Oregon
ModerateMazama Ridge Road — Crater Lake South Rim to Union Creek via Pumice Flats
Volcanic plateau solitude south of Crater Lake.
Feature: Scenic
California
ExpertLippincott Road — Racetrack Playa to Saline Valley Floor
Death Valley's loose shale descent to nowhere.
California
ExpertSaline Valley Road — Death Valley North Entry to Saline Warm Springs and Lippincott Mine
Warm springs, salt flats, and a shelf road with no guardrails.
Oregon
DifficultBlackrock Desert High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trail — Winnemucca Lake to High Rock Lake
800-foot walls, wagon ruts, and zero cell bars.
USA
ModerateChicken Creek Road — Fishlake National Forest Skyline Drive to Fish Lake Plateau
Utah high-country aspen plateau at 10,000 feet.
Oregon
DifficultGrave Creek to Marial Road — Wild Rogue Wilderness River Access
Oregon's hardest river access road. Worth every mile.
USA
DifficultShafer Trail Road — Canyonlands Rim to Potash via Island in the Sky
1,400 feet of exposed switchbacks off the rim.
California
ModerateChimney Peak Backcountry Byway — El Paso Mountains to Cinder Cones
Mojave volcanic country nobody bothers to visit.
California
ModerateModoc Volcanic Scenic Byway — Lava Beds to Medicine Lake Highlands
Lava, obsidian, and no crowds. True Modoc country.
Oregon
DifficultSheldon Antelope Range to Hart Lake Rim — Oregon High Desert Northern Circuit
Pronghorn, opals, and zero pavement. Real high desert.