Expedition trails in the U.S?

[wcialrlter]

I've always wanted to build and expedition type vehicle...but...where would I use it?

Are there any trails in the U.S. that would actually require a vehicle to be expedition ready?

I'm more asking about trails that definately would take a few days (week...weeks?) to complete from point A to B if you were driving somewhat hard...not trails where you could go out there and camp for a few days if you'd like, but could be out within a day if you needed too.

Maybe start a list here...

[ckolloff]

I'm curious about this as well. My original interest in wheeling was spurred by the camel trophy trucks and fantasies of being able to reach remote locations as a self supported entity. I have spent countless hours designing and equipping imaginary expo rigs and planning trips to tip of s. America and ...


Anyway:
Buddy of mine has done a bunch of backcountry stuff in Alaska. Several towns are only accessible by aircraft/sled. Not sure about the continental US though, must be something.

[scott pruett]

good question. x2 on the interest.

[MajorPayne]

I've always wanted to build and expedition type vehicle...but...where would I use it?

Are there any trails in the U.S. that would actually require a vehicle to be expedition ready?

I'm more asking about trails that definately would take a few days (week...weeks?) to complete from point A to B if you were driving somewhat hard...not trails where you could go out there and camp for a few days if you'd like, but could be out within a day if you needed too.

Maybe start a list here...

Well, my plan, instead of being on one trail the entire trip was to use the highways to get to different trails...

The trip Im planning for next summer is going to go from here (NC) to South Dakota, over through Montana, down through Idaho, etc...hopefully hitting a set of trails in each location that I can travel for a few days each. I still have lots of research to do, but I there are lots of expeditions that can be done without being too "remote"....unless thats what youre looking for in which case Canada or Alaska would be your best bets

[newimage]

First part of May we are doing the Mojave trail for 4 days (Laughlin to Barstow )then last part of June traveling down to Baja for 10 days for camping and Fishing in Loreto.

[Merlin_57]

2 in So Cal/Arizona for starters:

The Mojave Road
http://www.desertusa.com/mag99/nov/stories/mojavetrail.html

El Camino del Diablo
http://www.desertusa.com/mag02/may/diablo.html

[ragre]

http://www.oohva.org/

Here is something that may be of interest. Not really super hardcore but worth a look.

[jpenrose]

Personal experience is you can get from Montrose Colorado to Moab UT via dirt the whole way, defenitely takes an vehicle set up for just about anything, we ran into a bolder the size of a small car in the middle of our trail with a large drop off on one size and overhead cliff on the other. Would have wasted a whole day of driving to turn back so we just cleared what little space was left on the side of the trail and squeezed around the rock. One of the best sunsets I have ever seen as we came down off of some mountain into Moab. Also call the local rangers, and 4x4 clubs and find out about the trails, found out that one of our routes we had planned would not have been a good idea in the spring as the creek we were proposing to cross turns into a river. And don't rely on locals at the gas station, they will tell you "You'll never make it"

You can also get around all over areas like National Forests via fire roads and old county highways. I have done trips in South Dakota that way. I am sure you could find the same in Colorado and other western states.

In Arkansas you find old county roads that are dirt and lead to some interesting sites and sounds.

Doing the drive to different trails via highway and side roads is fun but can be stressful, induced by trail damage or the worry of trail damage (if the trails are difficult enough) and can take away from the experience.

You have to remember that your destination or the sights along the way are 80% of the experience, the trail is only 20%.

Get a good mapping software like Microsoft streets and trips and or a Topo software and just start poking around at places you would like to go and then connect the dots via the most remote paths. Planning can also be half the fun, at least for me.

[Tumbleweed]

The Magrudor Corridor runs between Idaho and Montana for about 110 miles of drop dead gorgeous country. Runs between two wilderness areas. Accessible from mid July to about early Oct. If the weather is decent and road is decent, you could make it through in one day. You would miss alot of great side trails though. Best bet is to plan at least two days or more. The road can be as easy as a gravel road or it can have washouts, etc. Many of the best forest service campsites I have ever seen.
http://www.jeffhead.com/magruder/

[notstock]

I drove the Magruder corridor last summer as part of a 2000 mile trip. Beautiful area although smoke from fires made it hard to see. Also drove a dirt road over the mountains from Washington into the upper Priest river area in Idaho & from there into Montana on dirt roads. Took 50 miles of dirt from outside of Kalispell over to Thompson Falls & then another 80 mile logging road from Thompson Falls to St Regis. I ran dirt roads & tracks for nearly half of my trip. The GPS & mapping system was invaluable for finding dirt routes instead of paved roads to travel.

[scott pruett]

You have to remember that your destination or the sights along the way are 80% of the experience, the trail is only 20%.

This is what I'm interested in. I love the crazy technical stuff, but much of why I got into the 4x4 stuff was simply to get out for the enjoyment of the outdoors, sights and all. Keep the suggestions coming guys.

[RustyNailJustin]

There was an artical in Toyota Trails a couple years ago about a guy who traveled from the southwest corner of Utah to the Northeast corner by fire and county roads. He did have to cross paved roads a couple times but his total miles on paved was under 20 miles. It really shows that with a little creativity you can make an trip in most states by just using a map and a plan.
I know that in the Northwest there are roads cris crossing all over the place. I bet you could do the same across Oregon and Washington.

[Diesel Smoke]

I bet you could do the same across Oregon and Washington.

Search for "Oregon Back Country Discovery Route" or OBDR. Members of International Scouts and Trucks of Oregon (me included) have done it and portions of it about every other year. We're trying to get something together for this year, but with the snow pack on route 3 it maybe put off until August.

[soilantgreen]

While we were in Moab last year, we took a day trip to Dead Horse Point State Park and Canyonlands National Park and from one of the overlooks we saw cyclists and some trucks on a long winding road through the canyon floor. I believe it is called the White Rim Trail and supposedly takes three days by bike and usually at least two by vehicle. They claimed it was over one hundred miles long.

My traveling companions and I all decided that we'd like to look into this as a possibility for our next trip out there.

EDIT: Found it.

http://www.utah.com/offroad/white_rim_trail.htm

[OlympicYJ]

Nevada has one. It may be paved now but my dad did it in an El Camino back in the 70s. Dirt two track going north and came out in Idaho I think. He almost ran out of gas. Could be worth checking out.

[cruiseroutfit]

Utah:
Hole in the Rock
White Rim Trail
San Rafael Swell Trails
The Maze district of Canyonlands
Pony Express Trails
Henry Mountains

Some are 2-3 day trails under "normal" cicumstances, they could be longer if weather or vehicle breakdowns were an issue. You could easily spend a month exploring trails in the San Rafael Swell are alone, while there is gas on all borders of the Swell, the entire area is nicely devoid of gas stations and humans in general :D Its not at all uncommon for us to hit 200+ miles of dirt-road in between fuel stops, pretty easy to do actually :cool:

[forged]

I have done the White Rim trail in 1 day before. But I would not recommend doing so. It was one of the most scenic trails that I have ever driven. I think the way we took was just over 120 miles. The terrain is not very hardcore but its really a fun drive.

Photobucket doesn't seem to be cooperating right now so ill post up some pics later after it starts working again.

[forged]

heres some of the pics.....

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s304/jeepin72596/100_1280.jpg

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s304/jeepin72596/100_1295.jpg

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s304/jeepin72596/100_1221.jpg

[RustyNailJustin]

Great photos Forged! Some of those Uranium mining roads in Utah are second to none.

[RustyNailJustin]

Utah:
Hole in the Rock
White Rim Trail
San Rafael Swell Trails
The Maze district of Canyonlands
Pony Express Trails
Henry Mountains

Some are 2-3 day trails under "normal" cicumstances, they could be longer if weather or vehicle breakdowns were an issue. You could easily spend a month exploring trails in the San Rafael Swell are alone, while there is gas on all borders of the Swell, the entire area is nicely devoid of gas stations and humans in general :D Its not at all uncommon for us to hit 200+ miles of dirt-road in between fuel stops, pretty easy to do actually :cool:


I am really looking foward to stories of your adventures here!

[expeditionswest]

There are some great expedition trails in the US, though some are a combination of roads and routes and can take weeks to complete. And that is without looking south of the border, which has limitless possibilities.

Here are some of the best Overland routes in the US.

1. White Rim Trail, Canyonlands Utah (100+ miles of dirt)
2. El Camino Del Diablo, Arizona (150+ miles of dirt)
3. Mojave Road, California (120+ miles of dirt)
4. BlackRock Desert (days of exploration)
5. Death Valley, California (weeks of exploration)
6. Beef Basin to Elephant Hill, Canyonlands Utah
7. SW Idaho into the Oweyhees (sp?)
8. Bradshaw Trail, CA and AZ
9. Grand Staircase Escalante, Utah (sp?)
10. Hole in the Rock trail, Utah

And there are dozens more.

Overland Journal (www.overlandjournal.com) always has expedition routes featured in each issue.

Hope that helps :)

[Tumbleweed]

RE: #7 above, Owyhee County in SW Idaho. Owyhee County has about 7500 sq. miles of country to explore. From 8000' peaks to ghost towns, to river canyons. The Mud Flat road runs east to west for about 100 miles. (Not recommended for early spring travel though)

[BurntOrange]

Any good multi-day expedition-type trails east of the Mississippi?

[RustyNailJustin]

I have been looking at google earth and I will post up some images at some point but... I use to live in St.George UT and the Arizona strip road is a dirt road that travels some of the most remote areas in the west. over 100 miles to the North Rim of the grand Canyon and there are thousands of old mining roads, explorer roads, ect.

[MajorPayne]

Any good multi-day expedition-type trails east of the Mississippi?

I was wondering the same thing...Ive had no luck searching so far, other than short fire roads and such

[1 Leg Lance]

This summer I will be driving from Canada to Mexico along the Continental Divide mostly on dirt roads and trails. As a disabled person I want to highlight the difference between standard handicap access and the backcountry experience overlanding brings.
19 days on the trail and it should be a great time
My sons and I like to ghost town explore, check out old mines and generally travel by dirt road. The southwestern US has lots of places where you can spend weeks exploring and not have to travel much on asphalt.

[The Adam Blaster]

Lance, what type of rig do you use, and how many in your expedition party?

[expeditionswest]

Any good multi-day expedition-type trails east of the Mississippi?

Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada. I would also recommend looking into the Vermont Overland Society, as they have completed some multi-day trips in their state using old dirt roads and easements, etc. Other than that, expedition treks in the east are quite limited, mostly because large areas of public land does not exist.

[forged]

edit: wrong thread

[mikeyjeeper]

Me and my buddy are planning a trip after I retire in 2 years. Are plan is to drive from the Mexico border to the Canadian border off highway, Only touching pavment to cross a road. So far we plan to leave Mexico at the Glamis sand dunes, travel across the dunes and then catch the dirt road north to the Bradbury (sic) trail, take it east half way then cut north again and cross highway 10, make our way to Videl Jct where we can cross the canal. From there we can make it to the Mohave trail and take it to Afton canyon. We can then make it past Baker and Dumont dunes into Nevada. There are plenty of dirt roads and trails in Nevada that we could make northern Nevada fairly easy. This is where it gets hard. Our plan is to contact 4WD clubs in Idaho and Montana on help getting through their:flipoff2: states. We are giving ourselves 2 months for the trip.

[oc1paddler]

Me and my buddy are planning a trip after I retire in 2 years. Are plan is to drive from the Mexico border to the Canadian border off highway, Only touching pavment to cross a road. So far we plan to leave Mexico at the Glamis sand dunes, travel across the dunes and then catch the dirt road north to the Bradbury (sic) trail, take it east half way then cut north again and cross highway 10, make our way to Videl Jct where we can cross the canal. From there we can make it to the Mohave trail and take it to Afton canyon. We can then make it past Baker and Dumont dunes into Nevada. There are plenty of dirt roads and trails in Nevada that we could make northern Nevada fairly easy. This is where it gets hard. Our plan is to contact 4WD clubs in Idaho and Montana on help getting through their:flipoff2: states. We are giving ourselves 2 months for the trip.

Sounds like a great trip. FYI I just read something about the border patrol cracking down on anyone crossing the border at the dunes. Sounds like heavy fines are in order even if you accidentally cross over and come back.

[Mercedesrover]

Any good multi-day expedition-type trails east of the Mississippi?

Trans-Lab Highway from Baie-Comeau in Quebec, up to Happy Valley/Goose Bay, Hop on a ferry to Cartwright and drive down to Blanc-Sablon. The third leg between HV/GB and Cartwright should be open by next summer (?).

There's also the James Bay road and the Trans-Taiga road out to Caniapiscau. As remote of a place as you can drive to in North America.

And don't forget about the North Maine Woods. You can wander around up there for weeks and not hit the same road twice.

jim

[cannoncrawler]

Me and my buddy are planning a trip after I retire in 2 years. Are plan is to drive from the Mexico border to the Canadian border off highway, Only touching pavment to cross a road. So far we plan to leave Mexico at the Glamis sand dunes, travel across the dunes and then catch the dirt road north to the Bradbury (sic) trail, take it east half way then cut north again and cross highway 10, make our way to Videl Jct where we can cross the canal. From there we can make it to the Mohave trail and take it to Afton canyon. We can then make it past Baker and Dumont dunes into Nevada. There are plenty of dirt roads and trails in Nevada that we could make northern Nevada fairly easy. This is where it gets hard. Our plan is to contact 4WD clubs in Idaho and Montana on help getting through their:flipoff2: states. We are giving ourselves 2 months for the trip.

pm me.

can get ya through idaho into mt

[Jeffb_79]

Any good multi-day expedition-type trails east of the Mississippi?

I've been wondering the same thing as I don't have the time to spend 5 days on the road to get to and from my start and finish points.

I live in the Northern Virginia area and am currently planning to travel across West Va staying on forest roads as much as possible. It's been a pain planning so far because we don't have all the open lands on the east coast that you'll find through the midwest. The hardest part of the planning so far is finding ways that avoid private property (I've seen deliverance and have no intention on being somewhere I shouldn't). I would say if you're looking for a place on the east coast, pick an area within a reasonable driving distance that is less populated (a reason why I picked west va). Start going through topo maps, become members of some of the ohv forums in the area you plan on being to ask questions and get info. Speak with the ranger districts, they can help clarify what may be private property and get you good maps. Also look into tourism sites for the area you plan on going... one my goals is to visit some of the old mining ghost towns as I'm going through WV.
We obviously don't have the same opportunities out here, but if you plan well you can come up with a few places.

[mrstang01]

I'm interested in East of Miss. trips too.

[Desertbronco]

I am doing a Mojave road trip in April 2009 taking 3 days to do it.

[lsloth]

Why not make a google map? Something like this:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=
114446900853863713964.000457c2d8a3d5151e0ab

I made it editable by everyone with a google account, just click edit and you can add your own placemarker. I think I set it up correctly.

[Napoleon047]

Another neat thing about google maps is you can choose the directions by car or walking. If you choose walking, it will send you down the "path less traveled" by cars. In many areas where there arent pedestrian pathways, it just sends you down dirt and gravel roads.

[Vanishing Point]

Here's a story:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0408/excerpt1.html

[TachedOutOffRoad]

You could look through these . . . .

Ultimate East Coast Places to Go (http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=689318)

[billyballer]

This is a great thread.

I came across a great website a few years back while looking for expedition type trails where I could also do some hiking, biking and explore old historic ruins. Its an excellent resource for those in on the west coast/pacific northwest, especially if you like old trains, mines etc..

Check it out:
http://www.brian894x4.com/

-Bill