L’ANSE, Mich. (WOWO) — Michigan’s long-established highest point may no longer be its tallest natural summit, according to a peer-reviewed study that found a nearby Upper Peninsula mountain stands 4.7 inches higher than Mount Arvon. But nearly a year after the findings were published, no government agency or national mountain-climbing organization has officially recognized the change.

For more than 40 years, Mount Arvon in Baraga County has held the distinction of Michigan’s highest point. Researcher Eric Gilbertson, a teaching professor at Seattle University, argues that Mount Curwood should reclaim that title based on measurements he took of both summits.

“I can say with greater than 95% confidence that Curwood is taller than Arvon based on the statistics of my measurements,” Gilbertson told Bridge Michigan.

His findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment, challenging a determination made by federal surveyors in 1982.

At that time, the U.S. Geological Survey measured Mount Arvon at 1,979.24 feet and determined it stood 11 inches taller than Mount Curwood. Before those measurements, Mount Curwood had been considered Michigan’s highest point.

Gilbertson believes the earlier comparison did not accurately reflect the natural high points of the two mountains because the survey markers were positioned differently relative to the surrounding terrain.

He found that the marker on Mount Arvon was mounted on a concrete pillar extending about six inches above the mountain’s actual summit. On Mount Curwood, the marker sat approximately six inches below nearby bedrock.

By measuring what he considers the actual natural high points, Gilbertson concluded that Mount Curwood is 4.7 inches taller than Mount Arvon.

The finding has created an unusual dilemma for government agencies, outdoor organizations and people who make a hobby of climbing the highest peaks in all 50 states: There is no clear process for officially changing the designation.

Gilbertson said he contacted the U.S. Geological Survey about his findings but was told the agency had not updated mountain elevations since 2015.

In an earlier response to Bridge Michigan, the USGS said it could not provide an authoritative answer because the National Geodetic Survey, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was responsible for determining official highest points.

However, the National Geodetic Survey told Bridge Michigan that it is responsible for survey-marker elevations, not deciding which mountain is a state’s highest natural point.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources also said it does not track the state’s highest points and referred questions to the USGS.

Gilbertson said he has tried to establish a formal process for recognizing his results but has found no agency willing to take responsibility for making the change.

“So, what I’ve done is I publish my findings in scientific journal articles. I feel like that’s about the only way to make it official,” he told Bridge Michigan.

The dispute also affects the Highpointers Club, a group that maintains records of the highest points in each state and recognizes people who reach them.

Gilbertson contacted the organization about replacing Mount Arvon with Mount Curwood. He said the club indicated it would not make the change unless the USGS officially recognized the new measurements.

Former Highpointers Club board member Stony Burk confirmed that the organization relies on federal elevation data.

“We’re not going to change it. We just use the USGS, whatever their latest data is, and we post it every year in our magazine,” Burk told Bridge Michigan.

That has left the designation in limbo: A peer-reviewed study challenges the existing record, but the organizations that maintain official lists are not prepared to recognize a different summit.

Some mountain enthusiasts are responding by visiting both peaks.

Burk said several people who had already climbed Mount Arvon returned to the Upper Peninsula this summer to climb Mount Curwood as well.

“A lot of the people I know that have done Arvon, several have gone back this summer and done Curwood, just to be sure,” he said.

Montreal resident Serge Massad, who has climbed the highest points in every U.S. state, is among those reconsidering his Michigan accomplishment. He has already summited Mount Arvon but said Gilbertson’s findings mean he will need to visit Mount Curwood.

“For me, it’s like an extra adventure, basically just going back and discovering this new area,” Massad told Bridge Michigan. “So I’m pretty happy about it.”

The question of which mountain is taller also has implications for tourism in Baraga County, where Mount Arvon has become an established destination for hikers and highpointers.

Tracey Barrett, a former executive director of the Baraga County Convention and Visitors Bureau who now works for the Village of L’Anse, helped promote Mount Arvon by offering certificates to visitors who provided photographs showing they had reached the summit.

Barrett said she is reluctant to see Mount Curwood replace Mount Arvon as the state’s highest point, in part because of concerns about public access and the infrastructure developed around the existing destination.

“Mount Curwood, the landowners I don’t think would ever let it become what Mount Arvon is today,” she told Bridge Michigan.

Mount Arvon has benefited from efforts by the county tourism bureau, the Highpointers Foundation, previous landowners and others to make the summit more accessible to visitors.

Blue diamond signs guide drivers along logging roads from L’Anse toward the trailhead, where cell service is limited. Near the summit, visitors can find an overlook with a bench, a picnic table and a mailbox containing a logbook for hikers to sign.

Mount Curwood presents a different experience. Gilbertson said reaching the mountain also requires navigating logging roads, but there is no designated parking lot, and visitors must find space along the roadside. The trail is less clearly defined than Mount Arvon’s route, although he said it is relatively easy to follow.

He also found no comparable summit view at Mount Curwood.

Ownership could complicate efforts to develop the mountain as a public destination. Federal disclosures concerning foreign ownership of agricultural land identify Mount Curwood as registered to the Rohatyn Group and ultimately owned by the government of Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund. Bridge Michigan reported previously that Singapore owns interests in roughly five percent of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Bridge Michigan contacted the Rohatyn Group about public access to Mount Curwood but did not receive a response.

Gilbertson climbed Mount Curwood in 2024 while conducting his research. Although he appreciates Mount Arvon’s overlook, he said the possibility of reaching a previously overlooked high point made Curwood especially appealing.

For now, Mount Arvon remains Michigan’s officially recognized highest point, even as Gilbertson’s study challenges that status. Until the existing elevation records are formally reconsidered, hikers seeking to be certain they have reached Michigan’s highest natural summit may find themselves climbing both mountains.