New Mexico
ModerateSawmill Road to Baldy Mesa — Lincoln National Forest High Country Approach via Nogal Canyon
Desert to sky island in one canyon climb.
Surface: Rock
USA
DifficultCoyote Gulch to Red Well — Grand Staircase-Escalante’s Slot Canyon Approach via Red Well Trailhead
Sand, slickrock, and zero company in Coyote Gulch.
Colorado
DifficultOphir Pass Road — Ouray to Telluride via the San Juan High Crossing
13,114 feet of San Juan air and loose shelf road.
Arizona
ModerateLonesome Highway — Breaks of the Big Bend Ranch to Solitario Overlook via Fresno Canyon
The road that built Roosevelt Dam — still demands respect.
Montana
DifficultGlacier Lake Road to Beartooth Plateau — Clarks Fork Trailhead to Island Lake via Top of the World
High arctic tundra on the Beartooth — earned, not driven.
California
ModerateMojave Road — Baker to Afton Canyon via Soda Mountains and Rasor Road
The Mojave's oldest crossing, river and all.
USA
ModerateComb Ridge to Grand Gulch — Cedar Mesa Plateau Rim to Anasazi Canyon Country via Kane Gulch
Anasazi canyon country at its most raw and real.
Kentucky
DifficultLonesome Highway — Centennial Mountains Owens Valley to Saline Valley via Waucoba Mountain
Coal country ridge grit deep in Appalachian hollows.
USA
DifficultCanyonlands Needles Overlook Road — Beef Basin to Ruin Park via Beef Basin Rim
Anasazi towers, zero crowds, real desert.
USA
DifficultChicken Corners Road — Moab’s Dead-Drop Ledge Run Above the Confluence
Sandstone ledge road above the Colorado — zero margin.