High Point (New Jersey)

{{Short description|Mountain peak in New Jersey, U.S.}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2014}} {{Infobox mountain | name = High Point | image = High Point Monument and Lake Marcia framed.jpg | image_caption = High Point Monument and Lake Marcia | elevation_ft = 1804 | elevation_ref = {{navd88}}<ref name="pb">{{cite peakbagger |id=7553 |name=High Point, New Jersey |access-date=May 17, 2011}}</ref> | prominence_ft = 883 | prominence_ref = <ref name="pb"/> | map = USA New Jersey Sussex County | map_caption = | map_size = 250 | label_position = bottom | listing = U.S. state high point 40th | location = Wantage Township and Montague Township, Sussex County, New Jersey | range = Kittatinny Mountains, Appalachians | coordinates = {{coord|41.32095|N|74.66155|W|type:mountain_region:US-NJ_scale:100000_source:gnis|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | range_coordinates = | coordinates_ref = <ref name="gnis">{{cite gnis |id=877098 |name=High Point |access-date=May 17, 2011}}</ref> | easiest_route = A paved 2-lane roadway ascends directly to the summit }}

'''High Point''' is a mountain peak within High Point State Park on the border of Wantage Township and Montague Township, Sussex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located in the portion of the state known as the Skylands, it is the highest elevation in the state, with a peak elevation of {{convert|1,803|ft|m}}. The closest city is Port Jervis, New York, which lies to the northwest. Besides being the highest peak in New Jersey, High Point is also the highest peak of the Kittatinny Mountains. Three states – New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania – can be seen from the summit.

At the peak is the High Point Monument, a {{convert|220|ft|m|adj=on}} obelisk, built in 1930 as a war memorial.

==High Point State Park== The mountain is in the {{convert|14,193|acre|km2}} High Point State Park. Route 23 skirts the park and carries visitors from the New Jersey suburbs and from points in New York State. The park is administered by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry.

As of the 2023 season, park entry was free.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/highpoint.html |title=High Point State Park |publisher=New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry |access-date= June 3, 2024}}</ref>

The land for High Point State Park, donated by Colonel Anthony R. and Susie Dryden Kuser of Bernardsville, New Jersey, was dedicated as a park in 1923. The pleasant landscaping was designed by the Olmsted Brothers of Boston, a prominent landscape architectural firm run by the sons of Central Park designer Frederick Law Olmsted.

To the south the Appalachian Trail follows a rocky ridge which offers many scenic views of the valleys and mountains surrounding the area. To the north, the trail drops off the ridge through hemlock gorges into former agricultural fields with a view of the surrounding countryside and the High Point Monument in the distance.

During the winter, portions of the parks trails are used for cross-country skiing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://xcskihighpoint.com/Home.aspx|title=High Pont Cross Country Ski Center|access-date=March 3, 2015}}</ref>

== War veterans monument == The Monument on High Point was built by Kuser to honor war veterans. Master mason Michael Maddaluna began construction of the {{convert|220|ft|m|adj=on}} tower – which has a base which is 34 feet square – in 1928 and completed it in 1930. The outside is made of New Hampshire granite and also Shawangunk quartz. There are four small windows through which observers have a view of the ridges of the Pocono Mountains toward the west, the Catskill Mountains to the north and the Wallkill River Valley in the southeast. The Monument is an obelisk monument similar to other war monuments, such as the one on Bunker Hill in Massachusetts. The Monument has 291 steps from the base to the highest viewing platform.

Plans were made to close the park as of July 1, 2008, under Gov. Jon Corzine's budget plan for 2009. Veterans groups, who have held an annual memorial at the site, expressed their opposition to the proposal, which was ultimately removed from the final budget.<ref>{{cite news | last=Howell | first=Tom Jr. |url=http://www.njherald.com/314905141010251.php |title=Veterans upset over plan to shut High Point |newspaper=New Jersey Herald |date=April 3, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408113518/http://www.njherald.com/314905141010251.php |archive-date=April 8, 2008 |access-date=May 17, 2011}}</ref>

==Summit panorama at ground level==

{{wide image|2014-08-28 16 34 01 Full 360 degree panorama from High Point, New Jersey.jpg|1400px|align-cap=center|View from High Point|alt=High Point view}}

==References== {{reflist}}

== External links == {{commons category}} * [http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/highpoint.html New Jersey Parks: High Point] * [http://www.njskylands.com/pkhighpt.htm New Jersey Northwest Skylands guide to High Point State Park] * [http://www.outdoorplaces.com/Destination/stateparks/new_jersey/high_point/ Outdoor Places visitor's guide] * [http://www.nynjtc.org/park/high-point-state-park-1 NY-NJTC: High Point State Park Trail Details and Info]

Category:Mountains of New Jersey Category:Kittatinny Mountains Category:State parks of New Jersey Category:Parks in Sussex County, New Jersey Category:Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey Category:Highest points of U.S. states Category:National Register of Historic Places in Sussex County, New Jersey Category:Mountains of Sussex County, New Jersey Category:Montague Township, New Jersey Category:1930 establishments in New Jersey Category:Papakating Creek watershed