California
ModerateOnion Valley Road to Whitney Portal Backdoor — Owens Valley Eastern Sierra High Approach
6,200 feet of Eastern Sierra granite in 13 miles.
Feature: Camping
Colorado
ModerateLime Creek Road — San Juan Mountains Descent from Coal Bank Pass to Durango
San Juan shelf road without the Alpine Loop crowds.
New Mexico
ModeratePecos River Canyon Road — Santa Rosa to Puerto de Luna via the Canadian Escarpment
Spanish canyon gateway carved by the Pecos River.
Idaho
DifficultBunker Hill to Strawberry Creek — Hells Canyon Wilderness Rim via Imnaha Gorge
Basalt rim above North America's deepest gorge.
Texas
ModerateCallahan Divide Road — San Angelo to Big Spring via the Edwards Plateau Rim
West Texas caliche spine above the Permian Basin.
California
ModerateBowman Lake Road to Gold Run Creek — Plumas National Forest Northern Sierra Divide
Glacier lakes and gold-scarred granite above the Yuba.
Colorado
EasyLonesome Highway — Pawnee National Grassland to Crow Butte via the South Platte High Plains Back Road
Big sky, no crowds, and Oligocene badlands on the plains.
Oregon
DifficultSawmill Road to Cornucopia Ghost Town — Wallowa Mountains Mining Spine via Pine Creek Canyon
Oregon's ghost town the canyon wants to keep.
Montana
DifficultLonesome Highway — Centennial Range Divide Road to Elk Lake via Red Rock Pass
Grizzly country on the Continental Divide.
California
ModerateCoyote Dry Lake to Soggy Dry Lake — Lucerne Valley High Desert Playa Circuit via Deadman Lake
Mojave playas nobody's fighting over.