If anybody wants a sense of late 19th century roads, the forest service road network, which was mostly built starting in the 1920s, is a good place to start.
From Are Roads the Biggest Driver of Ecological Disaster -- this article was very thought provoking and i oughta write about why some day.
Roads used to suck! They still can and that can be kind of fun if you let it.
How to camp dispersed
A good weekend overnight car camping trip that is almost guaranteed to not have any competing campers or even any traffic is to
find a National Forest Service road with two digits, directly off a highway that you can get to easily
drive out to it and through it, enjoy the drive
be on the look out for a nice pullout or spur with a three digit road label
set up camp a bit away from the two digit road, maybe like a half mile,
go for leasurely or moderate hike by walking down the spur and back
cook up a hearty simple stew for dinner.
the next day you could either drive through the rest of the two digit forest road if it connects to a highway that takes you home, or just double back.
please respect the fuck out of everywhere you go and every creature and plant you meet
bring a roll of trash bags and fill it with every human created waste you find whether its yours or not
You could drive all the way down a spur but it's possible that you'll learn what roads in the late 19th century could be like, but the "main" arterial roads for that forest section are usually good enough.
If you're lucky you end up in a place like this like I did like we did:
I've done this a few times now in a few forests and it's so chill. To get to this one I have to make two turns in town and one fifty miles later to get off the highway. -> Camping near Sweet Creek Falls
Dispersed camping in national and state forests is easy and fun and quiet. take nothing but photos leave nothing but footprints, and maybe a covered hole you shat in.
I am gonna make one of these my first overnight bikepacking trip come spring but they're easy to do in even a fairly trustworthy 2wd car or even a minivan, while simultaneously terrible to get to in a larger RV or most vehicles with generator or bathrooms on board. You might find one of these trips even in EV range.
And it's not just "the woods" or some facet only present in Cascadia or the rugged west, national forests are sprinkled throughout most of the US in varied ecologies, they are true treasures. for example, if you want to see approximately 100 zillion stars you rent a car at the airport in Phoenix and drive two hours out to a place like this (not my photo or my spot, but some random stuff I scoped out when I was exploring Google Street View bored in Cottonwood, AZ late one night last year.)
Some other tips
Download OsmAnd or Organic Maps to your phone and make sure to download an updated map before you go!
Call the closest ranger station to ask about local condition like snow level, whether the road has been maintained recently, etc.
if it isn't a good place, most rangers will give you some alternatives
still have a backup plan in case there is a tree fall or mud or something.
Make sure to bring food containers, possibly bear protection, and be smart!
either bag your pan and plates to wash them at home and keep that in the car or wash them a ways away from your camp. bag your pans and plates to wash them at home.
These roads are nice during fall and spring but make sure you don't get flooded if it rains or has recently.
you don't need to have a camp fire to have a nice time, warm food and beverages are worth a lot out there. be responsible and conservative with flames, we live in hell..
please respect the fuck out of everywhere you go and every creature and plant you meet
You need to put in the trunk of your car, at bare minimum:
a tent and a Coleman stove from Craigslist
maybe a sleeping bag but a bunch of blankets and an air mattress will do in a pinch when you see one on sale at the store.
a couple of gallons of water
your steel sauce pan or frying pan and all the extra blankets
a book and something to sit on, a card game
put some veggies, oil, a spice mix, protein and a carb and some bevs in a cooler with an ice pack in the back seat, and maybe a simple oatmeal or something for breakfast. Some folks point out on Hacker News that the east coast has more restrictive rules around dispersed camping in national forests and won't have the sort of pull-outs and turn-arounds and spur roads that make forest road camping so viable in the west.