| Mount Sunflower, Kansas. Ebright Azimuth, Delaware. | | | | Why do people get into highpointing? It's a great way |
| Hawkeye Point, Iowa. Hoosier High Point, Indiana. | | | | to see our country. You'll find highpoints in popular |
| They may not have the name recognition of Mount | | | | resort areas (Mount Mansfield at Stowe in Vermont), |
| McKinley (Denali), Mount Rainier, Mount Whitney, and | | | | National Parks (Clingmans Dome, in Great Smoky |
| Mount Hood. And they certainly are far, far easier to | | | | Mountains, Tennessee), and State Parks (Mauna Kea |
| get to! But all these places have something in common. | | | | in Hawaii; Harney Peak in Custer State Park, South |
| Each is the highest natural spot in its state. | | | | Dakota). But many highpoints are well off the beaten |
| Welcome to the world of Highpointing. Thousands of | | | | path, and will take you to beautiful and interesting parts |
| otherwise sane people have set out to drive, stroll, hike, | | | | of the country that you may have otherwise |
| or climb to the highest point in each of the 50 states. | | | | overlooked. Eagle Mountain is in the Boundary Waters |
| Many never plan to make it to the tougher highpoints | | | | Canoe Area Wilderness of Minnesota. Oklahoma's |
| like Denali (in Alaska), Rainier (in Washington) or Granite | | | | highpoint, Black Mesa, is near the very tip of the |
| (in Montana), but they've discovered the fun in planning | | | | panhandle. Taum Sauk Mountain in Missouri is in a |
| trips to locate the unusual "summits" of Sunflower | | | | beautiful region of the Ozarks. Visit when the autumn |
| (located on the flatlands of Kansas), Ebright Azimuth | | | | leaves are at their peak, climb the nearby Lookout |
| (yes, a suburban neighborhood can be the site of a | | | | Tower, and prepare to be thrilled. |
| state highpoint), Hawkeye Point (located at the end of | | | | There are also many interesting things to see and do |
| a feeding trough on a farm in Iowa), and Lakewood | | | | near the highpoints. Take in a concert by the Boston |
| Park (turn right at the restrooms, and stroll a short way | | | | Symphony Orchestra or Boston Pops at Tanglewood |
| along a path in a Florida park). | | | | in Massachusetts. Looking for something less cultured? |
| Of the 50 state highpoints, 14 are drive-ups. You drive | | | | How about the Boll Weevil Monument in Florida? Or |
| right up to the highpoint, or so close to it you could toss | | | | the Wisconsin Concrete Park, featuring concrete |
| a rock and hit it. Probably 8 more are extremely easy, | | | | sculptures of horses, soldiers, and heroes? If food and |
| involving a round-trip walk or hike of 30 minutes or less. | | | | drink are more to your liking, don't miss a tour of Ben & |
| In fact, only about 9 or 10 of the state highpoints | | | | Jerry's Ice Cream Factory in Vermont, Great |
| involve more than a hike along a good trail. OK, some | | | | Adirondack Brewing Company in New York, or stop in |
| of these trails require long hikes that may gain a fair | | | | at the Hilltop Restaurant in L'Anse, Michigan for the |
| amount of elevation. Still, if you're in good condition, and | | | | most decadent (and largest) sweet rolls you can |
| can walk for many hours, you can manage to check | | | | imagine. |
| off about 40 state highpoints! | | | | |