Best Trips Using DIrt/Gravel Roadways

Scratch the Apache Trail, that’s not a road to pull any TT on. It could get very awkward if you met opposing traffic, which you will. The west has a lot of public land with unpaved roads that would fit the bill, though. Lakes are popular and though the roads may be unpaved they’re usually wide and well maintained and the areas scenic.

Plenty of options in WA and OR, too.

Idaho. Sawtooth National Recreation Area.

In midwest, most gravel roads serve farms. But most of the western mountain forests are National, with lots of gravel roads built for logging (and recreation). Deserts and grasslands are administered by BLM. Even the crudest highway maps shade the forests a different color.

DeLourme and Benchmark sell state map atlases that shows these backroads. Forest service districts also have maps. I also suggest browsing Forest Service district webpages, including the 'current conditions' pages. They also list campgrounds, and dispersed camping policies. BLM also has campgrounds, but generally is more focused on renting rangeland to ranchers.

How many gazillion miles of forest roads are there in the U.S.?

There are many rigs that have never seen anything but pavement. They are missing out.

All our favorite boondocking sites are miles from pavement. Some are lakefront, some by a stream, at the edge of a meadow, or a ridgetop with killer views. Spend the first night at a developed site, then spend the next day scouting around the area. Learn how to read forest road signs (on NF roads the shape of the sign tells you the type of road, to a lesser extent the road number itself) and how to read K-tags in the woods.

Hole in the Rock road near Escalante UT. 60 miles of well graded dirt. If it rains all bets are off you might get stranded for a day or so until the road dries out. You can camp right at Dance Hall Rock. The Cottonwood Canyon Road that runs south from Kodachrome State Park is another. You can camp at Grosvenor Arch. Not too far from Escalante (near Bryce Canyon). And there are all sorts of other opportunities in the area.

Apache trail in Arizona

akronharry wrote:
What are some of the best drives out there that you have taken that you can haul your travel trailer in (25 footer or less) with lots of camping right off that road and beautiful views. Planning for next year and would love to see some less traveled areas.

Come to Colorado! Here in Larimer County, there's some areas that might fit the bill for ya! Red Feather Lakes area has 3 USFS campgrounds that are accessible, one being on a dirt road about 5 miles off the paved road (Bellaire Lake). There's also open camping along the Deadman Road that runs from Red Feather Lakes to the Laramie River Valley.

In addition, in the Laramie River Valley of western Larimer County, there's a lot of places that would be doable. There's also several USFS campgrounds in that area.

Here's a link to some of the campgrounds mentioned here (check the listings for Rustic and Red Feather) :
USFS Camping

In the Poudre Canyon west of Fort Collins (along CO 14), there are several areas that are off the beaten track, notably the Long Draw Reservoir area that's on the north boundary of Rocky Mountain National Park and the Stove Prairie Road in the heart of the canyon area. There's a lot of USFS campgrounds throughout the Canyon.

On the west side of Cameron Pass in Jackson County, there's the Colorado State Forest, with several campgrounds in that area. That State Forest is a hidden gem in northern Colorado with sub-alpine terrain as well as sand dunes.

This is all just for starters in northern Colorado!