California
ModerateMojave Road South — Afton Canyon to Ludlow via Broadwell Dry Lake and Lavic Lake Playa
Playa crossings and lava fields in the open Mojave.
Surface: Mixed
Colorado
DifficultMedano Pass Primitive Road — Great Sand Dunes to Huerfano Valley via Sangre de Cristo Crossing
Sand, creek crossings, and a Sangre de Cristo summit.
California
ModerateMojave Road North — Afton Canyon to Kelso Depot via Mojave Desert Back Road
Old Government Road through the Mojave's volcanic core.
Colorado
ExpertBlack Bear Pass Road — Silverton to Telluride via the San Juan High Loop
The switchbacks above Telluride eat rigs for breakfast.
Alaska
DifficultDalton Highway — Fairbanks to Deadhorse via the Brooks Range Arctic Corridor
414 miles to the Arctic Ocean. Bring extra spares.
Texas
ModerateLonesome Highway — Davis Mountains Loop to Marfa via the Highland Desert Rim
Texas sky island solitude — Davis to Marfa the hard way.
Oregon
DifficultSawmill Road to Sunflower Flat — Owyhee Canyonlands Desert Rim via Battle Creek
Owyhee canyon rims — isolation by the mile.
Idaho
ModerateLonesome Highway — Centennial Range Divide to Macks Inn via Targhee Plateau Back Road
The only east-west range in the lower 48 — mostly ignored.
California
ModerateOnion Valley Road to Whitney Portal Backdoor — Owens Valley Eastern Sierra High Approach
6,200 feet of Eastern Sierra granite in 13 miles.
Colorado
ModerateLime Creek Road — San Juan Mountains Descent from Coal Bank Pass to Durango
San Juan shelf road without the Alpine Loop crowds.