High Point (New Jersey)

Infobox Mountain
Name=High Point, New Jersey
Photo=High Point, NJ.jpg
Caption=High Point from Greenville, NY
Elevation= 1,803 feet (550 m)
Location=New Jersey, USA
Range=Kittatinny Mountains, Appalachians
pushpin_

pushpin_label_position = bottom
pushpin_map_caption =
pushpin_mapsize = 175
coordinates_ref=
latd= 41|latm= 19|lats= 15|latNS=N
longd= 74|longm= 39|longs= 42|longEW=W
Coordinates=coor dms|41|19|15|N|74|39|42|W|type:mountain
Easiest route= A paved 2-lane roadway ascends directly to the summit
Listing = U.S. state high point

High Point is located in the northwestern part of New Jersey in Montague, Sussex County in the Skylands Region of New Jersey, is the highest elevation in the state at 1,803 feet (550 m). It is just southeast of Port Jervis, New York. High Point is the highest peak of the Kittatinny Mountains.

At the peak is the High Point Monument, a 220-foot (67 m) tower, built in 1930 to commemorate the war dead.

High Point State Park

The mountain is located inside the 14,193 acre (57 km²) High Point State Park. Route 23 skirts the park and provides access for 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.

Entrance fees are only charged from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day: $ 5.00 on weekdays and $10.00 on weekends. [ [http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/highpoint.html New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry - High Point State Park] , accessed October 24, 2006]

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

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.

Plans had been made to close the park as of July 1, 2008 under Gov. Jon Corzine's budget plan for 2008. 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. [Howell, Fr., Tom. [http://www.njherald.com/314905141010251.php "Veterans upset over plan to shut High Point"] , "New Jersey Herald", April 3, 2008. Accessed April 6, 2008.]

High Point Monument

The monument was built to honor war veterans, through the generosity of the Kusers. Construction began in 1928 and completed in 1930. At the top of the 220 foot (67 m) structure (the base is 34 square feet (3.2 square meter)) where it is very hot, there are four small dirty windows through which observers have a spectacular 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. At the top of New Jersey's tallest knob, the Monument is an obelisk monument similar to other war monuments, such as the one located on Bunker Hill in Massachusetts. The High Point monument was used as the Dark Lord's tower in the comedy film "The Gallstone."

References

External links

* [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]
*List of U.S. states by elevation