Where are the most desolate places in the lower 48?

[Ocotillo]

I am looking for places in the lower 48 states that are the most desolate. Ones you go to when you want to get away from people.

A place where you might only see one other car drive down the highway every 30 minutes. An area with minimal paved roads and mostly gravel ones.

A place that's at least 200 miles from the nearest McDonald's or other chains.

A place with minimal cell phone service.

A place where if you get into an emergency, you have to be a man and toughen it out. You can't rely on first responders to bail you out.

What places come to mind?

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by Frazod

Eastern Colorado is awful. Actually worse than western Kansas, especially if you've been driving through Kansas for hours waiting to hit the Colorado border, thinking about trees, mountains and anything but the vile, monotonous misery of western Kansas, only to have shit get worse, not better. Once you get past Denver, though, goddamn that drive on I-70 is magnificent.

But my first thought was central Wyoming. Desolate country is okay if it's interesting/pretty to look at (Utah, for example). Central Wyoming is nothing but flat desert with some rocks. At least there are living things and hints of civilization in the bad areas of Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska and South Dakota.

That's not even the worst part. Limon is a legitimate town.

Trek across there on a state highway. It's way worse. Additionally, the drive is better after Denver on small highways, too.

[Megatron96]

Death Valley, obviously.


I haven't been, but I'm told the deep Sonoran Desert is about as desolate/alone as it gets in the US.

[Darien25]

SW Texas is a god forsaken area. I drove to Del Rio, Tx years ago and did not see another car on the road for long stretches at a time. A really bad area to have a breakdown.

[loochy]

The stretch between Clayton, NM and Springer, NM is 90 miles of absolutely nothing

[chinaski]

Hwy 127 out of Baker, CA heading North up toward Shoshone. You touch the South edge of Death Valley. Continue on for a trip into Death Valley, or head onto Hwy 178/327 toward Pahrump Nevada. There is literally nothing out there, and at night you will be lucky to see another car.

[suzzer99]

If you want the most desolate place that also has an incredible ocean view, the Mattole Road in Northern CA at the northern end of the Lost Coast trail is really cool. Every time I've been there it's been so windy the sand on the beach stung my face, which I imagine is why it's not more populated.

[suzzer99]

Originally Posted by Ocotillo

What took you out that way? I always wanted to go to Great Basin National Park but it's really out of the way.

Great Basin is really cool. And never very crowded since it's so remote.

[Pasta Little Brioni]

The Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals trophy cases

[ThaVirus]

Originally Posted by suzzer99

If you want the most desolate place that also has an incredible ocean view, the Mattole Road in Northern CA at the northern end of the Lost Coast trail is really cool. Every time I've been there it's been so windy the sand on the beach stung my face, which I imagine is why it's not more populated.

That’s a beautiful rock structure

[Mosbonian]

I remember when I was young I used to love to go driving to some of the more desolate places...just to drive and not see another human being for a few hours.

Anything driving across Kansas west.....I used to have a VW Rabbit with no air conditioning but damn it got good gas mileage.

Of the places I went to Montana was the most desolate....but I always had friends from CA who would tell me that old Route 66 and anything that was going from Vegas to LA was desolate.

But I did always remember to take plenty of extra water.....a food kit....and a sleeping bag. Never knew where I would end up...

[smithandrew051]

The Bills’ Trophy Case

[Arch Stanton]

Padre Island National Seashore (PINS).

Not South Padre Island. The opposite of that.

65 miles of beach. The first 10 is for the partiers.

The rest is for people that wanna get away.

Go down about 25 miles or so.

Less the sea turtles are layin eggs (APril/May?), you won't see another person all day on a weekday.

Great fishing, including sharks.

Just you, coyotes, rattlesnakes, ghost crabs, shipwrecks, and pelicans slidin overhead like pterodactyls.

[MMXcalibur]

I've never seen the stars quite as beautiful and plentiful as when I took the 10 between Tucson and Las Cruces.

I imagine the lack of light pollution would open it up to being rather desolate.

[displacedinMN]

I was on Hwy 54 between Alamogordo and Santa Rosa. The only thing I could think of was "How the hell did they build a highway here. There is NOTHING here."

[Fish]

Originally Posted by suzzer99

If you want the most desolate place that also has an incredible ocean view, the Mattole Road in Northern CA at the northern end of the Lost Coast trail is really cool. Every time I've been there it's been so windy the sand on the beach stung my face, which I imagine is why it's not more populated.

Is that the rock from Goonies?