Here's some examples of western-level driving times to the county seat in counties out east:
If you live in Ocracoke and for whatever reason the NC 45 ferry isn't running, you'll have to drive four and a half plus hours to Swan Quarter, three if the ferry is running:
Link (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/35.1078382,-75.9691067/Hyde+County+Courthouse,+Oyster+Creek+Street,+Swan+Quarter,+NC/@35.4719279,-76.06636,119082m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m9!4m8!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x89a5f3cff8caac33:0x1ad9f1975564939c!2m2!1d-76.3286614!2d35.4055724!3e0?entry=ttu)
If you're one of the handful of people living on the Monroe County mainland in Florida, it's four plus hours to Key West:
Link (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Monroe+County+Courthouse,+Fleming+Street,+Key+West,+FL/Tamarind+Hammock,+Florida+34141/@25.1568563,-81.7501652,321774m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x88d1b6e93d0c7b9d:0x69a9634212abe51b!2m2!1d-81.8048335!2d24.5546993!1m5!1m1!1s0x88da186359e625c5:0xa3967d23a50bf76a!2m2!1d-80.9481464!2d25.7467501!3e0?entry=ttu)
Angle Inlet, MN to Baudette, MN is two hours plus two border crossings.
Michigan doesn't have any really huge counties compared to other states. Marquette is the largest in land area but there isn't any point in Marquette County that is further away from Marquette as some points in Chippewa County are away from Sault Ste. Marie.
For Chippewa County, it'd be about 75 miles and 2 hours to go from a point on Drummond Island to Sault Ste. Marie.
The most ultimate in Michigan would probably be if you were on Isle Royale trying to get back to the Keweenaw County seat in Eagle River which would probably take about 3.5 hours.
Quote from: JayhawkCO on July 23, 2023, 09:39:09 AM
Angle Inlet, MN to Baudette, MN is two hours plus two border crossings.
Ely, MN is about 2 hours to Duluth in St. Louis County.
Allagash, ME is over 2 1/2 hoyrs ro Houlton (Aroostook County)
2 hours and 14 minutes from Grand Isle, La to Gretna, La in Jefferson Parish.
iPhone
The drive from Monroe County Pinecrest noted in the original post is absolute slog to Key West. I did a couple times when I lived down on Cudjoe Key.
Not the absolute longest driving time, but possibly one of the longest relative to distance: Kelleys Island, OH to the Erie County seat in Sandusky (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Camp+Patmos,+920+Monagan+Rd,+Kelleys+Island,+OH+43438/Erie+County+Common+Pleas+Court/@41.5428244,-82.7580038,11z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x883a597be0f59d51:0x5a88549da654138f!2m2!1d-82.6859741!2d41.6137998!1m5!1m1!1s0x883a45de7b653715:0x5d8f71f95224109!2m2!1d-82.7111462!2d41.4539264!3e0?entry=ttu). 1 hour 15 minute drive (including a ferry) for a 10 mile straight line distance.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 23, 2023, 01:17:07 PM
The drive from Monroe County Pinecrest noted in the original post is absolute slog to Key West. I did a couple times when I lived down on Cudjoe Key.
I'm willing to bet that San Bernardino County doesn't even have an extent like that.
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 23, 2023, 02:22:24 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 23, 2023, 01:17:07 PM
The drive from Monroe County Pinecrest noted in the original post is absolute slog to Key West. I did a couple times when I lived down on Cudjoe Key.
I'm willing to bet that San Bernardino County doesn't even have an extent like that.
Madera County has one thought from Devils Postpile to the county seat of Madera. That's probably a close to five hour drive under the best conditions along the most direct route.
I'm guessing the longest drive times to county seats would be in Maine due to its sheer size and rural nature. Per Google Maps, it is over 2 hours and 101 miles from Madawaska on the northern edge of the county to Houlton, the county seat. I think the times might even be greater from the rural north woods to the county seats of Oxford, Franklin, Somerset, and Piscataquis Counties.
Quote from: SkyPesos on July 23, 2023, 02:16:03 PM
Not the absolute longest driving time, but possibly one of the longest relative to distance: Kelleys Island, OH to the Erie County seat in Sandusky (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Camp+Patmos,+920+Monagan+Rd,+Kelleys+Island,+OH+43438/Erie+County+Common+Pleas+Court/@41.5428244,-82.7580038,11z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x883a597be0f59d51:0x5a88549da654138f!2m2!1d-82.6859741!2d41.6137998!1m5!1m1!1s0x883a45de7b653715:0x5d8f71f95224109!2m2!1d-82.7111462!2d41.4539264!3e0?entry=ttu). 1 hour 15 minute drive (including a ferry) for a 10 mile straight line distance.
A slightly longer one in Island County: the shortest straightline distance from county seat Coupeville to Camano Island is 7 miles, while the drive is 61 miles (1 hr 30 min without traffic on Deception Pass) or 77 miles (2+ hours and a ferry).
Fredonia, Arizona to Flagstaff Arizona is 194 miles, a roughly 3 hour 19 minute drive.
The seat of Alaska's North Slope Borough is Utqiagvik (formerly known as Barrow), which isn't connected by road to any of the other communities. I wonder how long the flights are...
Coconino County, Arizona is the second largest in the lower 48 states, second only to San Bernardino County, California in area.
the small village of Parker Dam, CA (with a post office and small neighborhood) is located 214 miles or a 3 hr and 46 min trip from San Bernardino.
Quote from: Ted$8roadFan on July 23, 2023, 02:49:02 PM
I'm guessing the longest drive times to county seats would be in Maine due to its sheer size and rural nature. Per Google Maps, it is over 2 hours and 101 miles from Madawaska on the northern edge of the county to Houlton, the county seat. I think the times might even be greater from the rural north woods to the county seats of Oxford, Franklin, Somerset, and Piscataquis Counties.
From Estcourt Station, Maine, to the county seat in Houlton is 175 miles and takes an estimated two hours 46 minutes (presumably not including time spent at the border crossings) via the most direct route, almost all of it in Canada because Estcourt Station doesn't have any real roads linking it to the rest of the United States (just some privately-owned logging roads).
The longest one in West Virginia should be no surprise. That narrow southern tip of Randolph County is up in the part of the World that we call the "Birthplace of All Rivers". I doubt that any folks still live along Zeph Christian Road on the south side of the South Branch of the Gauley River in that tip anymore. To get out, you go down the river into Webster County. The shortest route to Elkins takes you through Webster Springs (their county seat) and then onto WV-15 back over Rich Mountain to get to US-219 and on up to the your own county seat. That is about 83 miles and takes 2hr 5min. If you want to stay on the west side of Randolph County, you would head up to Pickens and Helvetia and on up to Norton, which runs 95 miles and takes 2hr 55min.
In comparison, you could head down to Cowen and catch Corridor L at Birch River, run up to I-79 and take Corridor H on over to Elkins. Sounds crazy, since that run is about 130 miles but only takes about 2-1/2 hours. That way, you miss the county seat in Webster but catch the edge of three other county seats (Sutton, Weston and Buckhannon) along the way.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 23, 2023, 01:17:07 PM
The drive from Monroe County Pinecrest noted in the original post is absolute slog to Key West. I did a couple times when I lived down on Cudjoe Key.
I've never been there, so it's possible I'm missing something, but looking at it on a map it's hard for me to understand how it makes sense to administer mainland Monroe County and the Keys as the same unit. It seems like it'd make more sense to make it part of Dade County, since that's where the only roads accessing Monroe County come from.
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 23, 2023, 08:12:00 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 23, 2023, 01:17:07 PM
The drive from Monroe County Pinecrest noted in the original post is absolute slog to Key West. I did a couple times when I lived down on Cudjoe Key.
I've never been there, so it's possible I'm missing something, but looking at it on a map it's hard for me to understand how it makes sense to administer mainland Monroe County and the Keys as the same unit. It seems like it'd make more sense to make it part of Dade County, since that's where the only roads accessing Monroe County come from.
The hook was that there was a real estate boom during the early 20th century along what is now the Everglades Loop Road. The real estate boom went bust when the Tamiami Trail was ultimately built to the north where it is presently part of US 41. Monroe County wanted the Loop Road to take off so it could take advantage of the tax revenue from real estate. Pinecrest is the only community that did much of anything, but that was due to Al Capone's Gator Hook Lodge. Chevelier essentially doesn't even have a trace to find because nobody ever constructed much of anything where the community was supposed to be.
Google Maps says it takes 4 hours and 8 minutes (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/44.021997,-74.882807/Herkimer+County+Offices/@43.585019,-74.5577797,253345m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m14!4m13!1m5!3m4!1m2!1d-74.550671!2d43.3179997!3s0x89dee1b332b2d0f5:0xf0a1a6a9daa4e04d!1m5!1m1!1s0x89d94b481d5602eb:0x3a3d50524c957370!2m2!1d-74.9881354!2d43.0290702!3e0!5m1!1e1?entry=ttu) without traffic to drive from some random cottage on Gull Lake in the northeast corner of the Town of Webb to the Herkimer County offices in Herkimer. The first 19 miles to get to CR-10, which isn't even paved (https://www.bing.com/maps/?cp=44.063464%7E-74.644386&lvl=22.0&pi=-2.1&style=x&dir=171.2), is listed as taking 1 hour and 44 minutes, for an average speed of 11 mph, on one lane gravel roads.
Personally, I think this exercise is better done between cities or CDPs to county seats vs. trying to find the most remote 4WD road. I could say driving from Lake Como in Colorado to Alamosa might take 7 hours if you don't have a highly-modded Wrangler and no fear of body damage. But others may disagree.
Quote from: JayhawkCO on July 24, 2023, 03:46:57 PM
Personally, I think this exercise is better done between cities or CDPs to county seats vs. trying to find the most remote 4WD road. I could say driving from Lake Como in Colorado to Alamosa might take 7 hours if you don't have a highly-modded Wrangler and no fear of body damage. But others may disagree.
Those poor people in Gull Lake just don't count.
Quote from: Rothman on July 24, 2023, 04:25:08 PM
Quote from: JayhawkCO on July 24, 2023, 03:46:57 PM
Personally, I think this exercise is better done between cities or CDPs to county seats vs. trying to find the most remote 4WD road. I could say driving from Lake Como in Colorado to Alamosa might take 7 hours if you don't have a highly-modded Wrangler and no fear of body damage. But others may disagree.
Those poor people in Gull Lake just don't count.
They're not clean cut enough for me.
Longest time I can get in Indiana is 42 minutes, from the northeastern corner of Newton County to Kentland.
The drive from Fishers Island, NY to the Suffolk County seat of Riverhead is 56 miles, but takes almost 2 hours and 56 minutes; as it involves taking 2 ferries; first to New London, CT, then to Orient Point, then down NY 25.
South Carolina doesn't really have any "large" counties, with Charleston County being the largest at 1,358 square miles, but going from McClellanville to downtown Charleston is a 45-50 mile drive that takes an hour plus with no traffic.
Colleton County sticks out as Edisto Beach is a part of it (only the town itself), and it is a 47 mile drive, 57 minutes to Walterboro.
SM-G998U
Key Largo to Key West is 98 miles. Both in Monroe County, FL and the latter, of course, is the seat.
2:14 according to Google driving directions.
Quote from: NWI_Irish96 on July 24, 2023, 05:01:23 PM
Longest time I can get in Indiana is 42 minutes, from the northeastern corner of Newton County to Kentland.
One thing I noticed about Indiana's counties while I was clinching the state was how small in land area they are. Like my county in Michigan (Saginaw) would be the largest county in the state in land area if it was in Indiana. I remember when I got to Ohio County (Indiana's smallest county by land area) it seemed like I was in and out of it quick. An average Indiana county is only 389 square miles. An average Michigan county is 681 square miles so an average Michigan county is bigger than Indiana's largest county by 24 square miles.
Supposedly Florence Lake is 2 hours and 53 minutes by car from my house in Fresno. Kaiser Pass Road (mostly one lane) is dicey but I'm sure I could that time down way closer to two hours.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 25, 2023, 12:00:43 PM
Supposedly Florence Lake is 2 hours and 53 minutes by car from my house in Fresno. Kaiser Pass Road (mostly one lane) is dicey but I'm sure I could that time down way closer to two hours.
I put in a route from Fresno to Lost Valley Pack Station. I got 2 hours, 49 minutes and 94.1 miles.
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 25, 2023, 12:06:11 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 25, 2023, 12:00:43 PM
Supposedly Florence Lake is 2 hours and 53 minutes by car from my house in Fresno. Kaiser Pass Road (mostly one lane) is dicey but I'm sure I could that time down way closer to two hours.
I put in a route from Fresno to Lost Valley Pack Station. I got 2 hours, 49 minutes and 94.1 miles.
Kind of makes me wonder what speed Google thinks people are traveling on Kaiser Pass Road? The first five miles are easy 55 MPH two lane. The worst part is the one lane segment over Kaiser Pass to the Portal Forebay. Kaiser Pass Road easily can be done over the full twenty five miles at an average speed of 25 MPH without pushing things. Even doing an estimate to just Huntington Lake says 1 hour and 46 minutes over 72 miles. I can't recall anywhere on CA 168 that requires a significant drop in speed. I'd ballpark guess I get there usually in an hour and twenty/twenty five minutes on average.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 25, 2023, 12:12:03 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 25, 2023, 12:06:11 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 25, 2023, 12:00:43 PM
Supposedly Florence Lake is 2 hours and 53 minutes by car from my house in Fresno. Kaiser Pass Road (mostly one lane) is dicey but I'm sure I could that time down way closer to two hours.
I put in a route from Fresno to Lost Valley Pack Station. I got 2 hours, 49 minutes and 94.1 miles.
Kind of makes me wonder what speed Google thinks people are traveling on Kaiser Pass Road? The first five miles are easy 55 MPH two lane. The worst part is the one lane segment over Kaiser Pass to the Portal Forebay. Even doing an estimate to just Huntington Lake says 1 hour and 46 minutes over 72 miles. I can't recall anywhere on CA 168 that requires a significant drop in speed. I'd ballpark guess I get there usually in an hour and twenty/twenty five minutes on average.
I recently camped at the Eddiesville Trailhead down by Gunnison(-ish) to climb San Luis Peak. You take all U.S. and State Highways to get about 80% of the way there, and then it's dirt roads for quite some time. When I turned off of CO114, Google Maps said I had 1h33m to drive the 28.0 miles to the trailhead, so it expected me to average 18 mph. I ended up pulling into the trailhead in 42 minutes, so I was able to average 40 mph. Granted, I drive a Wrangler with a soft suspension, but even if I took a Camry, I could have done it in under an hour.
The furthest I could find in Colorado between populated places is in Larimer County. Old Roach is 2 hours and 30 minutes from Fort Collins on a good day.
I would to love the answer for Kentucky.
Quote from: jlam on July 25, 2023, 01:00:26 PM
The furthest I could find in Colorado between populated places is in Larimer County. Old Roach is 2 hours and 30 minutes from Fort Collins on a good day.
Crystal to Gunnison looks like 3h17m. Crystal is kind of a ghost town, so if you want to go city to city, Marble to Gunnison is 2h53m.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 25, 2023, 12:12:03 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 25, 2023, 12:06:11 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 25, 2023, 12:00:43 PM
Supposedly Florence Lake is 2 hours and 53 minutes by car from my house in Fresno. Kaiser Pass Road (mostly one lane) is dicey but I'm sure I could that time down way closer to two hours.
I put in a route from Fresno to Lost Valley Pack Station. I got 2 hours, 49 minutes and 94.1 miles.
Kind of makes me wonder what speed Google thinks people are traveling on Kaiser Pass Road? The first five miles are easy 55 MPH two lane. The worst part is the one lane segment over Kaiser Pass to the Portal Forebay. Kaiser Pass Road easily can be done over the full twenty five miles at an average speed of 25 MPH without pushing things. Even doing an estimate to just Huntington Lake says 1 hour and 46 minutes over 72 miles. I can't recall anywhere on CA 168 that requires a significant drop in speed. I'd ballpark guess I get there usually in an hour and twenty/twenty five minutes on average.
I just put in a route from those two spots it's 6.3 miles and takes 16 minutes so I figured a rough estimate of 23-24 mph.
McLean County comes to mind for North Dakota. The county seat Washburn is pretty far from the center of the county. The farthest point away from Washburn in McLean County is a small sort of exclave cut off by the Van Hook Arm of Lake Sakakawea. According to Google it would take 2 hours to reach Washburn from that spot.
Another one is Sioux County, where it would take 1.5 hours to reach Fort Yates from the farthest west part of the county. Most of your driving time would be spent in South Dakota.
Quote from: JayhawkCO on July 25, 2023, 02:50:36 PM
Quote from: jlam on July 25, 2023, 01:00:26 PM
The furthest I could find in Colorado between populated places is in Larimer County. Old Roach is 2 hours and 30 minutes from Fort Collins on a good day.
Crystal to Gunnison looks like 3h17m. Crystal is kind of a ghost town, so if you want to go city to city, Marble to Gunnison is 2h53m.
[Looks it up on a map...]
I'm surprised the old roach didn't cause a forest fire.
Quote from: XamotCGC on July 25, 2023, 01:24:46 PM
I would to love the answer for Kentucky.
Maybe some quiet corner of Pike County (like Woodman) to Pikeville? Looks like 45 miles and about a hour.
Meade County, SD the county seat Sturgis is in the far western part of the county, a community called Faith is in the NE corner. It's 101 miles, 1 hour, 33 minutes, there might be some points further in the county but that's like driving from my house to downtown Detroit.
Quote from: formulanone on July 25, 2023, 07:27:26 PM
Quote from: JayhawkCO on July 25, 2023, 02:50:36 PM
Quote from: jlam on July 25, 2023, 01:00:26 PM
The furthest I could find in Colorado between populated places is in Larimer County. Old Roach is 2 hours and 30 minutes from Fort Collins on a good day.
Crystal to Gunnison looks like 3h17m. Crystal is kind of a ghost town, so if you want to go city to city, Marble to Gunnison is 2h53m.
[Looks it up on a map...]
I'm surprised the old roach didn't cause a forest fire.
Quote from: XamotCGC on July 25, 2023, 01:24:46 PM
I would to love the answer for Kentucky.
Maybe some quiet corner of Pike County (like Woodman) to Pikeville? Looks like 45 miles and about a hour.
Halo to Prestonsburg is the same for Floyd...
Teec Nos Pos to St. Johns looks to be 3 hours and 17 minutes, with a good chunk of the trip in New Mexico. (Apache County, AZ)
For Alabama, I found:
Fort Morgan to Bay Minette (Baldwin County, largest county by land area) - 1 hour 41 mins (67 miles)
I spot checked several others, but most of the county seats are located relatively close to the center of their respective counties.
Do Alaska boroughs/census areas have "seats"? I imagine the driving distance could easily win here.
Quote from: OCGuy81 on July 26, 2023, 02:09:56 PM
Do Alaska boroughs/census areas have "seats"? I imagine the driving distance could easily win here.
Are all seats accessible by car there?
Quote from: Big John on July 26, 2023, 02:19:38 PM
Quote from: OCGuy81 on July 26, 2023, 02:09:56 PM
Do Alaska boroughs/census areas have "seats"? I imagine the driving distance could easily win here.
Are all seats accessible by car there?
Touche :-D
In Washington State, 3 hours and 143 miles from Queets to Port Townsend in Jefferson County: https://goo.gl/maps/aoeFmzX4NafrKKJK8
Montana has some decently large counties, but Cooke City to Livingston in Park County (https://goo.gl/maps/JNHi8gWL1QoVkZVf9) seems to be the longest drive at 110 miles and 2 hours 41 minutes. The route involves Wyoming and Yellowstone NP.
No one mentioned Cherry County, Nebraska. Valentine is in the northeastern part of the county. To get from there from the point on NE 61 where it crosses the Middle Branch of the Middle Loup River is about 120 miles. It's a bit more than that if you are a rancher west of there.
Quote from: DandyDan on July 27, 2023, 07:20:27 AM
No one mentioned Cherry County, Nebraska. Valentine is in the northeastern part of the county. To get from there from the point on NE 61 where it crosses the Middle Branch of the Middle Loup River is about 120 miles. It's a bit more than that if you are a rancher west of there.
So...the hypotenuse...
Quote from: FrCorySticha on July 26, 2023, 03:40:05 PM
Montana has some decently large counties, but Cooke City to Livingston in Park County (https://goo.gl/maps/JNHi8gWL1QoVkZVf9) seems to be the longest drive at 110 miles and 2 hours 41 minutes. The route involves Wyoming and Yellowstone NP.
Looks like the eastern edge of Big Horn County to Hardin might even be longer.
Link (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/45.0117541,-106.2637479/Hardin,+MT/@45.1762627,-107.5484326,153932m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m10!4m9!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x5337ddd0dc5d6679:0x1a835a59de2cb3c7!2m2!1d-107.6120314!2d45.7324778!3e0!5i2?entry=ttu)
Quote from: flan on July 27, 2023, 04:47:01 PM
Quote from: FrCorySticha on July 26, 2023, 03:40:05 PM
Montana has some decently large counties, but Cooke City to Livingston in Park County (https://goo.gl/maps/JNHi8gWL1QoVkZVf9) seems to be the longest drive at 110 miles and 2 hours 41 minutes. The route involves Wyoming and Yellowstone NP.
Looks like the eastern edge of Big Horn County to Hardin might even be longer.
Link (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/45.0117541,-106.2637479/Hardin,+MT/@45.1762627,-107.5484326,153932m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m10!4m9!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x5337ddd0dc5d6679:0x1a835a59de2cb3c7!2m2!1d-107.6120314!2d45.7324778!3e0!5i2?entry=ttu)
Potentially for the few deer and pronghorn that live out there. There really isn't any kind of population center out that far. Maybe a ranch or two.
Quote from: OCGuy81 on July 26, 2023, 02:09:56 PM
Do Alaska boroughs/census areas have "seats"?
The boroughs do. The census areas don't.
As noted above, the outlying communities in the North Slope Borough (most notably Deadhorse/Prudhoe Bay) have no normal road access to the county seat in Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow). There is regularly scheduled air service to Utqiaġvik, including Alaska Airlines 737 jets from Deadhorse and Anchorage.
Another unusual situation is the Lake and Peninsula Borough, whose communities have no road links to each other, or the borough seat in King Salmon, which is in the Bristol Bay Borough rather than in Lake and Peninsula. (Bristol Bay's seat is Naknek rather than King Salmon.) There is scheduled propjet air service between Lake and Peninsula communities and King Salmon, which has Alaska Airlines jet flights to Anchorage.
While the propjet flight routes are "scheduled", arrival and departure times aren't really. The flight I took from Chignik (on the ferry system) to King Salmon left two hours
early. A fishery office at the Chignik dock warned me that could happen, and was kind enough to drive me to the airport just before the plane arrived. The early departure may have been to accommodate a local mother and her baby, who had to fly back to the hospital in Dillingham (also outside Lake and Peninsula) for routine post-natal care, and got to show off her baby boy to friends and relatives scattered all over the Alaska Peninsula.
For Nevada, the longest distance to county seat may involve getting to the seat of Nye County. From Pahrump, the most populated town in Nye County, it's 167 miles and 2.5 hours to the county seat in Tonopah. (And you'll spend about an hour of that drive in Esmeralda County, due to the course of US 95 and it really being the only logical way to make the trip.)
A little surprised nobody has mentioned Mohave County, AZ yet. From Beaver Dam or Littlefield, it's about 200 miles and three hours to the county seat in Kingman, and over half of that is in Nevada.
Quote from: roadfro on August 13, 2023, 09:38:21 PM
For Nevada, the longest distance to county seat may involve getting to the seat of Nye County. From Pahrump, the most populated town in Nye County, it's 167 miles and 2.5 hours to the county seat in Tonopah. (And you'll spend about an hour of that drive in Esmeralda County, due to the course of US 95 and it really being the only logical way to make the trip.)
Nah. The longest in Nevada has to be in Washoe County, between Vya and Reno. 3 hours 41 minutes, 215 miles. Link (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Vya,+NV/Reno,+NV/@40.5540406,-121.2398105,8z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x54ca56dad5ecaa27:0x23fbe30ffdb3052b!2m2!1d-119.8604915!2d41.5921166!1m5!1m1!1s0x809940ae9292a09d:0x40c5c5ce7438f787!2m2!1d-119.8142691!2d39.529919!3e0?entry=ttu)
In Door County, Wisconsin, it's only 60 miles from Rock Island State Park to the county seat in Sturgeon Bay, but the trip takes about two hours and includes two ferries, one of which is passenger-only.
Quote from: TheCatalyst31 on August 14, 2023, 12:25:17 AM
In Door County, Wisconsin, it's only 60 miles from Rock Island State Park to the county seat in Sturgeon Bay, but the trip takes about two hours and includes two ferries, one of which is passenger-only.
Makes me wonder how many people live in the state park.
Quote from: Rothman on August 14, 2023, 06:54:30 AM
Quote from: TheCatalyst31 on August 14, 2023, 12:25:17 AM
In Door County, Wisconsin, it's only 60 miles from Rock Island State Park to the county seat in Sturgeon Bay, but the trip takes about two hours and includes two ferries, one of which is passenger-only.
Makes me wonder how many people live in the state park.
In that respect, I don't remember how long the ferry takes from Isle Royale to Copper Harbor, Michigan. Wikipedia says it's a three to three-and-a-half hour trip to go the 56 miles. That sounds plausible to me. I remember the trip to Isle Royale felt interminable because the lake was angry that day and I got extremely seasick.
Google Maps then quotes another 31 minutes (22.9 miles) from the ferry parking in Copper Harbor to Eagle River, the county seat. So that's three and a half to four hours and approximately 80 miles. As Rothman notes, not many people live there–there are a few cabins remaining from prior to the national park era, and the families that own them have special agreements to allow them to continue to use those cabins seasonally until the children of the adults who owned the cabins at the time of the park's founding die. I believe six families continue to have such arrangements, and the individuals whose lives are the relevant ones for determining eligibility are all getting somewhat elderly by now. (I have no idea whether those people access the park from Michigan or from Minnesota, either.)
It is about a 3.5 hour voyage between Copper Harbor-Isle Royale. It wasn't super choppy on Lake Superior the day I went.
Quote from: jlam on August 13, 2023, 10:25:46 PM
Quote from: roadfro on August 13, 2023, 09:38:21 PM
For Nevada, the longest distance to county seat may involve getting to the seat of Nye County. From Pahrump, the most populated town in Nye County, it's 167 miles and 2.5 hours to the county seat in Tonopah. (And you'll spend about an hour of that drive in Esmeralda County, due to the course of US 95 and it really being the only logical way to make the trip.)
Nah. The longest in Nevada has to be in Washoe County, between Vya and Reno. 3 hours 41 minutes, 215 miles. Link (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Vya,+NV/Reno,+NV/@40.5540406,-121.2398105,8z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x54ca56dad5ecaa27:0x23fbe30ffdb3052b!2m2!1d-119.8604915!2d41.5921166!1m5!1m1!1s0x809940ae9292a09d:0x40c5c5ce7438f787!2m2!1d-119.8142691!2d39.529919!3e0?entry=ttu)
That's assuming anyone actually lives in Vya anymore to want to make that trip. Vya has essentially been a ghost town for about 100 years...
Quote from: roadfro on August 15, 2023, 11:43:29 AM
That's assuming anyone actually lives in Vya anymore to want to make that trip. Vya has essentially been a ghost town for about 100 years...
If you want to only include populated places, Jarbridge and Elko are 3 hours and 16 minutes apart (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Elko,+NV+89801/@41.3501022,-116.3170435,9z/data=!4m23!1m16!4m15!1m6!1m2!1s0x80a8119c889ac037:0x4c86d06839d6238b!2sJarbidge,+NV!2m2!1d-115.430608!2d41.8749232!1m6!1m2!1s0x80a604b5190c8f0d:0xd855b1e9c405f689!2sElko,+NV!2m2!1d-115.7631232!2d40.8324211!3e0!3m5!1s0x80a604b5190c8f0d:0xd855b1e9c405f689!8m2!3d40.8324211!4d-115.7631232!16zL20vMHhjd3g?entry=ttu).
Quote from: roadfro on August 15, 2023, 11:43:29 AM
Quote from: jlam on August 13, 2023, 10:25:46 PM
Quote from: roadfro on August 13, 2023, 09:38:21 PM
For Nevada, the longest distance to county seat may involve getting to the seat of Nye County. From Pahrump, the most populated town in Nye County, it's 167 miles and 2.5 hours to the county seat in Tonopah. (And you'll spend about an hour of that drive in Esmeralda County, due to the course of US 95 and it really being the only logical way to make the trip.)
Nah. The longest in Nevada has to be in Washoe County, between Vya and Reno. 3 hours 41 minutes, 215 miles. Link (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Vya,+NV/Reno,+NV/@40.5540406,-121.2398105,8z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x54ca56dad5ecaa27:0x23fbe30ffdb3052b!2m2!1d-119.8604915!2d41.5921166!1m5!1m1!1s0x809940ae9292a09d:0x40c5c5ce7438f787!2m2!1d-119.8142691!2d39.529919!3e0?entry=ttu)
That's assuming anyone actually lives in Vya anymore to want to make that trip. Vya has essentially been a ghost town for about 100 years...
I can confirm at least one person lived in Vya back in 2008 when I did NV 8A.
Bit of a change in topic, but in Ireland, the longest I could find was in the largest county, Cork. Cork County Hall is a 2hr 20min drive from the Dursey Cable Car according to Google. Here's said directions. (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Dursey+Island+Cable+Car,+Ballynacallagh,+Co.+Cork/Cork+County+Council,+County+Hall,+Carrigrohane+Road,+Cork/@51.8438497,-9.6626459,10z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x484f82cbf453bf4b:0x9740d4403b4039cc!2m2!1d-10.1577228!2d51.6080067!1m5!1m1!1s0x484490104036de69:0x274e42ccf21680d1!2m2!1d-8.5084268!2d51.8925916!3e0?entry=ttu)
There are a handful of houses in the general area of the cable car, although the island itself has practically no residents (and the cable car doesn't transport cars anyway)
The Census Bureau has replaced the 8 Connecticut counties with its 9 planning regions https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/06/06/2022-12063/change-to-county-equivalents-in-the-state-of-connecticut (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/06/06/2022-12063/change-to-county-equivalents-in-the-state-of-connecticut) and those regions are being used in a county photo challenge here https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=33012.0 (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=33012.0). For this discussion, where are their "county seats"? My district is South Central CT, comprising most of the old New Haven County with former seat at New Haven. But the office of the planning region is in North Haven.
Of course regardless of what is considered "county seat" there won't be any great distances here.
Quote from: Streetman on September 08, 2023, 07:13:22 PM
The Census Bureau has replaced the 8 Connecticut counties with its 9 planning regions https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/06/06/2022-12063/change-to-county-equivalents-in-the-state-of-connecticut (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/06/06/2022-12063/change-to-county-equivalents-in-the-state-of-connecticut) and those regions are being used in a county photo challenge here https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=33012.0 (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=33012.0). For this discussion, where are their "county seats"? My district is South Central CT, comprising most of the old New Haven County with former seat at New Haven. But the office of the planning region is in North Haven.
I've been treating the locations of the planning region offices as the new "county seats". But I'm unsure there is any consensus on that.
The planning organizations have a much narrower set of functions than the typical county, so there is less reason for local residents to go to the new "county seats". OTOH, they have one more function (planning) than the historical counties (zero), so there's no practical reason to prefer the historical county seats.