South Dakota
ModerateCactus Flat to Big Horn Mountains Summit — Badlands Interior Road via Sage Creek Wilderness
Bison, bentonite, and no signal whatsoever.
Surface: Gravel
Tennessee
ModerateCalhoun Mountain to Ocoee Gorge — Cherokee National Forest Copper Basin Back Road via Turtletown Creek
Red hills, copper ghosts, and a wild Tennessee gorge.
California
ModerateSawmill Road to Mount Pinos Summit — Los Padres National Forest Transverse Range High Approach
SoCal's secret high country above 8,800 feet.
USA
ModerateLonesome Highway — Centennial Road to Tensleep Canyon via the Cloud Peak Wilderness Edge
Bighorn's limestone walls on an empty road.
USA
ModerateCoyote Gulch to Wolverine Petrified Wood Area — Grand Staircase Desert Bench via Horse Canyon
Petrified logs on a clay bench nobody visits.
Colorado
EasyRimrock Drive — Colorado National Monument’s Canyon Rim Road via Cold Shivers Point
Canyon rim above the Grand Valley — sheer drops included.
USA
ModerateLonesome Highway — Bighorn National Forest Battle Park Road to Hazelton via Red Wall Country and Dry Fork Ridge
Red walls, open sage, and zero other rigs.
USA
DifficultDoris Lake Road to Duck Creek — Bridger-Teton National Forest Wyoming Range Back Road via LaBarge Creek
More elk than overlanders in Wyoming's forgotten range.
California
ModerateLime Creek Road to Sweeney Pass — Cuyamaca Mountains Desert Divide via Laguna Mountains
San Diego's forgotten high-country desert divide.
Nevada
ModerateLonesome Highway — Centennial Hills to Red Rock Canyon via the Sheep Range Crest
Vegas's forgotten wilderness — no casinos, no crowds.