Australia
DifficultStrzelecki Track — Innamincka to Lyndhurst via the Strzelecki Desert
Burke and Wills country, red dunes, zero mercy.
Surface: Sand
Australia
ExtremeCanning Stock Route — Well 9 to Well 23 via Gibson Desert Core
The world's loneliest desert stock route.
California
ModerateMojave Road — Needles to Afton Canyon via Lanfair Valley and Government Holes (West Segment)
140 miles of desert history, no shortcuts.
California
ModerateMojave Road West — Rock Springs Lake to Afton Canyon via Mojave Desert Historic Trail
The original highway across the Mojave. Sand, lava, river.
California
ModerateMojave Road — Needles to Afton Canyon via Lanfair Valley and Government Holes (Historic Desert Crossing)
138 miles of desert history, no guardrails.
USA
ModerateSawmill Road to Comb Wash Trailhead — San Juan County Desert Spine via Butler Wash and Recapture Pocket
Comb Ridge's base road through Anasazi canyon country.
USA
DifficultLockhart Basin Road — Canyonlands South Rim to Needles via Colorado River Benchlands
Colorado River shelf road with zero easy exits.
Texas
ModerateLonesome Highway — Centennial Road to Big Bend Basin via Persimmon Gap and the Dead Horse Mountains
Comanche country — 26 miles of Chihuahuan Desert solitude.
Nevada
ModerateLonesome Highway — Trego Hot Springs Road to Black Rock Desert Playa via Soldier Meadows
Ancient lakebed, no fences, no rules, no help.
Nebraska
ModerateLonesome Highway — Sandhills Cattle Drive Road to Thedford via the Dismal River Valley Back Road
Empty dunes, cold river, no signal — Nebraska raw.