New Zealand
DifficultMolesworth Station Road — Hanmer Springs to St. Arnaud via the Rainbow Valley and Isolated Flat
NZ's biggest station, zero tourists, real rivers.
Surface: Gravel
Mexico
ModerateConzatti Road — Oaxaca City to Hierve el Agua via the Sierra Juárez Highland Villages
Cloud forest, Zapotec villages, petrified falls.
Ethiopia
DifficultTrans-African Highway — Nairobi to Addis Ababa via the Moyale Border and Northern Kenya Desert Corridor
Northern Kenya's desert gauntlet to Ethiopia.
USA
ModerateTeton Pass to Granite Hot Springs — Hoback Canyon and Granite Creek Backcountry via US-189 and Granite Creek Road
Hoback Canyon to a natural hot spring — earn the soak.
Australia
ExpertGibb River Road — Pentecost River to Drysdale River Station via Mitchell Plateau Spur and Kalumburu Road Junction
The Kimberley's rawest gorge-and-bulldust run.
USA
ModerateCottonwood Canyon Road — Cockscomb Basin to US-89 via Grosvenor Arch and the Paria River Benchlands
46 miles of colour, clay, and a hidden double arch.
Namibia
ExpertSkeleton Coast Wilderness Drive — Möwe Bay to Kunene River Mouth via the Far Northern Namib Shore
Lion tracks in the surf. End of the earth.
Colorado
ModerateColorado BDR South Segment — Antonito to Chama via Cumbres Pass and Toltec Gorge Rim
Steam trains, mud, and 10,000-foot empty.
Algeria
ExtremePiste du Tanezrouft — Reggane to Bordj Badji Mokhtar via the Tanezrouft Basin
700km of nothing. Bring everything.
Australia
ModerateOodnadatta Track — Marree to Marla via the Old Ghan Railway Corridor and Lake Eyre Basin
Dead railway, live desert, zero apologies.