Unpaved state highways

[fillup420]

I know of 2 in North Carolina. NC 90 and NC 197. Are there any in your state?

[Max Rockatansky]

Arizona has AZ 88 with a large dirt segment on the Apache Trail and AZ 288 is mostly unpaved on the Young Highway.  Utah has US 261 with the Moki Dugway still being unpaved.  California had a section on CA 173 until was dirt until it was abandoned.  Oregon has an unpaved stretch on OR 27 which is ongoing thread I believe?   Minnesota has MN 74 which has an unpaved segment as well.  I know of an unpaved segment of NM 120 in New Mexico but I want to say that the state has a lot more given it has a ton of routes with dirt or gravel surfaces.  Florida doesn't have unpaved routes anymore nor does Michigan.  Some abandoned Nevada State Highways like NV 8a are still signed despite not being maintained by the state.

[Mapmikey]

South Carolina: none

Virginia: VA 91; there is likely a 3xx series route or 2 that has a gravel segment.  The posted VA 331 segment was largely gravel when I drove it years ago and Oct 2015 GMSV still shows that to be the case.

Here is was from its endpoint looking towards VA 253:

[hbelkins]

Not many left in Kentucky. The one of which I'm most aware is KY 199 in Pike County.

Virginia: VA 91; there is likely a 3xx series route or 2 that has a gravel segment.  The posted VA 331 segment was largely gravel when I drove it years ago and Oct 2015 GMSV still shows that to be the case.

Here is was from its endpoint looking towards VA 253:

I'm guessing this is an access road to some state-owned facility?

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Just one in Minnesota remains, which is a section of MN 74 between Elba and Weaver. The two most recent unpaved sections to be eliminated were in 1996 (MN 1 from Cook to MN 169) and 2000 (MN 65 through the Nett Lake Reservation).

[Mapmikey]

I'm guessing this is an access road to some state-owned facility?

Yes...research farm of James Madison Univ.  This is right outside Port Republic VA.

[froggie]

The thread we had 2-3 years ago on the subject:

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=13040.0

[Rover_0]

Arizona has AZ 88 with a large dirt segment on the Apache Trail and AZ 288 is mostly unpaved on the Young Highway.  Utah has US 261 with the Moki Dugway still being unpaved.

Don't forget UT-153 from a few miles outside Junction to Puffer Lake. I believe a part of UT-35 was up until the late 1990s/early 2000s.

[Max Rockatansky]

Arizona has AZ 88 with a large dirt segment on the Apache Trail and AZ 288 is mostly unpaved on the Young Highway.  Utah has US 261 with the Moki Dugway still being unpaved.

Don't forget UT-153 from a few miles outside Junction to Puffer Lake. I believe a part of UT-35 was up until the late 1990s/early 2000s.

Totally forgot that one, speaking of high mountain highways does anyone know if the last last couple miles of AZ 366 on Mount Graham are still unpaved?

[inkyatari]

AZ 88 is probably the most amazing drive I've ever taken.

[Max Rockatansky]

AZ 88 is probably the most amazing drive I've ever taken.

It sure is something special, I used to love to drive out to Tortilla Flat on an early weekend morning for buzzard strips (chicken).   I really lament not having a good digital camera when I was spending a lot of time out in the dirt segment.

[jp the roadgeek]

VT 35 in Athens is gravel.  However, it's under town maintenance

[SectorZ]

VT 35 in Athens is gravel.  However, it's under town maintenance

VT 58 thru Hazen's Notch is as well, but also falls under town maintenance. As a cyclist, I learned the hard way about 35 a few years ago on one ride, and learned number doesn't equal paved all the time in VT.

[cjk374]

I found one by accident here in Louisiana just over a year ago. It was a 3xxx route, dirt, & a dead end. I was driving on a road I had never seen before when I saw it. I really need to hit the road & find it again to take pictures.

[silverback1065]

Arizona has AZ 88 with a large dirt segment on the Apache Trail and AZ 288 is mostly unpaved on the Young Highway.  Utah has US 261 with the Moki Dugway still being unpaved.  California had a section on CA 173 until was dirt until it was abandoned.  Oregon has an unpaved stretch on OR 27 which is ongoing thread I believe?   Minnesota has MN 74 which has an unpaved segment as well.  I know of an unpaved segment of NM 120 in New Mexico but I want to say that the state has a lot more given it has a ton of routes with dirt or gravel surfaces.  Florida doesn't have unpaved routes anymore nor does Michigan.  Some abandoned Nevada State Highways like NV 8a are still signed despite not being maintained by the state.

do you mean SR 261?  I don't think US 261 exists.

[dvferyance]

I know South Dakota has several.

[cl94]

Would it be possible to merge this thread with:

The thread we had 2-3 years ago on the subject:

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=13040.0

and the other threads mentioned in that thread?

That being said, New York has none, not even a reference route. NYSDOT maintains zero unpaved roads and no numbers are currently assigned to one. One state route (NY 421) ends where pavement ends. I think NY 214 through Stony Clove Notch was the last unpaved NY route (although it was under local jurisdiction), completely rebuilt and paved in the late 1950s.

Vermont has four that were mentioned in the previous thread (sections of VT 35, 58, 65, 121). All except 65 are town-maintained where pavement does not exist (35 and 121 are entirely town-maintained). I'd guess that about 1/3 of VT 121 is unpaved (probably 8 miles or so). Roughly the same amount of VT 58 through Hazen's Notch is unpaved. VT 65 is unpaved for ~3 miles (the stretch with the floating bridge), 35 for about 1 mile.

[Max Rockatansky]

Arizona has AZ 88 with a large dirt segment on the Apache Trail and AZ 288 is mostly unpaved on the Young Highway.  Utah has US 261 with the Moki Dugway still being unpaved.  California had a section on CA 173 until was dirt until it was abandoned.  Oregon has an unpaved stretch on OR 27 which is ongoing thread I believe?   Minnesota has MN 74 which has an unpaved segment as well.  I know of an unpaved segment of NM 120 in New Mexico but I want to say that the state has a lot more given it has a ton of routes with dirt or gravel surfaces.  Florida doesn't have unpaved routes anymore nor does Michigan.  Some abandoned Nevada State Highways like NV 8a are still signed despite not being maintained by the state.

do you mean SR 261?  I don't think US 261 exists.

Typo for UT 261, I want to say US 183 was the last US Route that had a dirt segment in the 1960s or something?

[jbnv]

I found one by accident here in Louisiana just over a year ago. It was a 3xxx route, dirt, & a dead end. I was driving on a road I had never seen before when I saw it. I really need to hit the road & find it again to take pictures.

LA 1004 apparently is nothing but a dirt road into a sugarcane field.


Gravel Highway (LA 1004 Route Sign) by Jay Bienvenu, on Flickr