US National Parks with good overlanding opportunities?

Grand Canyon Nat'l. Park has great spots on the north and south rims which are accessible by traveling through National Forest land and lands owned by native Americans. We camped at Ruby Point on the south rim a couple of years ago. It's 30 miles of dirt from Grand Canyon Village. We also had reservations at Point Sublime on the north rim, but bagged it due to sketchy weather conditions.
 
Hoptodd said:
I am new here to this forum. Are the location meant to be posted here or do we keep them in private messages so only members can see them? I would love to share


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Really up to you based on fragility of location. If there's an amazing place in Hunterdon County, NJ, probably best to keep it on the QT. But, if you find a nice place in the middle of nowhere New Mexico (I've lived in both) probably won't get overrun with overlanders. Here's my contribution in Middle of Nowhere, NM. Off of North Star Road between the Gila National Forest and the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area, north of Silver City, NM. It was dry then, it's really dry now. No burn order announced today.

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Hoptodd said:
How about Big Sur? Los Padres National Forest. There are some amazing camp site and views up there.
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Awesome site! This is what Overlanding is all about!
 
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Three good spots in Colorado...Dinosaur National Park, La Garrita Wilderness Area, and Hovenweep National Monument. All three are way off the beaten path.

Short story. Our 1st trip to Hovenweep we had a coyote come through our campsite within 10' of us, and later we watched a mountain lion take down a deer in a boxed section of the canyon just below our campsite. Next morning we had a marmot join us for breakfast. Park ranger made us a map on copy paper showing us trails to a half dozen remote cliff dwellings. Amazing place. Our daughters all time favorite vacation experience.
 
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you should try to go to crooked meadows and casa diablo area just north of bishop. I grew up in bishop and that area is one of my favorite places...
 
+3 on Big Bend. Just got back. It’s pretty amazing in it’s diversity. Got everything from desert, to canyon, to mountains, to a forest (!), a pretty decent wheeling track, and GORGEOUS vistas.
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Canyonlands National Park in Utah is divided into three "districts" by the confluence of the Green and Colorado rivers. Island In The Sky is the most developed and accessible; The Needles District is more remote and contains some off road trails (including the excellent Elephant Hill), but it is more focused on hiking the slot canyons; The Maze District is the most primitive and remote with lots of overlanding opportunities.

The Maze has several strict regulations you need to know about before you go:
  • No campfires, but you can have charcoal in an above-ground grill if you pack out the ash. Fires change the chemical composition of the soil.
  • No wood gathering. The area is pristine, but it won't be if people tromp all over the cryptobiotic soil to gather wood. Deadwood also returns nutrients to the soil and is habitat for local wildlife, burning it upsets this delicate balance.
  • Pack out everything. You need to travel with a portable toilet and the ability to pack out all your waste, latrine holes are not acceptable.
  • You are entirely on your own. Rangers have only two vehicles to patrol the entire Maze District, they do not have the capacity to help with breakdowns, fuel, or anything other than emergency water.
The entrance to the Maze is Hans Flat Ranger Station, down 46 miles of dirt road from the highway and even farther from the nearest fuel (Hanksville, UT). You must reserve your campsite in advance and only camp in designated areas, your itinerary will be reviewed by the rangers and approved - you have to stick to your plan. I highly recommend The Maze Overlook and The Dollhouse campsites - they are also the first to fill up.

There are a lot of things to explore in The Maze District, by vehicle and on foot. You probably won't see it all in one trip. Please, please, please Tread Lightly in The Maze, it is one of the last places in the desert so well preserved.
 
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Cruiser47, look at HoppTodd's picture of his route. Right in the middle of his loop is the Mendocino National Forest. MNF is huge and has dispersed campsites as well as numerous 'developed' camp sites. Unless its a big holiday weekend, the developed sites are almost always nearly empty if not completely empty.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/activity/mendocino/recreation/camping-cabins

Someday, if you're feeling brave (and have the right plane) you can try landing at the Gravelly Valley airstrip at Lake Pilsbury. In between the airstrip and the lake are the Navy and Oak Flat Campgrounds. Oak Flat isn't a bad place to stay and has many sites that are spread out reasonably.

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cruiser47 said:
Nice trip! Tell us more! I've flown over areas around Santa Rosa. Beautiful country! Are there any legal off-road trails and camping in the area? Looks like mosty private land.

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Look up “Cow Mountain” east of Ukiah. Its part of the national forest, with atv, mc, and 4x4 trails with dispersed camping, and shooting allowed (except during fire season)View attachment 55659View attachment 55660
 
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