As promised, I wanted to share how I created a custom route for a recent road trip. I utilized gravelmap.com to find as many dirt roads as possible, validated the condition of the roads with google earth/maps, and plotted the route in Ridewithgps.com. Ridewithgps allows you to create turn-by-turn directions, but does not do turn-by-turn voice navigation unless you sign up for one of their subscriptions. If you have a gps, you can download your custom route into it to achieve turn-by-turn navigation instead.
Step 1: Start and End points, or any other Waypoints
Where did you come from, where did you go? Get the addresses of your starting point, destination, and any stops along the way. Write these down, you'll need them later.
Step 2: Creating a Base Route
Go to
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/ and click "Create a New Map". You will need a Google account to use this functionality.
Name your route.
Change the base map to satellite.
Click add directions (the arrow button), and add your start and end points plus any additional destinations or waypoints. Google will automatically create driving directions based on either the quickest time or shortest distance.
Step 3: Finding Dirt Roads on Gravel Map
Go to
https://gravelmap.com and look for any road in yellow. Click on the roads to get their names and make sure they are roads and not bike trails!