USA
ModerateOnion Creek to Castle Valley — Fisher Towers Back Road
Eighteen creek crossings into canyon madness.
Surface: Mixed
Oregon
ModerateBuckhorn Drive — John Day Fossil Beds High Desert Circuit
Painted badlands and fossil rimrock, zero crowds.
California
ModerateHungry Valley to Gorman — Los Padres Desert Ridge Run
Tehachapi ridge chaos where two ranges collide.
USA
ModerateConger Mesa Road — San Rafael Swell West Edge to Castle Valley Rim
West Swell solitude above Muddy Creek Canyon.
California
ModerateMendocino Ridge Road — Fort Bragg Ridgeline to Boonville via Pygmy Forest Summit
Coastal ridge solitude above the Mendocino fog.
California
DifficultMendocino County’s Bloody Rock Road — Elk Mountain to High Valley via Snow Mountain Wilderness Edge
Coast Range backcountry with a name that fits.
Oregon
ModerateLakeview to Plush — Abert Rim to Hart Mountain High Desert Connector
Big sky, pronghorn country, and zero interruptions.
USA
ModerateParia River Canyon Rim Road — Skutumpah to Cannonville via Bull Valley Gorge
A drowned truck, canyon rims, and zero cell bars.
California
DifficultChimney Rock to Junction City — Trinity Alps Backcountry High Road
Granite ridgelines, ghost mines, zero crowds.
California
ExpertBighorn Basin Road — Death Valley to Eureka Valley via Hanging Rock Canyon
Death Valley's punishing northern secret.