Best state for overlanding?

[lake boardman]

I’m in a rare opportunity to be able to move almost anywhere in the US for work.

Which state do you think have the best overlanding and off-roading? I like trails through water trees and some mud.

I was thinking Oregon, Washington...

Just curious to your thoughts and experiences.

Thank you!

 

[Jedi]

I am going to vote for Washington. You have beach camping, the Cascades, easy access to Canada, and awesome Volcanoes.

 

[trailhunter]

I’m in a rare opportunity to be able to move almost anywhere in the US for work.

Which state do you think have the best overlanding and off-roading? I like trails through water trees and some mud.

I was thinking Oregon, Washington...

Just curious to your thoughts and experiences.

Thank you!

You devops?

 

[Saints&Sailors]

California - you can get pretty much whatever you're looking for in the state. Beaches, cliffs, Redwoods, mountains, deserts, rocks, mud, snow, etc. The terrain is widely varied due to the large geographic size of the state. On top of the massive amounts of quality federal public lands, there are tons of state parks also at your disposal.

 

[Laud]

Your current location is the best....plans are required to go anywhere else. Everybody will have different answers from their experience.....or lack there of...
Now if I had to pick one state, forever.......thats tough, but first to mind would be New Mexico. I have experience in the region, it has multiple elevation systems, four seasons and a lower population density.
That being said, I have not yet exhausted Texas and its treasures!!

 

[Anak]

I think if you look at a nighttime view of the US you will get a pretty clear image of where the wide open spaces are, and they are largely the western US.

From there I would start to consider other factors that would matter to you personally. Things such as tax rates and community values. If your job is high income then you might want to heavily weight Nevada and Washington because they do not have an income tax. Conversely, if you like guns you might want to avoid Kalifornia on account of their gun laws. Those are just examples. You will have to consider what issues matter the most for you and then research states accordingly.

By and large, once you get into the western US there are lots of places to go overlanding, and overlanding is about going somewhere, so if you have to drive a few hours to get there, well, that was part of the plan all along anyways, right?

I would do some research on places you will want to go. If you have never been to Moab you need to put it on your bucket list. And once you get to Moab you will probably find yourself putting several return trips on your bucket list. So it might be good to be within a day's drive of Moab. Colorado also offers some beautiful trails. As do the Sierras. Figure out which areas/trails are likely to belong on your bucket list and then try to pick a location that puts you within reasonable range of as many of those as possible.

 

[OwenMcCoy]

Othet than Alaska.. Nevada has the most BLM land. North of Las Vegas there are a lot of great places. It is also a central point to go almost anywhere. Utah/ Moab is 5 hours. Duck Creek is 3 hours. The beach in CA is less than 4. Valley of Fire is 3.5. Joshua Tree or Mojave is 3.5. Hell you can get to San Francisco is 8 or the Rocky Mountains via Colorado in 8. Denver is only 11. Salt Lake City is about 6. Idaho is close enough to make in a day. Then you can stop and and hit trails all the way back. Plus the cost of living in Vegas is still low compared to anywhere on the west coast.

 

[Smileyshaun]

One thing to think about is when you like to travel , in the north western US most the fall and winter is cold and rainy and once you get above a couple thousand feet in elevation you'll start running into snow. . sometimes lots and lots of snow so it can really shorten where you can travel .

 

[Overland California]

I'm a big fan of California's outdoors but not much of a fan of the cost of living, traffic, politically correct police, gas prices, etc. I'd say Nevada, Idaho, and Utah offer the best mix of overlanding and in-vehicle/out-of-vehicle outdoor experiences; all at a great price.

 

[Renegade]

Las Vegas seems to be a good location to hit places N/S/E/W. Four corners looks good too.

 

[Correus]

For warmer climes...either the extreme western ends of the Oklahoma or Texas panhandle.

For cooler climes...the western end of Nebraska.

Another possible zone would be the south eastern tip of Missouri.

 

[California Overland]

California IMO. State, federal, BLM land, coast, mountains, desert, big trees, the most varied terrain.

That said, there's also 40mil people, horrible forest fires, a crushing cost of living, environmentalism that can border on insanity.

You take the good, you take the bad...

 

[Anak]

California IMO. State, federal, BLM land, coast, mountains, desert, big trees, the most varied terrain.

That said, there's also 40mil people, horrible forest fires, a crushing cost of living, environmentalism that can border on insanity.

You take the good, you take the bad...

Hey, you left out the horrible earthquakes!!

Oh, and the mudslides too.

And the traffic.

 

[California Overland]

Hey, you left out the horrible earthquakes!!

Oh, and the mudslides too.

And the traffic.

Lol, yeah. Fortunately I'm not in a mudslide prone area and earthquakes are once in a while. But the traffic... it's crippling.

 

[Todd & Meg]

Othet than Alaska.. Nevada has the most BLM land. North of Las Vegas there are a lot of great places. It is also a central point to go almost anywhere. Utah/ Moab is 5 hours. Duck Creek is 3 hours. The beach in CA is less than 4. Valley of Fire is 3.5. Joshua Tree or Mojave is 3.5. Hell you can get to San Francisco is 8 or the Rocky Mountains via Colorado in 8. Denver is only 11. Salt Lake City is about 6. Idaho is close enough to make in a day. Then you can stop and and hit trails all the way back. Plus the cost of living in Vegas is still low compared to anywhere on the west coast.

This!

 

[Supernaut]

Don’t forget to consider New Mexico.

 

[Joel S]

Don’t forget to consider New Mexico.

You said it, so much good stuff there. Northern New Mexico is one of my favorite places, bar none

 

[ArkansasDon]

I believe "all" states have something to offer with non of them being the same for sites. Any new area for the wife & I is good memories & excitement.

 

[Correus]

I believe "all" states have something to offer with non of them being the same for sites. Any new area for the wife & I is good & exciting to see.

Your area is one I'm looking forward to exploring more.

 

[ArkansasDon]

This mid March 2019 the wife & I will be doing the entire Arkansas & Oklahoma Trans American Trail route consist East Arkansas into Ouachita National Forest from the Central Arkansas into Southeast Oklahoma. We'll be taking our time overlanding threw mostly National Forest, dispersed camping & seeing the sites about 10 day trip.
One of our stops is the Oark General Store, listed in the Arkansas Register of Historic Places serves the best burgers & peanut butter pie around, was opened in 1890. https://www.facebook.com/OarkGeneralStore/
We'll make a huge loop threw Oklahoma & back into upper NW Arkansas to upper North Central Eastern Arkansas aka home.

We've explored many areas in Arkansas, lots of acreage to cover & sites to see. Last photo is Sylamore Ozark National Forest Area which is one of our favorite camp spots that is on the ridge top.