Point, has a road that leads right up to a parking lot at the summit. It's about a 1 minute walk from the lot to the High Point Monument.

Is this the hill with the light shining from it that is visible on I-84 westbound in New York approaching the Delaware River?

I was once on 287 down near Wayne with my parents (I was driving), on a very clear day, and my mother claimed she could see the monument at High Point.  Which must be 40 miles from that point.  I've been to High Point with them as well, and you can certainly see lots of stuff from it, so it's plausible.

[Mapmikey]

Virginia's highest point (Mt Rogers, 5,729ft) is not driveable, being within a designated wilderness area.  But it is hikeable.  The nearest road is SR 600, about 2 miles to the west.

SR 600 runs in the valley.  A little farther away but higher up is what I believe is the highest elevation one can drive in Virginia - VA 362 in Grayson Highlands State Park.  A quick check of the DeLorme puts it in the 4600-4700 ft ballpark and there are not very many places in Virgina reachable or not that have this altitude.

S. Carolina's highest point, Sassafrass Mtn can be driven to the top, just of US 178 near the NC Line...

Mapmikey

Mapmikey

[texaskdog]

Can't drive to the highest point in South Dakota, Harney Peak, but you can drive close enough to hike, and the hike is about 1.5 hours up.  Easy hike, too.  However there is a road to radio towers that has to be pretty dang close to the same elevation, it is on SD-87 just south of US 16

[agentsteel53]

I was once on 287 down near Wayne with my parents (I was driving), on a very clear day, and my mother claimed she could see the monument at High Point.  Which must be 40 miles from that point.  I've been to High Point with them as well, and you can certainly see lots of stuff from it, so it's plausible.

that's very much plausible - it depends on the brightness of the light.  I know I've seen the beam of the spotlight from the Luxor casino in Las Vegas from Glendale, which is about 55 miles.  the light source itself would be significantly more visible.

[empirestate]

You can drive right up to the summit of Mt. Greylock, the highest in Massachusetts, via a good paved road. Then you can climb up the monument that's located there.

You can definitely also drive to the Four Seasons Hotel in Miami, the highest point in Florida. 

[US71]

AR 309 gets you to Mt Magazine, then there is a county road which takes you to Mt Magazine Park. There is a walking trail to Signal Hill, which is the tallest point.

[The High Plains Traveler]

I do not believe there is a road to the top of Black Mesa, the highest point in OK.

Black Mesa is a large feature that lies within three states - Colorado, New Mexico and Oklahoma. The highest point on Black Mesa in Oklahoma is reachable from about a four-mile trail that begins north of Kenton OK. The trail, from what I've seen on a map, passes through New Mexico since the high point is just east of the border. (I've looked into this because this is one of several state high points within a days drive of where I live). The high points in Kansas and Nebraska, which both lie very close to the Colorado border, are both accessible by county roads and then private roads whose owners allow public access.

A little thread reinterpretation would lead us into a discussion of the highest points on each state's highway system, whether or not at the state's high point, both on through roads and dead-end roads. Oklahoma's OK-325 would be the highest through road where it passes south of the state's high point. And, as cited above Colorado's highest state highway is CO-5, which ends at the top of Mt. Evans, while the highest through road on the state highway system is Trail Ridge Road (12,183) in RMNP. That is, unless you don't want to count roads under NPS maintenance as a state highway, in which case you would cite CO-82 at Independence Pass, 12,093.

In New Mexico, I believe the highest through state highway is U.S. 64 east of Tierra Amarilla at about 10,500 feet, while you can drive NM-536 to the top of Sandia Peak (10,678) overlooking Albuquerque. For California the highest through road would be CA-120, Tioga Pass at 9986 feet, and I'm not aware of a state highway that ends at a higher elevation. For Wyoming and Montana, I'm going with U.S. 212 at Beartooth Pass, 10,947 ft., though the pass is in Wyoming and so the maximum elevation in Montana is lower but still over 10,000 ft.

For some less spectacular summits, Minnesota's highest state highway point may be on U.S. 14 in its southwest corner near Lake Benton. The land in that area, an extended ridgeline called the Coteau des Prairies, comes very close to 2000 feet; this is an elevation only reached elsewhere in that state in the hills above Lake Superior. The highest point in Iowa is in the same geographic feature, so IA-60, which passes by it, probably has the honor at over 1600 feet. Kansas' highest state highway appears to be I-70 at the Colorado border, a little over 3900 ft.

[empirestate]

For that contest, the highest in NY's system would doubtless be the Whiteface Highway, which is NY 431 and climbs to over 4500 feet on the eponymous mountain, according to The Internet.

[oscar]

The road to the Mauna Kea observatory complex on the Big Island tops out at 13,780 feet, a short but treacherous hike from the summit at 13,796 feet.

Here is a list of highest paved roads: http://americasroof.com/archives/525
The list is not totally accurate, but a good starting point.

The thread is not limited to paved roads; nevertheless, the americasroof page is a great resource.  The absence of the Mauna Kea road (unpaved?) from the americasroof list jumps out at me.  Any other distinctions of note?

The Mauna Kea road is paved at the beginning and the end, but steep and unpaved in the middle.

[oscar]

A little thread reinterpretation would lead us into a discussion of the highest points on each state's highway system, whether or not at the state's high point, both on through roads and dead-end roads. Oklahoma's OK-325 would be the highest through road where it passes south of the state's high point. And, as cited above Colorado's highest state highway is CO-5, which ends at the top of Mt. Evans, while the highest through road on the state highway system is Trail Ridge Road (12,183) in RMNP. That is, unless you don't want to count roads under NPS maintenance as a state highway, in which case you would cite CO-82 at Independence Pass, 12,093.

Hawaii's Mauna Kea access road is not part of that state's highway system, but is owned by the University of Hawaii, and Hawaii DOT helped with construction and maintenance.  The Mauna Loa access road, which also tops out above 10000 feet, is a Federal Government road.  The highest point on the state highway system is at the east end of state route 378 (Haleakala Highway), at 6721 feet, where it ends at the Haleakala National Park boundary (from which the road continues, under Park Service maintenance, to the Haleakala summit).

[bassoon1986]

Louisiana's Driskill "Mountain" is only 535 feet so it's an easy 1 mile hike or so from LA 507 in rural Bienville Parish

[Beeper1]

Of course in RI, it would be RI-101, which passes within yards of the state's highest point, Jerimoth Hill.

In NH, the highest public road is the road through Jefferson Notch, which while unpaved and un-numbered, is a state maintained road.

[agentsteel53]

I had thought NH's Mount Washington road was state-maintained.  not correct? 

[triplemultiplex]

There is a county park road that leads to a parking lot right by Timm's Hill in northern Wisconsin.  It's just off of WI 86, a short distance east of WI 13 at Ogema, WI.

If you have the proper gate key, you can drive a vehicle to the actual summit of Timm's Hill.  I have done this on official county park business, thus making me one of the few people to park a vehicle on the actual summit of a high point.  (I spent the summer of '05 working for Price County Parks & Forestry).

[Beeper1]

I had thought NH's Mount Washington road was state-maintained.  not correct? 

Nope. The Mount Washington Auto Road is privately owned and operated. 

[formulanone]

Florida high point is driveable, hikeable and unforgetable  ! http://www.takemytrip.com/destinations/lakewoodpark.htm

That's right, Delaware! We have the lowest-highest-point in America.

[hm insulators]

Arizona's highest point, Humphrey's Peak is visible for miles and miles from I-40, I-17, US 180 and US 89. You can't drive to the summit, but from US 180, a side roads leads to a ski area called the Arizona Snowbowl higher up the mountain. Lots of beautiful aspens. Once you get to the ski area, start hikin'. There are lots of trails, one of which does top out at the mountain's summit, almost 13,000 feet.

[texaskdog]

Would be cool to be able to drive to every summit

[NE2]

Florida high point is driveable, hikeable and unforgetable  ! http://www.takemytrip.com/destinations/lakewoodpark.htm

That's right, Delaware! We have the lowest-highest-point in America.

The peninsula's high point is also driveable (and popular for biking), with much more prominence than that bump in the Panhandle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugarloaf_Mountain_(Florida)

[NE2]

Would be cool to be able to drive to every summit

By Interstate, no less.

[berberry]

I had thought NH's Mount Washington road was state-maintained.  not correct? 

Nope. The Mount Washington Auto Road is privately owned and operated. 

Same is true /w Mississippi's Woodall Mountain.  That's in Tishomingo County, an area of the state that has the ambiance of mountain country without any real mountains.  Has a lot of cute little hills, though.  They look like models for something you might see in Virginia.

Woodall Mountain is 806 feet, I believe, and although there is a road to the top and sight-seeing access is allowed, the road is not state-maintained.

[agentsteel53]

Would be cool to be able to drive to every summit

By Interstate, no less.

where's I-366 when we need it?

[The High Plains Traveler]

Florida high point is driveable, hikeable and unforgetable  ! http://www.takemytrip.com/destinations/lakewoodpark.htm

That's right, Delaware! We have the lowest-highest-point in America.

No, Delaware's is 447 ft., Florida's is 345 ft. My drive to work has a higher elevation change than Florida's low to high points.

[Takumi]

where's I-366 when we need it?

*ahem*