You could also make a nice loop based out of Boston or New York, doing the same states Catamount mentioned. Of course Marcy and Karahdin will take some time, and you have to decide whether to drive or climb Washington (I'd say definitely to hike it), Mansfield (where a road goes almost to the top), and the one in Mass (I forget the name). I'd recommend hiking all of them. New Jersey's highpoint is also paved to the top, but its not as much of a mountain as the others.

In the space of about a week you can comfortably climb all the NE highpoints, as long as the weather is okay.

If cost is a concern, you'll generally do best flying in from the midwest by using either BOS (Boston-Logan) or MAN (Manchester NH), and you would usually want to start and finish at the same airport to keep the rental car cheap. The new England summits make a nice circle, so this would work pretty well.

Personally, I'd fly into Boston and swing south to pick up RI and Connecticut on day 1, Greylock on day 2, and then go north through Vermont to Mansfield before going cross-country to Mt Washington. I'd save Katahdin for last. This way your trip has a progression, with the next peak always more exciting than the last.

Katahdin is the outlier, requiring a day to get up there, a day for the climb and a day to get back to Boston. The other 5 New England summits could be done in a 4-day weekend if you make an efficient circle. But you and the missus will have more fun if you take more time--there are so many nice little towns to tootle through, awesome B&Bs to stay in.

Here's my idea: fly into Providence (PVD) - it's a nice airport without the hassles of Logan - prices should be similar. Do the New England states plus NY and NJ.

- Jerimoth Hill (RI): not far from PVD, and make sure to observe the visiting hours. If you go there in the morning, you should then be able to drive to Maine in the same day (I-95 most of the way) and potentially be ready for Katahdin the next day.
- Katahdin (ME): be aware of the red tape and parking issues in order to get your preferred trailhead. Climbing it will take up a good portion of your day, and the drive to NH will take several hours after. The Appalachian Mtn Club (AMC) has a Maine Mtn Guide (with maps).
- Mt Washington (NH): you can drive or climb, and I have done it both ways. Climbing is much more satisfying (and cheaper!), and there are many trail choices (Huntington Ravine is challenging). From here, it is not too far to Mt Mansfield in VT - the drive to that area can easily be done after a day of hiking. Maps are available from the AMC.
- Mt Mansfield (VT): you can drive most of the way or climb. I climbed it on the Long Trail from the west, which was excellent. There is a trail map, but it is hard to find. Then, the drive to the Adirondacks will take time.
- Mt Marcy (NY): this is a 7.5 mi hike each way from Adirondack Loj (see my trip report for this peak), so this will be your longest HP hike and final difficult one. I recommend the Adirondack Mtn Club guide (High Peak region - has map) If you finish by mid afternoon, you should be able to drive to MA in the same day easily.
- Mt Greylock (MA): a nice moderate mountain hike with several choices for trails. It may be possible to do Greylock and Frissell in CT on the same day. The AMC also has a MA trail guide with maps.
- Mt Frissell S Slope (CT): a nice short hike from the trailhead in the town of Mt Washington, MA. I recommend the NY-NJ trail conference map South Taconic Trails (www.nynjtc.org). Be sure to descend to the HP! It's a short hike from there to the NY-CT-MA tri-state point, too, where there is a marker. From here, it's a couple of hours to NW New Jersey.
- High Point (NJ): a drive up, close by the Appalachian Trail, and only a few miles from I-84 (you can see the monument). You won't need a map, but the best one is the NY-NJ trail conference map Kittatinny Trails.

If you end here, you could fly out from Newburgh, NY (SWF), White Plains, NY (HPN), any NYC airport, or even drive back to PVD (it's not really that far, though traffic in CT can be awful).

You could also go further south and bag DE (a drive up - it's on a street corner) and DC (an easy short open hill climb) - and then fly out of Washington.

I have done all of these except Katahdin - feel free to email me at p.chinigo@att.net with any questions (and I'll give you my phone if you want to call).

Chinigo is right that PVD is quite often a low-fare airport and fits well with bagging the RI highpoint. As for the rest of his itinerary, phew! If you are a truly dedicated highpointer, though, and that's the whole focus, it's good info for how you might pull it off.

Chinigo's map recommendations are also good. But I agree with Chugach boy: I get tired just reading that itinerary. I'd rather spend a week hiking the many excellent peaks in one of the huge parks surrounding Katahdin and Marcy (Baxter and ADK, respectively) than a week on the road. But that's why I'm not a highpointer in the first place

Only a real maniac would try Katahdin on one day and Washington the next. I'm not usually that crazy, except when I'm on a tight timeline. Mass quantities of ibuprofen would be required, of course. Perhaps a rest day to enjoy the sights would be a good idea, too.

It should be possible to do MA, CT, and NJ in the same day if you start early, now that I think about it. You need to get to High Point before they close the park gates.

Also, if you are anywhere in New England, NY, NJ (+ parts of PA and OH) I recommend any Friendly's location for ice cream. I miss them greatly, since I live in Michigan currently. After any mountain, it's mandatory to indulge in emergency calorie replacement!

if speed peakbagging is your goal be wary of Boston traffic, esp if you're going up from Jerimoth to other NE destinations. I-93 N inbound to Boston I would avoid before 10:30 AM. The 93-95/128 split in Braintree south of Boston is chaotic, as is 24 or 95 approaching there, but I would recommend 128 (I-95) as a good way of getting around Boston in rush hour to points north.

The record for most state highpoints in 24 hours is 8. WV, MD, PA,DE, NJ, CT, MA, AND RI. This was accomplished by 3 different parties in 2 different orders. My wife and I did 7 states in 4 days and she called it boot camp. Our itinerary:

October 6, 2007
Fly into Burlington, Vermont
October 7
Climb Mount Mansfield, VT via the Profanity Trail
October 8
Mount Marcy, NY
October 9
Mount Greylock, MA via the Thunderbolt Trail
Jerimoth Hill, RI
October 10
Mount Frissell, CT
High Point, NJ
Ebright Azimuth, DE
October 11
Fly home from Philadelphia, PA

We also did a 9 state trip in April 2006 where we flew into Atlanta and then climbed GA, SC, NC, TN, VA, KY, MD, PA, and WV in 6 days. We flew home from Roanoke, Virginia.

I haven't done any of those highpoints yet but I've been in the area a few times. I would probably recommend the Manchester, NH airport for location and price.

I'd choose airport based on cheapest price for flight + car total; Bradley might be a good choice. Logan isn't as dreadful as it's made out to be, but since Boston's nowhere near any of the peaks why bother with the traffic? Definitely add in a couple of "buffer" days to the itinerary...go sightseeing in Boston if you don't need 'em. (Then the traffic's worthwhile.)

its kinda out of the way, but you could grab 2 more if you go to d.c.'s high point, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, their close to each other, and about 4 hours or so from d.c. could be a 1 day thing

if you add PA and MD, you should also consider Spruce Knob, WV

mlandau3 wrote:if you add PA and MD, you should also consider Spruce Knob, WV

The PA and MD highpoints may be close to one another on the map, but they are far when you take the actual roads. Similarly for WV. I'd leave these three for another trip unless you plan in the time. There's much else to do in this area as well, all sorts of Appalachian peaks to consider. Remember, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, but no one told the road builders that! (Seriously, in WV, if you need to go 10 miles, plan on driving 30. In my 4 or 5 trips to WV and the region, this is always the case, but the scenery is lovely).

jniehof wrote:I'd choose airport based on cheapest price for flight + car total; Bradley might be a good choice. Logan isn't as dreadful as it's made out to be, but since Boston's nowhere near any of the peaks why bother with the traffic?

I agree with Jniehof- Bradley (BDL airport code) is right in the middle geographically (CT/MA border)...and cheap. Sightseeing in Boston is silly from a scheduling standpoint.

My order would be RI >CT> NY > MA > VT > NH > ME since Maine is the most spectacular (and most time consuming)