Venturing into the backcountry is a great way of getting away from it all. But just how far away is "away?"

This map from the U.S. Geological Survey's Road Indicator Project shows the average distance to a road from any point in the country. Dark green shows the wildest areas — 20 kilometers or more from the nearest road — while yellow shows dense urban areas where you can scarcely turn around without stumbling into traffic.

I think this map is a pretty good argument for protecting our few remaining roadless areas from encroaching development and off-road motorized recreation. They're not many and they're all we have left.

In the western U.S. many of these roadless areas are managed by the National Forest Service. To learn more, check out the Wilderness Society's roadless initiative. In the East, our few roadless lands are a patchwork of federal, state, local, and private ownership. Contact your local land trust or state land management agency to find out what's being done to protect roadless areas near you.

Source: http://rockyitr.cr.usgs.gov/rmgsc/pdf/factSheets/fs2005-3011.pdf