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In terms of distance from the nearest road, the southeast corner of Yellowstone National Park is often quoted as the most remote spot in the lower 48 states - roughly 30 miles from the nearest road.

Joseph Bullough wrote:In terms of distance from the nearest road, the southeast corner of Yellowstone National Park is often quoted as the most remote spot in the lower 48 states - roughly 30 miles from the nearest road.

What is the definition of "road" in this context? Does it have to be a paved road, or graded dirt road or can it be an unmaintained dirt road, which would require 4WD?
There have to be some places in NV that are pretty remote.

nartreb wrote:That's not counting islands - either the southern tip of Shooters Island south of cape cod, or Graves Island outside Boston Harbor, would win if islands are counted - each very roughly five miles from any road - , unless there's a further tiny island I don't know about. (The islands in the Quabbin mentioned above are in a different category since that lake is artificial.)

This was exactly where my thoughts turned when I saw the thread title. Lots of places get traffic simply because people go through them on their way somewhere else. You get on an island and time basically stops. Lots of them are like the old days in many ways. The price of admission is elevated. You need to fly or to boat.

I would have to say The Allegheny National Forest. There's only a hand full of major roads that go into it. This is in North Western PA.

For Michigan it's easy...Isle Royale though the lodge at Rock Harbor kinda ruins it...on the mainland I'd have to say somewhere deep in the Huron Mountains northwest of Marquette...lots of logging roads but don't expect a trucker to stop and help if you get lost!

Sarek.

Not sure what the remotest part of Idaho is. After a little fiddling around I found lower Moose Creek, which is the main tributary to the Selway River in the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness is the center of a roadless area approximately 32 x 43 miles. Considering that some of the limiting roads that extend into the area are really goat trails that require 2 or 3 hours of rugged driving with high clearance 4wd, its probably more remote than it sounds.

However, I suspect the north end of the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, which is separated by the above by just one thread of a road, may be more remote. I don't think there is a road between the Montana road north of the Salmon River and far to the south across the river and Chamberlain Basin well into the Middle Fork Basin. I don't have time to research it, but I suspect its a bigger area. Maybe someone more familiar with that area can say.

But the most remote area could well be in the Owyhees in the far SW part of the state. Again I don't care to look it up. But the remotest place in the U.S. outside of Alaska (and the middle of Lake Superior if counting water) is almost certainly in the American Outback, which is the vast empty country where SW Idaho, SE Oregon and northern NV meet.

Sierra Ledge Rat wrote:Most remote?

The state capitol. They're so far out of touch that it's not funny.

Is that near the DMV, cause I spent 16 hours just trying to get to part of it?

OK, I played with the Selway Bitterroot a little more. If one runs a NNE to SSW line roughly on the Bitterroot axis (Montana - Idaho border) from near Lolo Peak to the road east of Magruder Ranger Station, 70 miles of roadless ground is crossed. The width of this area varies from 5 to 45 miles with most of it being 20 to 40 miles. Impressive, but I still think its in 2nd or 3rd place in Idaho and it also extends into Montana in several places.

mrh wrote:Not sure what the remotest part of Idaho is. After a little fiddling around I found lower Moose Creek, which is the main tributary to the Selway River in the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness is the center of a roadless area approximately 32 x 43 miles. Considering that some of the limiting roads that extend into the area are really goat trails that require 2 or 3 hours of rugged driving with high clearance 4wd, its probably more remote than it sounds.

However, I suspect the north end of the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, which is separated by the above by just one thread of a road, may be more remote. I don't think there is a road between the Montana road north of the Salmon River and far to the south across the river and Chamberlain Basin well into the Middle Fork Basin. I don't have time to research it, but I suspect its a bigger area. Maybe someone more familiar with that area can say.

But the most remote area could well be in the Owyhees in the far SW part of the state. Again I don't care to look it up. But the remotest place in the U.S. outside of Alaska (and the middle of Lake Superior if counting water) is almost certainly in the American Outback, which is the vast empty country where SW Idaho, SE Oregon and northern NV meet.

I've looked at this outback area in my Benchmark Oregon Atlas numerous times and am just astounded with the lack of name recognition in this area. There is not a single hill, town, or even ranch in the far SE corner I have ever read about or seen anything of on TV, one of these days I'm going to have to see this spot.

In the lower 48, Frank Church Wilderness here in Idaho, hands down. But that certainly doesn't mean any of you are invited.

Smoove910 wrote:In the lower 48, Frank Church Wilderness here in Idaho, hands down. But that certainly doesn't mean any of you are invited.

I built trails up there one summer, and haven't been back... that is remote.


Things get even more remote (Rarely seen/no human evidence) when you start thinking 3D:

Idaho's Frank Church is vast, and I think the Chamberlain Basin area is its most remote section. But the discussion gets complicated in Idaho because you have wilderness airstrips. Folks with planes or money to hire them can and do fly into Chamberlain or Cold Meadows or Moose Creek with coolers of beer for some airplane tailgating, which makes these spots seem a bit less remote than the maps indicate. Moose Creek on a weekend can be downright busy and noisy. Taking airstrips into account, I'd guess some candidates for most inaccessible place in the Frank would be the Shellrock Peak area, Stoddard Lakes area, Sheepeater Mountain west of Chamberlain, or maybe Waugh Mountain and the uppermost basin of the Selway.

As for New Mexico, definitely in the Gila Wilderness, probably around McKenna Park or Mogollon Baldy. Runner up is probably somewhere in the Aldo Leopold.

The Jarbidge Wilderness area and the Steens Mountains area in SE Oregon are pretty damned remote, if being away from population centers is a criterium.

As far as towns go, Antler, ND, population 47, is 41 miles to nearest hospital, the nearest airport is in Minot ND, traditionally one of the coldest places in the country, is 40 mi to the south. The nearest public use airport 18 mi. It's last school closed in 1981, and it's only 5 miles to what amounts to more emptiness, just north of the border.

Tanngrisnir3 wrote:As far as towns go, Antler, ND

I would think you could find more remote towns in North Dakota. It all depends on which criteria a person uses. And there are certainly more remote towns in other states.

Supai, Arizona, comes to mind.