States' Highest and Lowest Points

For reasons not entirely clear to me, I enjoy visiting states' highest and lowest points. I had a streak of 13 months in a row of visiting either a state's highest or lowest point, each time with a different group of people and taking a different vehicle, but it's over now. However, I plan to continue my efforts to visit highest and lowest points.

Highest Points

I've been to 14

StateHighest Point (rank in height, rank in difficulty)Feet above sea levelNotes
AlabamaCheaha Mountain (35,46)2407I believe there's a restaurant at the top. It's due east of Birmingham.
AlaskaMount McKinley (1,1)20,320Who knows? It's in Denali National Park
ArizonaHumphreys Peak (12,10)12,633I have driven through Flagstaff and seen Humphreys Peak towering over the city, and so I am eager to return to the area and climb it.
ArkansasMagazine Mountain (34,28)2,753In the western part of the state, midway between Little Rock and Fort Smith
CaliforniaMt. Whitney (2,8)14,494Access is limited by a Permit Lottery every year in February
ColoradoMt. Elbert (3,9)14,433Near Leadville, the highest incorporated town in the US.
ConnecticutSouth slope of Mt. Frissell (36,20)
(the peak of Mt. Frissell is in Massachusetts)
2,380On a side trail of the Appalachian Trail
DelawareEbright Azimuth (49,49)448February 21, 2004
FloridaBritton Hill (50,50)345The Lowest Highest Point regardless of what they say in the very entertaining, but factually incorrect, song by Moxy Früvous from their album Live Noise, but then again as they admit earlier on the album, they are Canadians. Of course, if you told me that say, Prince Edward Island is the province with the lowest highest point, I'd probably believe you even though I have no idea if this is true.
GeorgiaBrasstown Bald (25,26)4,784October 14, 2004 Unfortunately, the summit was shrouded in clouds and I could barely see the top of the observation tower from the visitors center at the bottom of the observation tower. I was also very disappointed that the visitors center anamatronic forest rangers were temporarily removed. You must ask them to open the door to see the USGS marker. Nearby Helen, Georgia, is a faux Bavarian town and as such looks kinda silly as evidenced by Das Huddlehaus.
Hawai`iMauna Kea (6,30)13,796Anybody know an observatory worker?
IdahoBorah Peak (10,6)12,662?
IllinoisCharles Mound (45,32)1,235Visit only allowed during first weekend of the months in May through August
IndianaHoosier Hill (44,40)1,257May 22, 2005, on the Ann Arbor-Nashville Meandering
IowaHawkeye Point (42,41)1,670?
KansasMount Sunflower (28,44)4,039?
KentuckyBlack Mountain (27,42)4,145The coal company that owns it requires a potential visitor to mail in a liablity waiver prior to visiting.
LouisianaDriskill Mountain (48,25)535?
MaineKatahdin, a.k.a. Baxter Peak (22,15)5,267Its summit is the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail.
MarylandBackbone Mountain (32,22)3,360April 15, 2006, on the Good Highday Trip
MassachusettsMt. Greylock (31,39)3,491On the Appalachian Trail
MichiganMount Arvon (38,24)1,979?
MinnesotaEagle Mountain (37,18)2,301?
MississippiWoodall Mountain (47,48)806August 23, 2003
MissouriTaum Sauk (41,33)1,772July 17, 2004 on the July 2004 High- and Lowpointing Extravaganza
MontanaGranite Peak (10,3)12,799?
NebraskaPanorama Point (20,43)5,424?
NevadaBoundary Peak (9,11)13,143?
New HampshireMount Washington (18,38)6,288Worst weather in the world
New JerseyHigh Point (40,36)1,803I first saw the obelisk at the top in 2001, but I did not actually visit the summit until nearly five years later on the Garden State Crisscrossing
New MexicoWheeler Peak (8,12)13,161?
New YorkMount Marcy (21,14)5,344Vice President Theodore Roosevelt was highpointing on Mount Marcy when word arrived that President McKinley had died. A trail marks the descent that TR took to go become president.
North CarolinaMount Mitchell (16,35)6684July 21, 2003
North DakotaWhite Butte (30,23)3,506?
OhioCampbell Hill (43,47)1,550May 23, 2005, on the Ann Arbor-Nashville Meandering
OklahomaBlack Mesa (23,17)4,973?
OregonMount Hood (13,5)11,239?
PennsylvaniaMount Davis (33,45)3,213October 12, 2003
Rhode IslandJerimoth Hill (46,29)812On private property and the new owners recently increased public access to more than just five or six holiday weekends per year that the previous owners allowed.
South CarolinaSassafras Mountain (29,37)3,560September 27, 2003
South DakotaHarney Peak (15,19)7,242It's near Mt. Rushmore and the Badlands National Park
TennesseeClingman's Dome (17,27)6,643May 15, 2003, plus I think I went years ago with my family.
TexasGuadelupe Peak (14,13)8,749In Guadelupe Mountains National Park and close to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. It should be teamed up with the lowest point in New Mexico
UtahKings Peak (7,7)13,528?
VermontMount Mansfield (26,21)2,407?
VirginiaMt. Rogers (19,16)5,729June 26, 2003
WashingtonMount Rainier (4,4)14,411I would have seen Mt. Rainier on my trip to Seattle, but the gloomy weather prevented it.
West VirginiaSpruce Knob (24,34)4,863April 14, 2006, on the Good Highday Trip
WisconsinTimms Hill (39,31)1,951?
WyomingGannett Peak (5,2)13,804?

Lowest Points

I've been to 19

StateLowest PointFeet above sea levelNotes
AlabamaGulf of Mexico0In March of 1994, a bunch of friends and I went to Gulf Shores for spring break.
AlaskaPacific Ocean0Cruise Ship? Float plane? I think there may be a lake somewhere that it a couple of feet below sea level. Must do more research before my trip.
ArizonaColorado River--Mexican Border70It is my understanding that the Colorado River is actually dry at the Mexican border with the bulk of the water in the river drawn off for irrigation and the little that flows into Mexico flowing through a nearby canal.
ArkansasOuachita River--Louisiana border, near Felsenthal55?
CaliforniaBadwater-282In Death Valley National Park
ColoradoArikaree River--Kansas border near Nebraska border3320?
ConnecticutLong Island Sound0John and I went to Mystic Seaport in June, 2001, on our way to Quebec.
DelawareAtlantic Ocean0March 27, 2004
FloridaGulf of Mexico/Atlantic Ocean0We went to the Atlantic Ocean when we went to Disney World in March of 1988, I think.
GeorgiaAtlantic Ocean0June 6, 2004. I had a couple of extra hours to kill before meeting my parents in Hilton Head, SC, and so I headed off to Savannah and then to Tybee Island. On my way back through Savannah, I noticed several military vehicles and police officers blocking off part of the historic district. Later I found out that it was for the G8 summit down the coast at Sea Island.
Hawai`iPacific Ocean0?
IdahoSnake River on the Washington border near Lewiston710?
IllinoisConfluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers near Cairo279July 17, 2004 on the July 2004 High- and Lowpointing Extravaganza
IndianaConfluence of the Wabash and Ohio Rivers near Mount Vernon320?
IowaConfluence of the Des Moines and Mississippi Rivers near Keokuk480?
KansasVerdigris River at the Oklahoma border679?
KentuckyMississippi River at the Tennessee border257Read the sad story--July 18, 2004 It should be more easily accessable by boat, and so I'd like to build a raft and put it in the river at Hannibal, MO, and float down the Mississippi River the lowest points in either Kentucky or Tennessee, or maybe even New Orleans, but that's probably too far.
LouisianaPonchartrain Park, New Orleans-8I am unsure how Hurricane Katrina affected this.
MaineAtlantic Ocean0Oct 9-11, 2006--Most of my time in Portland was spent at the 78th Annual Meeting of the Society of Rheology, but there were a couple of times where I sneaked down to the wharf for lunch and there was also a dinner cruise sponsored by some company that makes rheometers but I can't recall the name of right now.
MarylandAtlantic Ocean0We went there on the way to the lowest point in Delaware for the Streak on March 27, 2004
MassachusettsAtlantic Ocean0Whaling ship to Nantucket? Cape Cod? I could befriend a Kennedy and go to Martha's Vineyard or a Kennedy enemy and go to Chappaquiddick?
MichiganLake Erie571May 22, 2005, on the Ann Arbor-Nashville Meandering
MinnesotaLake Superior600Paddle through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area to the lake?
MississippiGulf of Mexico0January 2, 2004
MissouriSt. Francis River on the Arkansas border near Kennett230July 18, 2004 on the July 2004 High- and Lowpointing Extravaganza
MontanaKootenai River on the Idaho border near Troy1800I would not have thought the lowest point in Montana would be on the Idaho border.
NebraskaMissouri River on the Kansas border840?
NevadaColorado River at the California border479December 23, 2003
New HampshireAtlantic Ocean0?
New JerseyAtlantic Ocean0March 16, 2005. While Liberty Island and Ellis Island are in New York, they actually lie on the New Jersey side of the state line that goes through the middle of the bay based on an agreement between the two states signed in 1834. So the ferry ride from Battery Park passes through New Jersey waters before arriving at Liberty Island, and then through more New Jersey waters to Ellis Island. In the 1990s, New Jersey claimed that since Ellis Island has be expanded with landfill four times since 1834, the added land came out of New Jersey waters, and should therefore belong to the Garden State. The Supreme Court agreed and so the Immigration Museum on Ellis Island is in New York (the border was taken to be the original outline of the island shifted so that the state border would not pass through any building), most of the island, including the tax revenue generating parts and the state's lowest point, are in New Jersey. A year later, I returned to the lowest point of New Jersey, this time in Atlantic City and Cape May, during the Garden State Crisscrossing
New MexicoPecos River on the Texas border2,840Near Carlsbad Caverns, combine with Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas
New YorkAtlantic Ocean0March 16, 2005. I took the ferry from Battery Park at the souther tip of Manhattan out to Liberty Island and then over to Ellis Island. See note for New Jersey lowest point.
North CarolinaAtlantic Ocean0April 12, 2003 was the first time. I have been a couple of times since then, including a night camping on Cape Hatteras.
North DakotaRed River at the Canadian border750Snowmobiles in winter?
OhioConfluence of the Great Miami and Ohio Rivers455Near Cincinnati.
OklahomaLittle River on the Arkansas border289?
OregonPacific Ocean0?
PennsylvaniaDelaware River near the Delaware border0March 11, 2006. The Delaware River is still tidal for a few miles past the Pennsylvania-Delaware border, but I am unsure how far. I stopped just across the border at a small park in the town of Marcus Hook
Rhode IslandAtlantic Ocean0?
South CarolinaAtlantic Ocean0November 30, 2003 plus two or three trips to Hilton Head Island with my family, and a trip to Patriots Point in Charleston
South DakotaMinnesota River at Big Stone Lake on Minnesota border966?
TennesseeMississippi River at Mississippi border178?
TexasGulf of Mexico or Lake near where Rio Grande enters Gulf of Mexico0 or -2I've seen conflicting information about the Texas nadir
UtahBeaver Dam Wash at the Arizona border2000?
VermontLake Champlain75I may have been there, but I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure we stopped at Lake Champlain, but I believe it was on the New York side.
VirginiaAtlantic Ocean0We went there on the way to the lowest point in Delaware for the Streak on March 27, 2004
WashingtonPacific Ocean0March 8-9, 2003
West VirginiaPotomac River at the Virginia border near Harpers Ferry240?
WisconsinLake Michigan579?
WyomingBelle Fourche River on the South Dakota border3099?