Want to go on a Off-road Adventure but don't know where?

I made a post yesterday mentioning that i am planning a trip out west with the family. I wanted to take the new Tundra off pavement once I get out there and asked for some suggestions. I got some views but nothing otherwise. So I figured I'm on my own.

After some investigating I found a great source. Ever wonder where your tax dollars go? Well there is a department under the USDA (Dept of Agriculture) which has a branch under it for the US Forest Service. They have maps called Motor Vehicle Use Maps for all the National Forests and Grasslands in the US. These are basically service roads that the Forestry Service uses. This is all over the country so I found a page which had a state by state listing.

Good luck in your future travels.

 

MVUMs are super handy. i keep a stack in a box with other paper maps. gives you all the legal routes on forest service land. stay the trail.

here's the link for arapahoe and roosevelt forests. i have not yet tried the avenza app.

 

Where out west are you planning to visit? Mojave and Death Valley offer some great wheeling. There's some really fun stuff in Tahoe too.

 

Moab

 

The books published by FunTreks are pretty stellar. California, Utah, Arizona, Colorado... https://funtreks.com/products/

Rated by difficulty which makes it nice to plan. And the mobile integration works well (although there's an investment there too). So long as you pay attention and use the mile markers in the books, you don't really need the app, but I like having both for sure.

Have fun!

 

+1 on their books. those stay permanently in the truck.

 

fyi, if you're a gaia premium user, you can get mvum overlays in the gaia app too.

https://blog.gaiagps.com/u-s-forest-service-motor-vehicle-use-maps-now-available/

 

Damn. Only place in Ohio is 3 hours from me

 

This! @Big Yota we use Funtreks a lot for trails in NorCal. If you have an android phone or tablet, the funtrek trails are able to be puchased as an add-on in backcountry navigator. The trails aren't secrets, so they are probably all in gaia also.

 

I guess you’re meaning dirt road not off road ? NW Wyoming’s hard to beat. I use FS maps and Google Earth to find a lot of good routes if I’m unfamiliar with the area

 

For google maps you gotta have a cell signal right? Be careful.

 

You can download Offline Maps before you lose service and it'll work without service.

 

I use it before I go. I use Gaia GPS in the field.

 

BigYota, if you posted previously and got few responses, you can see now, probably not many people saw your thread before it rolled off the opening screen. It's okay to "bump" a thread the next day to get it going again if needed. Especially on weekends, the same people answering up here are often off-line, adventuring or modding their trucks. Glad to see you found a starting point, and that so many are jumping in with more leads, now that we see your post.

Another: California Trail Maps is available for on-line purchase, and is about $30 or $50 but it's lifetime. Includes portions of AZ and, I think, Nevada. Shows stuff like where to find a bank of outhouses out on public lands.

And finally, if you haven't already, check out an America the Beautiful annual pass. Allows you to park without additional cost at places like the Grand Canyon, and to camp.

 

Thanks to some who chimed in. We have picked or major destinations. Spending a few days in the following spots.
Badlands/Mt Rushmore around Cedar Rapids SD
Then heading NW up to Red Lodge Montana. Planning to get close to Granite Mountain (Elev 12,700 feet).
Taking the Bear Tooth Pass route down into Wyoming to hit Yellowstone NP/The Grand Tetons NP. Looks like we will be staying in Driggs Idaho which will be base camp. There appears to be a place called Shoshone National Forest which borders both Yellowstone and Grand Tetons on their east edge which has MVUM's.

So after a little investigating I am hoping these maps from the Forestry Department get us off the pavement and onto some gravel. Hoping they lead to some remote mountain lakes to dip a fishing pole. Sounds like there are some Walleye and Trout in this corner of Wyoming.

 

gladecreekwy that is exactly what I am looking for. No need to climb the side of a mountain like a big horn sheep. I'm too old for that. The pics you show are exactly what works for me.

 

dangerous..too close to BASTRDS territory...too South and you hit SGU MC

 

@gladecreekwy

 

Those pictures are beautiful, but also scream time trial challenge

 

Was thinking the exact same thing. I would mash on that road.

 

Have to make it challenging somehow.

 

Wish we had some roads like that. Only time I see a flat road is when there's a cliff on one side.

 

That is why I want to go to Bodie.

 

Come to the Midwest if you want flat. There's a reason why cheesheads from Wisco call IL residents Flatlanders.

 

Driggs wouldn’t be my first choice for Yellowstone/ Grand Teton base camp. Lots of free camping east of the Tetons. Long drive from driggs plus a high pass. Much closer to the parks in Jackson hole. My post above is from the area I’d recommend. Great camping, fishing and dirt.

 

Your correct Those are the main roads through that area. Plenty of side roads to get into trouble on. I do love to haul ass out there.

 

I soke with someone who stayed in Driggs while out at the park and they mentioned crossing the Continental Divide each day back and forth. Said it was a waste of many hours each day. We are not looking to do camping or even glamping. We had looked at renting a home out there. It would have been perfect except for all the driving to and fro from base camp to the park. Unless I can find a home out in Cody or someplace else along the edge i may have to stay in the park. Just not a fan of living in a hotel room for long periods. Too many business trips in the past. i would like to here some alternatives. As of last night the actual trip has changed to skip Rapids City SD and Red Lodge MT. We will instead start the trip in Great Falls MT and go to Glacier NP then head south from Kalispell through Missoula to Yellowstones west entrance.

 

Look for an Airbnb in west Yellowstone Montana. What month are you going to be here?

 

Looks like you've already picked your itinerary and I'm too late chiming in, but a few more ideas I haven't seen mentioned in my quick scan of the thread:

UTAH!!!! I think there are amazing things all over the state, but the part I've explored most with my 4x4 is the southeast, in a triangle from Moab to the Four Corners to Zion NP.

Arizona in general, but for your trip, the north. Vermilion Cliffs, the North Rim - try the Toroweap Overlook.

Oh, and the Beartooth Pass gets two thumbs up from me. It's not remotely "off the pavement", in fact you may be in a parade of other tourists, but it's amazing.

Ok, I re-scanned some of the thread, and see you aren't interested in camping this trip. I'd already typed the rest of this, so I'll just say "for your next trip..."

Since you either just discovered the National Forest Service (or I missed the sarcasm - I've only had one mug of coffee this morning) you might also be fascinated to hear about the Bureau of Land Management. It's a big deal out here, not so much back east. Same kind of deal as the NFS, and we have access to the land. It is AMAZING.

If you're able to do dispersed camping (shovel for toilet, BYO all your water) the west is one giant free campground. You can often camp - for free - just outside of National Parks, even. Make sure, of course, that it's NFS or BLM, and allowed - some places are marked "no camping", use existing sites (that somebody has used before) and TAKE YOUR GARBAGE WITH YOU, and otherwise have a blast!

Usual caveats: take a LOT of water, extra fuel, and offline maps - preferably some in old-fashioned paper form. Not sure what your off-road experience is, but in any case, it's good to check at ranger stations for current conditions. I've been on roads that I could get down with a small Ford hatchback when it's dry that challenged my Tundra when wet / snow / mud covered or hadn't been graded in a while.

 

We will be there evening 6-25 thru morning of 6-29-19. How bad is the drive from Big Sky to the west entrance? I know its about an hour away /55 miles but any decent condo or house via VRBO /Airbnb will be at least that far. The condos at Big Sky look relatively affordable and roomy. Not a hotel room outside the west gate which is what I'm finding. I did find a home in Cody but looks about as far from the park as BS.

Nomadicfrog, thanks for the detailed response. Ahh you are right that camping is not really going to work for this trip. I gave that up in my mid 20's which was in the mid 1980's. I know that dates me but saying it loud and proud....Im too OLD to sleep on mother earth. Never have been to Yellowstone and either have my 2 adult sons. This is probably our last opportunity as soon their lives will take them in different directions. The off road portion will be limited as we just have too much ground via pavement to cover and less than 2 weeks to drive from chicago/glasier/yellowstone/tetons/chicaago. Figuring over 3000 miles as it is.