The rock outcropping just off Route 101 in Foster may stand only 12 feet above sea level, but a roadside sign confirms it as the highest point in Rhode Island. Called Jerimoth Hill after a late-19th-century landowner, the high point — but not the access to it — is owned by Brown University. Apparently it’s high enough for members of the astronomy department to take celestial readings. Until the death of the longtime owner, who discouraged trespassers on the principal access route, Jerimoth Hill was considered ‘‘America’s most inaccessible high point’’ by the Highpointers Club, whose members aspire to climb the highest peak in every state. New property owners allow respectful trekkers to slog up the arduous 125-yard journey from the highway to the summit, literally the top of Rhode Island.

Route 101 in Foster, 23 miles west of downtown Providence.