State High Points Accessible by Car

[TravelingBethelite]

KS: Mt Sunflower, hell yes, been there

Wait, Kansas has a high point ?! ( ) Oh yeah, 4039 ft...

[iBallasticwolf2]

KS: Mt Sunflower, hell yes, been there

Wait, Kansas has a high point ?! ( ) Oh yeah, 4039 ft...

Oh please, Indiana's highest point in a mere 1,257 feet.

[TravelingBethelite]

KS: Mt Sunflower, hell yes, been there

Wait, Kansas has a high point ?! ( ) Oh yeah, 4039 ft...

ON TOPIC:

Driskill Mountain (LA): not sure how long the hike is (probably more than 0.5 mile), but otherwise yes.  It's only 535 feet above sea level.

We tried to find it once but missed a turn and ran out of time.

Damn, that high point is lower than the lowest point in Idaho (713 ft in Lewiston).

ID: Borah Peak, Custer County: No, not quite, about 2.89 miles from CR 663

[OCGuy81]

KS: Mt Sunflower, hell yes, been there

Wait, Kansas has a high point ?! ( ) Oh yeah, 4039 ft...

Oh please, Indiana's highest point in a mere 1,257 feet.

And let's not forget the highest point in Florida with Britton Hill clocking in at an amazing 345 feet!

[iBallasticwolf2]

KS: Mt Sunflower, hell yes, been there

Wait, Kansas has a high point ?! ( ) Oh yeah, 4039 ft...

Oh please, Indiana's highest point in a mere 1,257 feet.

And let's not forget the highest point in Florida with Britton Hill clocking in at an amazing 345 feet!

I think Florida takes the cake as the lowest highest point in any US state!

[english si]

Wait, Kansas has a high point ?! ( ) Oh yeah, 4039 ft...

Oh please, Indiana's highest point in a mere 1,257 feet.

Kansas has a reputation for being very flat (somewhat undeserved -it's top ten, but not the best). That it's high up means little - it's that one bit is higher up than other bits that's surprising.

[roadman65]

Some of the flatlands in Kansas are higher in elevation than some peaks of the Appalachian Mountains.

[TravelingBethelite]

Relevant:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/03/140314-flattest-states-geography-topography-science/

and

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/03/science-several-us-states-led-by-florida-are-flatter-than-a-pancake/284348/

[empirestate]

Is it me, or are a disproportionate number of state high points located on or near state lines?

At first this makes sense, because of course many state boundaries are defined by significant natural features such as mountain ranges, but actually a lot of these high points are located near state boundaries that aren't natural at all: NV, RI, CT, KS, NE, OK, the list goes on.

[Road Hog]

Is it me, or are a disproportionate number of state high points located on or near state lines?

At first this makes sense, because of course many state boundaries are defined by significant natural features such as mountain ranges, but actually a lot of these high points are located near state boundaries that aren't natural at all: NV, RI, CT, KS, NE, OK, the list goes on.

The other ones make sense too because of geography. The plains states rise in elevation the closer you get to the Rockies, the closest to which is the western border. And coastal states will more likely have their highest points the farthest from the ocean, that is the border that is farthest inland.

[empirestate]

Is it me, or are a disproportionate number of state high points located on or near state lines?

At first this makes sense, because of course many state boundaries are defined by significant natural features such as mountain ranges, but actually a lot of these high points are located near state boundaries that aren't natural at all: NV, RI, CT, KS, NE, OK, the list goes on.

The other ones make sense too because of geography. The plains states rise in elevation the closer you get to the Rockies, the closest to which is the western border. And coastal states will more likely have their highest points the farthest from the ocean, that is the border that is farthest inland.

And NV? And how about IA, IL, IN, MT, NJ?

[froggie]

NJ is similar to the Plains states in that elevation generally increases as you head away from the Atlantic.  So even though it's close to the arbitrary NJ/NY line, it's close enough to the Delaware River to where I wouldn't count it.

[empirestate]

NJ is similar to the Plains states in that elevation generally increases as you head away from the Atlantic.  So even though it's close to the arbitrary NJ/NY line, it's close enough to the Delaware River to where I wouldn't count it.

Well, the weird thing about that is that you'd typically think of a river boundary as being a relatively low elevation. It's the fact that the Delaware flows through very mountainous terrain in this area that allows the high point to be this close to a natural boundary.


iPhone

[CNGL-Leudimin]

And let's not forget the highest point in Florida with Britton Hill clocking in at an amazing 345 feet!

Heck, there are states that lie entirely above that mark! Most notably Colorado, which doesn't get below four digits even in metric!

[TravelingBethelite]

Is it me, or are a disproportionate number of state high points located on or near state lines?

At first this makes sense, because of course many state boundaries are defined by significant natural features such as mountain ranges, but actually a lot of these high points are located near state boundaries that aren't natural at all: NV, RI, CT, KS, NE, OK, the list goes on.

CT once had their western border on the Hudson, but then some state took that part (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut_panhandle)    Also there's that dip in Connecticut's northern border caused by surveyor battling.

[Rothman]

Is it me, or are a disproportionate number of state high points located on or near state lines?

At first this makes sense, because of course many state boundaries are defined by significant natural features such as mountain ranges, but actually a lot of these high points are located near state boundaries that aren't natural at all: NV, RI, CT, KS, NE, OK, the list goes on.

CT once had their western border on the Hudson, but then some state took that part (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut_panhandle)    Also there's that dip in Connecticut's northern border caused by surveyor battling.

I thought that chunk that MA takes out of CT was due to some mineral resource that MA wanted control of.

[The Great Zo]

Is anyone aware of any other state where the easiest public access to the high point is from a neighboring state?

The trail to the Connecticut State HP starts at a parking lot on the CT/MA line, and summits Mt. Frissell in Massachusetts before dropping back south to the CT state line. There's an even longer hike from the west that requires going up Brace Mountain in New York and passing the tri-state point before getting to the slope of Frissell.

[Jardine]

KS: Mt Sunflower, hell yes, been there

Wait, Kansas has a high point ?! ( ) Oh yeah, 4039 ft...

Oh please, Indiana's highest point in a mere 1,257 feet.

And let's not forget the highest point in Florida with Britton Hill clocking in at an amazing 345 feet!

LOL, my farmstead has nearly that much difference in elevation !!

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Now that I read this...

If it matters, I believe the highest point in the Interstate Highway System is on I-70 in Colorado. That may not be the highest point in the state, but it may be relevant for you.

The Eisenhower tunnels at 11,158 feet. But heck, that highest point is just 10 feet short of the highest point in my region! (Aneto at 11,168 ft, highest peak of the Pyrenees and of course not accessible by car)

[cpzilliacus]

Is it me, or are a disproportionate number of state high points located on or near state lines?

At first this makes sense, because of course many state boundaries are defined by significant natural features such as mountain ranges, but actually a lot of these high points are located near state boundaries that aren't natural at all: NV, RI, CT, KS, NE, OK, the list goes on.

Maryland's certainly is.  As mentioned above, walk access is easiest from U.S. 219 in Preston County, West Virginia, and once at Hoye Crest (the actual high point, on Backbone Mountain (also the Eastern Continental Divide)), the West Virginia/Maryland border is a few steps west of the high point.

[roadman65]

And let's not forget the highest point in Florida with Britton Hill clocking in at an amazing 345 feet!

Heck, there are states that lie entirely above that mark! Most notably Colorado, which doesn't get below four digits even in metric!

Dodge City, Kansas is not in the mountains and is higher in elevation than High Point, New Jersey which looks down at the Delaware River below as well as dry land in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

The highest point in Dodge does not even remotely look down deeply and if at most just looks down around the city itself.

[wphiii]

Hoosier Hill (IN). Yes
Black Mountain (KY). Yes
Campbell Hill (OH). Yes
Clingmans Dome (TN). No
Mount Arvon (MI). No

You get very, very close with Clingmans Dome, though.

Yeah, I'd put Clingmans Dome with the "accessible" ones for all intents and purposes.