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