The Most Remote Places Left in America (lower 48)

I thought it would be interesting to go over the last empty, inaccessible, and wild places left in the lower 48 of the United States. I found and used google earth to image all of these regions, using google earth studio.

0:00 intro
0:47 The Maze
1:45 The Bob
3:00 Owyhee Canyonlands
3:56 Boundary Waters
4:35 The Winds
5:29 Olympic
6:20 Selway-Bitterroot
7:47 North Cascades
8:54 Absarokas
10:14 number 1

[ReneTihista]

I've been to every one of these Wilderness areas except the Wind River Range. We were on our way there when a death in my family caused a detor for a funeral and I never got a chance to go back. I'm 85 now and my options are limited. But I have memories. Fantastic memories and they still live within me. And vividly. It's wonderful that you've created this site. The more that young folks explore these pristine regions of our wonderful West, the more reverence they'll have for these priceless regions. And the more consciousness young folks will have about how priceless our wilderness areas are. Go kids!!!

[thomasbrodowicz]

Northwestern Maine is super remote. Although there are logging roads there are no services. One of the most sparsely populated areas in the lower 48

[BnaBreaker]

That "Chinese Wall" looks absolutely insane... I have no idea how I've never heard of it!

[NawDawgTheRazor]

As a native of the eastern US, traveling through the West was a surreal experience, it’s otherworldly in its magnitude and starkness, almost like a different planet.

[BlakeBeitzel]

That Canyonlands area is no joke. It really feels like a place you could get lost, go crazy, and not find water for days. A place not on this list that is quite remote that no one has mentioned would be the San Juan mountains in CO. Absolutely stunning terrain, difficult hiking, and some of the best alpine lakes I’ve ever laid eyes on. Awesome video! Makes me want to plan an adventure. Cheers everyone!!

[youtubename]

I have a story about #2. On a trip into the Absorokas I was camping in a high meadow one pitch black night alone. At the other end of the meadow I spotted with my light a large herd of elk. As I watched them, something, perhaps me, spooked them and they started to stampede. I shut my light off and listened as they made a circuit, then I realized they were coming straight toward me. I knelt, and just when I thought I'd be trampled I lit myself up, the herd parted like the red sea and thundered past. Some of the bulls with giant racks must have leapt 20 feet. The sound of their hooves and the shaking of the ground impressed me most. Really the coolest wilderness experience I've had.

[ericargento]

I got excited when you mentioned the Bob Marshall Wilderness area 🎉 I just turned 79 and when I was 16, I went on a three week horseback, pack mule and wrangler supported riding and camping trip through the Bob Marshall, Four father son families plus my sister. The first three days riding for eight hours a day, we were all extremely sore. At that time, I knew it as the China wall and we rode the horses up the backside all the way to the top. It was quite spectacular. I found a large elk antler which I still have today and strapped it to the back of my saddle for the long trip back to camp. Unfortunately I didn’t strap it on very well and by the time we got back I realized one of the antlers had rubbed a very large hole in the back of the saddle . I filled the hole with clay which almost matched the color of the leather and rubbed some bacon grease on it . Thank you for this post, I had not thought about that great trip thru part of the Bob Marshall Wilderness area or the China wall in many years 👍😎

[KJ-vcsw]

About twelve years ago I went with a small group of fellow adventurers and walked the entire parking lot of a local Walmart. Haven't been back since but I often reminisce. I still have a couple of souvenirs I picked up that day.

[BeatlesCentricUniverse]

When I was young, I flew from over the "Chinese Wall, " which I saw clearly from the window of a commercial airline. I've never forgotten it and I have always wondered what it was, my entire life. Until now. Thanks for this!

[MSTBASSMAN]

An enjoyable video. Thank you. One of the most remote areas in the lower 48 is west of Truth or Consequences, NM. The Aldo Leopold wilderness area and the Gila wilderness area are directly adjacent to each other, separated by only one road - Forest Road 150 a.k.a. Star Mesa Road. The road was built by the U.S. Army in the late 1800s to connect two forts. The drive on this road is outstanding but very long - a roundtrip from T or C took us a little over nine hours.

[zant.]

Did a nine day canoe tripmthrough the Boundary Waters in 1971 with 8 other female teens and one female counselor. Canvas backpacks and tents, aluminum canoes we had to portage. We drank water straight from our paddles. Unforgettable experience, and am so glad to hear it is still wild and wonderful. I have backpacked with my young children in Eagle Cap Wilderness, and now enjoy exploring the Oregon outback alone, the remote the better. Thanks for bringing backcountry adventure to a grandmother with a young heart.

[Landwy]

I used to live in the Wind River mountains near Lander, WY at 8, 000 feet. There are about 15 houses/cabins at was once a sheep ranch of 3, 000 acres. We were the only people to winter over, and did this for nearly 15 years. We had to use a military vehicle with chains, snow plows (including a rotary), snowmobiles, skis, snowshoes, and plain old hiking to reach our house in winter. I kept a 23 switchback road open most of the winter. Although we managed to keep the road open most winters you had to have enough provisions to last the winter. It felt like I was a pioneer in a modern era. I built a solar powered wifi internet system that managed to get high speed internet to the house.

This was a crazy life that not may people could survive. However, I'm getting too old to do that again. We moved to the Northwest and live at the base of the Cascades and have paved road access. That lifestyle brings back a lot of great memories of wolves, elk, moose, and Mt. lions that would frequent us. Just call me Jeramiah Johnson when I talk about those memories. BTW...the Wind River Range is the most spectacular mountain range in the lower 48. Everyone that has the ability to backpack should go there.

[zvzqsxl]

As an Idahoan, it’s very cool to know we have so much wilderness here. I’ve always known this, but it’s still so cool to see it detailed. Idaho is truly so beautiful and vast!

[primer]

Visited the northern part of Minnesota for my first time and I could not believe how remote it was. Miles and miles of trees and packs of Wolves howling around the cabins we stayed in. Incredible experience 🌲 🐺

[connorwaits]

I was fortunate enough to spend a week white water rafting the middle fork of the salmon river with my dad as a teenager in 2012. I was surprised it was #1, but makes sense as it was truly serene. No jets flying over, no highway noise, no cell service. The skies were so clear at night. Growing up in Cincinnati Ohio, this was truly the experience of a lifetime.

[cramias]

I appreciate "difficulty of terrain" being used as a criteria for this, I think there's a temptation to just look for places that are most distant from roads and habitation, but complex terrain like the canyon country of the southwest significantly increases how remote a places subjectively feels, over and above how far it may be in a straight line distance from civilization

[don]

I have been fortunate enough to spend time in five of the areas you listed in my lifelong search for America's wild places and for Grizzly bears. However, one of the most remote places I also explored back in the late '60s is Big Bend National Park. It is extremely rugged and beautiful. I explored most of these areas before cellphones or digital cameras. Thank you for bringing back memories of some of the most amazing experiences of my life. Now I am exploring the coast of British Columbia by boat. No more mountaineering for these old bones.

[jamesburden]

My wife and I and a good friend and his wife packed into the “BOB” on horseback for 17 days. We didn’t miss civilization, it was a very spiritual experience. The horses had plenty of grass to eat and we fished out of the lakes and streams and eat hearty. We have packed into the Selway-Bitteroot weilderness, have been in the Frank Church, but the wildest area is the time we paced into the Cabinet Wilderness in northwest Montana. Didn’t see another human for days. But the “BOB”, is my absolute favorite.
Good job, look forward to seeing more of your trips.

[mcoleman]

Enjoyed the video. I worked as a Wilderness Patrolman in the Teton Wilderness part of your number 2, in 1966. First year 1964 Wilderness Act went into effect. Two horses and a cabin at Fox Park near headwaters of Snake River for the summer. Hawks Rest, considered by many as the most remote location in the lower 48 was 14 miles to east over Continental Divide and was along the Yellowstone River before it enters Yellowstone Lake. Generally referred to as the Torofare Country. Now I live at the base of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness which is also pretty remote and wild. Great country!!!

[Christina-gexr]

I am in awe of the members of The Corps of Discovery every time I see a video like this. What they did without the advantages of modern hikers is nothing short of miraculous.
Thanks for sharing and good luck with your adventures.