Most lists treat all 50 state high points as one bucket list. They’re not. The majority are drive-ups or short walks. A handful are real trail hikes. Seven of them aren’t hikes at all: they require mountaineering, technical climbing, or glacier travel to reach the summit.
Technical Peaks
These peaks require skills and gear beyond standard hiking. Here’s the best hikeable alternative for each.
Alaska
Denali (20,310 ft) is obvious. The harder problem is finding any normal-hike alternative in Alaska. Even mid-elevation peaks in the 4,000–7,000 ft range typically have exposed sections I wouldn’t recommend to most hikers. Flattop Mountain (3,510 ft) outside Anchorage is the best option: maintained trail, one short scramble near the top, manageable if you take your time.
Washington
Mount Rainier (14,411 ft) requires mountaineering year-round. Mount St. Helens (8,363 ft) is the best alternative: forest trail, marked boulder field, steep ash slope to the summit. Open in late summer when snow clears. No technical skills required.
Wyoming
Gannett Peak (13,810 ft) requires glacier travel and is considered the hardest state high point after Denali. Medicine Bow Peak (12,018 ft) has an official USFS trail (#295) all the way to the summit. Cloud Peak and Fremont Peak are closer in elevation but involve off-trail travel and scrambling I wouldn’t universally recommend.
Medicine Bow Peak on AllTrails
Nevada
Boundary Peak (13,147 ft) has a route, but the Forest Service describes it as requiring cross-country navigation. Wheeler Peak (13,065 ft) in Great Basin National Park is only 84 feet lower with a maintained NPS trail. The elevation difference is negligible; the experience difference is not.
Montana
Granite Peak (12,807 ft) involves exposed Class 4/5 rock climbing and is one of the hardest state high points in the lower 48. Trapper Peak (10,157 ft) in the Bitterroot Mountains has an official USFS trail and is a straightforward, if steep, full day.
Idaho
Borah Peak’s (12,662 ft) “Chicken Out Ridge” names the problem. Scotchman Peak (7,018 ft) in northern Idaho has an official USFS trail and is called the hardest Class 1 peak in the state. Hyndman, Castle, and Iron Creek Point are higher alternatives but involve scrambling and route-finding I wouldn’t broadly recommend.
Oregon
Every route to Mount Hood (11,249 ft) requires mountaineering. South Sister (10,358 ft) is the highest non-technical summit in Oregon, hikeable in late summer when snow clears. Loose and gravelly near the top, but no exposure and no route-finding.
All 50
- Technical: mountaineering or climbing required; guide links to the recommended alternative above
- Hike: non-technical trail, real effort
- Walk-up: drive-up available or very short trail
| State | High Point | Elevation | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | Denali → Flattop Mtn (3,510 ft) | 20,310 ft | Technical |
| California | Mount Whitney | 14,505 ft | Hike |
| Colorado | Mount Elbert | 14,440 ft | Hike |
| Washington | Mount Rainier → Mt St. Helens (8,363 ft) | 14,411 ft | Technical |
| Wyoming | Gannett Peak → Medicine Bow Peak (12,018 ft) | 13,810 ft | Technical |
| Hawaii | Mauna Kea | 13,803 ft | Walk-up |
| Utah | Kings Peak | 13,528 ft | Hike |
| New Mexico | Wheeler Peak | 13,167 ft | Hike |
| Nevada | Boundary Peak → Wheeler Peak (13,065 ft) | 13,147 ft | Technical |
| Montana | Granite Peak → Trapper Peak (10,157 ft) | 12,807 ft | Technical |
| Idaho | Borah Peak → Scotchman Peak (7,018 ft) | 12,662 ft | Technical |
| Arizona | Humphreys Peak | 12,637 ft | Hike |
| Oregon | Mount Hood → South Sister (10,358 ft) | 11,249 ft | Technical |
| Texas | Guadalupe Peak | 8,751 ft | Hike |
| South Dakota | Black Elk Peak | 7,231 ft | Hike |
| North Carolina | Mount Mitchell | 6,684 ft | Walk-up |
| Tennessee | Kuwohi (Clingmans Dome) | 6,643 ft | Walk-up |
| New Hampshire | Mount Washington | 6,288 ft | Walk-up |
| Virginia | Mount Rogers | 5,729 ft | Hike |
| Nebraska | Panorama Point | 5,429 ft | Walk-up |
| New York | Mount Marcy | 5,344 ft | Hike |
| Maine | Katahdin | 5,268 ft | Hike |
| Oklahoma | Black Mesa | 4,973 ft | Walk-up |
| West Virginia | Spruce Knob | 4,863 ft | Walk-up |
| Georgia | Brasstown Bald | 4,784 ft | Walk-up |
| Vermont | Mount Mansfield | 4,395 ft | Hike |
| Kentucky | Black Mountain | 4,139 ft | Walk-up |
| Kansas | Mount Sunflower | 4,039 ft | Walk-up |
| South Carolina | Sassafras Mountain | 3,553 ft | Walk-up |
| North Dakota | White Butte | 3,508 ft | Walk-up |
| Massachusetts | Mount Greylock | 3,492 ft | Walk-up |
| Maryland | Backbone Mountain | 3,360 ft | Walk-up |
| Pennsylvania | Mount Davis | 3,213 ft | Walk-up |
| Arkansas | Mount Magazine | 2,753 ft | Walk-up |
| Alabama | Cheaha Mountain | 2,407 ft | Walk-up |
| Connecticut | Mount Frissell | 2,380 ft | Hike |
| Minnesota | Eagle Mountain | 2,301 ft | Walk-up |
| Michigan | Mount Arvon | 1,979 ft | Walk-up |
| Wisconsin | Timms Hill | 1,951 ft | Walk-up |
| New Jersey | High Point | 1,803 ft | Walk-up |
| Missouri | Taum Sauk Mountain | 1,772 ft | Walk-up |
| Iowa | Hawkeye Point | 1,670 ft | Walk-up |
| Ohio | Campbell Hill | 1,550 ft | Walk-up |
| Indiana | Hoosier Hill | 1,257 ft | Walk-up |
| Illinois | Charles Mound | 1,235 ft | Walk-up |
| Rhode Island | Jerimoth Hill | 812 ft | Walk-up |
| Mississippi | Woodall Mountain | 806 ft | Walk-up |
| Louisiana | Driskill Mountain | 535 ft | Walk-up |
| Delaware | Ebright Azimuth | 450 ft | Walk-up |
| Florida | Britton Hill | 345 ft | Walk-up |
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