Top U.S. States for Off-Roading

This interactive chart ranks 47 states from best to worst for off-roading based on overall scores out of 100. It also provides detailed rankings for trail quantity, trail length, trail difficulty variety, and seasonality (the number of trails that are optimal in all seasons) from 1 (best) to 47 (worst). Explore below to find out which states offer the best off-roading experiences and plan your next adventure.

States With the Most Off-Roading Trails

1. Arizona (1,169)
2. Utah (1,124)
3. Colorado (838)
4. California (616)
5. Idaho (574)

States With the Most Easy Off-Roading Trails

1. Utah (726)
2. Arizona (719)
3. Colorado (486)
4. Montana (438)
5. Idaho (397)

States With the Most Difficult Off-Roading Trails

1. Colorado (94)
2. Utah (74)
3. California (65)
4. Arizona (49)
5. Idaho (29)

States With the Highest Technical Rating (Most Difficult Trails on Average)

1. Alaska (4.1 out of 10)
2. Oklahoma (3.9)
3. California (3.6)
4. Massachusetts (3.6)
5. Vermont (3.6)

States With the Most Off-Roading Trails Optimal for Each Season:

Spring

1. Arizona (1,098)
2. Utah (930)
3. California (534)

Summer

1. Utah (980)
2. Colorado (743)
3. Arizona (705)

Fall

1. Arizona (1,120)
2. Utah (1,095)
3. Colorado (753)

Winter

1. Arizona (561)
2. Utah (407)
3. California (325)

States With the Longest Off-Roading Trails

States* With the Longest Off-Roading Trails on Average (in miles)

1. Texas (20.4)
2. South Carolina (19.3)
3. Nevada (15.4)
4. Wyoming (14.1)
5. Wisconsin (12.6)

* Of states with at least 10 off-roading trails

Longest Off-Roading Trails in the U.S. Overall

1. The Dalton Highway (Alaska, 517.8 miles)
2. Pony Express Trail (Nevada, 487.1 miles)
3. Georgia Traverse (Georgia, 390.8 miles)
4. Texas Traverse (Leg 1) (Texas, 378.9 miles)
5. Texas Traverse (Leg 2) (Texas, 304.3 miles)
6. Delamar Ghost Town (Nevada, 272.7 miles)
7. Seven Hour Plane Crash Trail (Michigan, 245 miles)
8. South Carolina Adventure Route Segment 5 (South Carolina, 243.7 miles)
9. SCAR Northeast Alternate (South Carolina, 239.7 miles)
10. EMHT Segment 3: Rocky Ridge to Fenner (California, 230.3 miles)

Methodology

For this study, we leveraged onX Offroad to gather data on all off-roading trails in each state. Specifically, this data includes trail name, technical difficulty, length, and best seasons for the trail. For the meta-ranking, we factored in four variables with differing weights as follows:

• Off-Roading Trail Quantity (50%): The number of off-roading trails
• Off-Roading Trail Length (25%): The average length of off-roading trails, with a larger average resulting in a higher score
• Off-Roading Trail Difficulty Variety (12.5%): The best balance of easy, moderate, and difficult off-roading trails
• Off-Roading Seasonality (12.5%): The most trails optimal for off-roading in different seasons (spring, summer, fall, and winter)

About Extreme Terrain

ExtremeTerrain offers off-roading enthusiasts a wide range of top-quality gear and accessories to enhance their adventures. Explore their extensive product selection and expert advice at Extreme Terrain.

Fair Use Statement

You can use this content for noncommercial purposes by including a citation link.