The Fifty Road Summits

[Grzrd]

Mountaineers like to talk about conquering the "Seven Summits", i.e. the highest peak on each of the seven continents.

Relating that concept to U.S. roads, I have several questions:

A. Which states have a road that travels directly to [EDIT - within walking distance of] their highest point of elevation?  Three immediately come to mind for me:
Georgia: Brasstown Bald
New Hampshire: Mount Washington
EDIT - CORRECTION
Colorado: Mount Evans

Sorry, but at 14,264 feet, Mount Evans isn't the highest point in Colorado (and the road ends shy of the summit as well). Mount Ebert is 14,433 feet.

B. For a given state that does not have a road directly to the highest point of elevation, is it possible to identify the highest point of elevation for a road in that state?  If so, where is it?
EDIT - EXAMPLE

the Mount Evans highway is generally accepted as the "highest paved road in North America."

Colorado: Mount Evans  

C. Has anyone previously gone through this exercise and clinched/conquered the "Fifty Road Summits"?

D. I think the answer to this question begins in Death Valley.  In a one-day drive (define "day" any realistic way you wish), what is the greatest possible one-day elevation gain for a drive in the United States?

E. To avoid being too provincial, I would also welcome similar comments re Canada's provinces, Mexico's states, countries in the EU, and each country in the Americas.

[agentsteel53]

D. I think the answer to this question begins in Death Valley.  In a one-day drive (define "day" any realistic way you wish), what is the greatest possible one-day elevation gain for a drive in the United States?

Death Valley (-168 I think is the lowest the road gets) and then down to Big Bear, where I think the road goes as high as 10000 feet.  Or across Tioga Pass, whichever one is 9800 feet.

For a more adventurous day, you can take off from Death Valley and make it across Eisenhower Pass on I-70 in Colorado and then maybe even up to US-34, which I think goes to nearly 13000 feet.

[Kniwt]

Sorry, but at 14,264 feet, Mount Evans isn't the highest point in Colorado (and the road ends shy of the summit as well). Mount Ebert is 14,433 feet.

[Grzrd]

Sorry, but at 14,264 feet, Mount Evans isn't the highest point in Colorado (and the road ends shy of the summit as well). Mount Ebert is 14,433 feet.

Thanks for the correction.  Is it accurate to say road to "near" top of Mount Evans is highest road in CO (maybe that's what I remember; it's been 5+ years)?

BTW, Brasstown Bald road also ends shortly before the summit; a Visitors' Center sits atop the summit.

I have never driven Mount Washington road.

For purposes of Question A, a road that gets you within short walking distance of summit will suffice.

[agentsteel53]

what is the highest road on Hawaii?  because it is well within a day's drive to get there from sea level!

I know one can go to the highest point on Maui within about two hours of driving time from the beach.  It's about 11000 feet of climb, I think.

[mightyace]

You can get close to Clingmans Dome, the highest point in Tennessee via one of the park roads in Smoky Mountains National Park.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=clingmans+dome&sll=35.592133,-83.460217&sspn=0.093666,0.101109&ie=UTF8&radius=3.41&split=1&rq=1&ev=p&cd=1&hq=clingmans+dome&hnear=&z=13

Note that the road to Clingmans Dome lies entirely within North Carolina!

[Grzrd]

You can get close to Clingmans Dome, the highest point in Tennessee via one of the park roads in Smoky Mountains National Park.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=clingmans+dome&sll=35.592133,-83.460217&sspn=0.093666,0.101109&ie=UTF8&radius=3.41&split=1&rq=1&ev=p&cd=1&hq=clingmans+dome&hnear=&z=13

Note that the road to Clingmans Dome lies entirely within North Carolina!

Ahhhhh!  An isolated summit! 

[dfilpus]

NC 128 leads to a parking lot near the summit of Mount Mitchell, the high point of North Carolina and the US east of the Rockies.

[Kniwt]

Is it accurate to say road to "near" top of Mount Evans is highest road in CO (maybe that's what I remember; it's been 5+ years)?

Yes, the Mount Evans highway is generally accepted as the "highest paved road in North America."

And for California, the highest road is Tioga Pass (9,943 feet) on SR 120 at the east entrance to Yosemite National Park.

If we're talking one-day drives, which in theory would be 24 hours, you could start just about anyplace in the east and head to Mount Evans, season and weather permitting, to experience the largest elevation change. Heck, starting in Bullhead City, Ariz., you're only at 640 feet and could get to Mount Evans in far less than 24 hours.

[oscar]

what is the highest road on Hawaii?  because it is well within a day's drive to get there from sea level!

I know one can go to the highest point on Maui within about two hours of driving time from the beach.  It's about 11000 feet of climb, I think.

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.  Another Big Island road, to the weather observatory on Mauna Loa's north slope, tops out at 11,141 feet (the Mauna Loa summit is a little lower than the MK summit; since Mauna Loa is still an active volcano with occasional eruptions, not a lot of interest in building a road to the top).  The road to the Haleakala summit on Maui just barely reaches 10,000 feet, short of the summit (another short, but easy, hike) at 10,023 feet.

The road to Mount Evans in Colorado stops just short of the summit (another hike the rest of the way), but reaches at least 14,150 feet altitude, which beats the Pikes Peak road.  I think makes the Mount Evans road the highest road in North America.

Alaska's highest road point is Atigun Pass on the Dalton Highway, at around 4800 feet.  At Alaska's latitude, most everything higher is glaciated.

Mississippi's high point, in the northeast corner of the state, has a road to the top, but its elevation is only 800-900 feet.  That, plus Mauna Kea, are the only two state high points I've visited.

On low roads, the road to the Badwater low point (-282 feet) comes within a few hundred feet of the actual low point, or at least the National Park Service sign supposedly marking the low point.  My eyeball guess is that the road's lowest elevation is around -275 feet.

[oscar]

If we're talking one-day drives, which in theory would be 24 hours, you could start just about anyplace in the east and head to Mount Evans, season and weather permitting, to experience the largest elevation change. Heck, starting in Bullhead City, Ariz., you're only at 640 feet and could get to Mount Evans in far less than 24 hours.

It only takes about two hours to drive from sea level to Hawaii's Mauna Kea, and with a greater elevation change (13,796 feet) than from Bullhead City to Mt. Evans.  Indeed, Mauna Kea visitors are warned against driving up within 24 hours after scuba diving, since the rapid ascent can give the d(r)ivers the bends. 

[froggie]

Alabama's highest point (Cheaha Mtn, 2,405ft) is located within a state park, and is accessible via a park road off AL 281.  The road goes right up next to the high point, where there's (IIRC) an observation tower but also a TV station broadcast antenna at the site.

Maryland's highest point (Backbone Mtn, 3,360ft) is not driveable, but is hikeable, though the shortest publicly accessible (there's a lot of private land in the area) hike to it requires hiking uphill about a mile from US 219 in West Virginia (the actual high point is about 200ft east of the state line).

Minnesota's highest point (Eagle Mtn, 2,301ft) is within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, so you're definitely not going to find a road up to it.  The nearest road is about 3 miles to the south, as the crow flies.

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.

West Virginia's highest point (Spruce Knob, 4,861ft) is accessible via a paved forest road off of US 33/WV 28 near Seneca Rocks.  The road brings you to a parking area that is about a 900ft walk from the observation tower at the high point.  I've been to this one and will eventually get around to posting my photos on Flickr.

Although I haven't been up there myself (yet), Vermont's highest point (Mt. Mansfield, 4,393ft) is hikeable via a 1.25mi hike from either VT 108, or via an unpaved road to the west towards Underhill.

So of these 6 state high points, only 2 have roads that lead to them.

[Grzrd]

the rapid ascent can give the d(r)ivers the bends. 

[agentsteel53]

let's get Mt. McKinley out of the way.

you cannot drive to the top of Mt. McKinley.

that is all.

[rawmustard]

Mount Arvon (Michigan's highest point) is accessed by old logging roads east of L'Anse. Fortunately, the Baraga County Convention & Visitors Bureau provides directions plus blue signs show the way.

[allniter89]

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

[Duke87]

The highest point in Connecticut is actually on the side of a mountain (the peak is in Massachusetts). Apparently it's 1.3 mile hike to get there. The nearest road, Mount Washington Road, may well be the highest in the state.

For a more adventurous day, you can take off from Death Valley and make it across Eisenhower Pass on I-70 in Colorado and then maybe even up to US-34, which I think goes to nearly 13000 feet.

Trail Ridge Road's peak is at 12,183 feet.

Vermont's highest point (Mt. Mansfield, 4,393ft) is hikeable via a 1.25mi hike from either VT 108, or via an unpaved road to the west towards Underhill.

There's a road from the southeast which gets closer, but it's tolled, and it's closed after 5 PM.

[hbelkins]

This isn't exactly at the highest point, but it's fairly close. KY/VA 160 as it crosses the state line.

[Scott5114]

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

[mgk920]

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.

Mike

[english si]

This is the highest paved road in the UK - 848m (2790ft), a private road to a transmitter.

The highest public road is the A939 Letch Summit at 2110' / 644m.

This used to be the highest public road in the UK, slightly higher than the Letch Summit, but I don't think it's seen use since about 1900.

The A689 is the highest public road in England, at 2043'

[Landshark]

Highest paved road in the state of Washington is the road at Sunrise Lodge in Mt. Rainier National Park.  It is at 6,400 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.

[yanksfan6129]

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.

[hbelkins]

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?

[Grzrd]

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?