Kentucky
DifficultLonesome Highway — Centennial Mountains Owens Valley to Saline Valley via Waucoba Mountain
Coal country ridge grit deep in Appalachian hollows.
Trail Type: Backcountry
Arkansas
ModerateSawmill Road to Tumbling Creek — Ozark National Forest Buffalo River Wilderness Rim via Boxley Valley
Ozark elk country above the Buffalo River.
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.
Arizona
ModerateNacimiento Mine Road to Hualapai Mountain Park — Mojave Desert High Country Climb via Boriana Canyon
Mojave desert floor to pine forest in one canyon climb.
Montana
ModerateBoldy Road to Beartooth Basin — Stillwater River Canyon to Fishtail via Woodbine Campground
River canyon road to Montana's hidden natural arch.
USA
ModerateForest Road 23 — Gifford Pinchot Volcanic Backcountry from Randle to Trout Lake via Cispus Divide
Volcanic country and old-growth between two giants.
South Dakota
ModerateHarney Peak Road to Black Elk Peak — Black Hills High Country Circuit via Sylvan Lake Approach
Granite spires and lookout towers above the Black Hills.
USA
ModerateSawmill Road to Haynes Ridge — Bighorn National Forest Cloud Peak Wilderness Edge via Tensleep Creek
The Bighorns from the top, not the highway.
Oklahoma
ModerateForest Road 65 — Ouachita National Forest Talimena Backcountry Loop via Potato Hills and Holson Valley
Oklahoma's forgotten backcountry. Zero excuses not to go.