This is a list of 58 counties of the U.S. State of California by their points of highest elevation . 6 of the 50 highest county high points in the United States are in California. Mount Whitney, located in Inyo and Tulare counties, is the highest point in California as well as the highest point in the contiguous United States at 14,505 feet (4,421 m). [1]
Because of the wide variety of mountain ranges in California, the state has become a common destination for highpointers and peakbaggers. As of May 2024, at least 45 different climbers have summited all 58 county high points in California. [2]
Some of these high points, such as Laveaga Peak and South Butte among others, are located on private or protected land and are typically not allowed to be summited. However, some climbers have successfully organized group hikes with the permission of the land owner, [3] while others simply trespass on the land after dark in order to reach the summit. While peakbagger.com and other similar highpointing websites explicitly forbid trespassing on private and protected land, trip reports submitted to these sites would suggest that many climbers do this anyway. [4]
Mount Whitney is the highest mountain in the contiguous United States, with an elevation of 14,505 feet (4,421 m). It is in East–Central California, in the Sierra Nevada, on the boundary between California's Inyo and Tulare counties, and 84.6 miles (136.2 km) west-northwest of North America's lowest topographic point, Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park, at 282 ft (86 m) below sea level. The mountain's west slope is in Sequoia National Park and the summit is the southern terminus of the John Muir Trail, which runs 211.9 mi (341.0 km) from Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley. The eastern slopes are in Inyo National Forest in Inyo County. Mount Whitney is ranked 18th by topographic isolation.
Mount Gibbs is located in the Sierra Nevada of the U.S. state of California, 2.6 miles (4 km) south of Mount Dana. The mountain was named in honor of Oliver Gibbs, a professor at Harvard University and friend of Josiah Whitney. The summit marks the boundary between Yosemite National Park and the Ansel Adams Wilderness, and Mount Gibbs is the sixth-highest mountain, of Yosemite.
Mount Humphreys is a mountain peak in the Sierra Nevada on the Fresno-Inyo county line in the U.S. state of California. It is the 13th highest peak in California, and the highest peak in the Bishop area. The mountain was named by the California Geological Survey of 1873 for Andrew A. Humphreys, the chief engineer of the United States Army at the time.
Mount Hamilton is a mountain in the Diablo Range in Santa Clara County, California. The mountain's peak, at 4,265 feet (1,300 m), overlooks the heavily urbanized Santa Clara Valley and is the site of Lick Observatory, the world's first permanently occupied mountain-top observatory. The asteroid 452 Hamiltonia, discovered in 1899, is named after the mountain. Golden eagle nesting sites are found on the slopes of Mount Hamilton. On clear days, Mount Tamalpais, the Santa Cruz Mountains, Monterey Bay, the Monterey Peninsula, and even Yosemite National Park are visible from the summit of the mountain.
Castle Peak is the ninth highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the U.S. state of Colorado. The prominent 14,279-foot (4352.2 m) fourteener is the highest summit of the Elk Mountains and the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness. The peak is located 11.6 miles (18.7 km) northeast by north of the Town of Crested Butte, Colorado, United States, on the drainage divide separating Gunnison National Forest and Gunnison County from White River National Forest and Pitkin County. The summit of Castle Peak is the highest point of both counties.
Mount Muir is a peak in the Sierra Nevada of California, 0.95 miles (1.5 km) south of Mount Whitney. This 14,018-foot (4,273 m) peak is named in honor of John Muir, a geologist, conservationist and founder of the Sierra Club. The southernmost section of the John Muir Trail contours along the west side of Mount Muir near its summit and ends on the summit of Mount Whitney.
Mount Williamson, at an elevation of 14,379 feet (4,383 m), is the second-highest mountain in both the Sierra Nevada range and the state of California, and the sixth-highest peak in the contiguous United States.
North Palisade is the third-highest mountain in the Sierra Nevada range of California, and one of the state's small number of peaks over 14,000 feet, known as fourteeners. It is the highest peak of the Palisades group of peaks in the central part of the Sierra range. It sports a small glacier and several highly prized rock climbing routes on its northeast side.
Mount Sill is one of the fourteeners of the Sierra Nevada in California. It is located in the Palisades, a group of prominent rock peaks with a few small glaciers on their flanks. Mount Sill is located 0.6 miles (1 km) east of North Palisade, the high point of the group. The two peaks are connected by a high, rocky ridge, on the north side of which lies the Palisade Glacier. Mount Sill lies on the main Sierra Crest, but is at a point where the crest turns sharply, giving it particularly striking summit views. On one side is Kings Canyon National Park and Fresno County; on the other is the John Muir Wilderness, Inyo National Forest and Inyo County.
Mount Langley is a mountain located on the crest of the Sierra Nevada, on the boundary between Inyo and Tulare counties in eastern California, in the United States. To the east is the Owens Valley, and to the west is the Kern River Valley. It is the ninth-highest peak in the state and the seventh-highest in the Sierra. Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States, lies 4.8 miles (7.7 km) to the northwest. Mount Langley also has the distinction of being the southernmost fourteener in the United States.
Mount Russell is a peak in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the U.S. state of California, about 0.8 miles (1.3 km) north of Mount Whitney. Possessing an elevation of 14,094 feet (4,296 m), it is the seventh-highest peak in the state and one of California's twelve fourteeners.
Mount Tyndall is a peak in the Mount Whitney region of the Sierra Nevada in the U.S. state of California. At 14,025 feet (4,275 m), it is the tenth highest peak in the state. The mountain was named in honor of the Irish scientist and mountaineer, John Tyndall.
Parsons Peak is a mountain in Yosemite National Park and the Cathedral Range of California's Sierra Nevada. The peak, located on the Madera–Tuolumne county line, rises to an elevation of 12,153 feet (3,704 m). The mountain has a ridge extending northwest from the summit. On this ridge is a point, referred to as Parsons Peak-Northwest Ridge, which rises to an elevation of about 8,848 feet (2,697 m) and at this point the boundaries of Mariposa, Tuolumne, and Madera counties meet. This point is the highest point in Mariposa County. The summit of Parsons Peak is just outside Mariposa County.
Mount McAdie is a summit on the crest of the Sierra Nevada, and is located 2.1 miles (3.4 km) south of Mount Whitney. It has three summits, with the north peak being the highest. The summit ridge marks the boundary between Sequoia National Park and the John Muir Wilderness. It is also on the boundary between Inyo and Tulare counties. Lone Pine, 12.4 miles (20.0 km) to the northeast, is in the Owens Valley on U.S. 395.
Mount Newcomb is a 13,422-foot-elevation (4,091-meter) mountain summit located just west of the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Tulare County, California. It is situated in Sequoia National Park, and is 2.8 miles (4.5 km) south of Mount Whitney, 1.1 miles (1.8 km) northeast of Mount Chamberlin, and 3.5 miles west of Mount Corcoran. Mt. Newcomb ranks as the 70th highest summit in California. Topographic relief is significant as it rises 2,083 feet above the second Crabtree Lake in approximately one mile. This mountain's name was officially adopted in 1940 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to honor American astronomer Simon Newcomb (1835–1909). The first ascent of the summit was made August 22, 1936, by Max Eckenburg and Bob Rumohr.
Mount Powell is a 13,364-foot-elevation mountain summit located on the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California, United States. It is situated on the shared boundary of Kings Canyon National Park with John Muir Wilderness, and along the common border of Fresno County with Inyo County. It is also 19 miles (31 km) west of the community of Big Pine, and 1.17 miles (1.88 km) west of Mount Thompson, which is the nearest higher neighbor. Mount Powell ranks as the 81st highest peak in California, and the 10th highest of the Evolution Region of the Sierra Nevada. The west summit is unofficially known as "Point John." Two other peaks on the mountain are informally called "Point Wesley" (13,356 ft) in the middle, and "Point Powell" (13,360+ ft) one-half mile to the east.