It may be the 21st century, but you don't have to venture into Utah's backcountry to travel on an unpaved road. A surprisingly high number of unpaved Utah highways still lead to to rural communities in some of the more remote portions of the state.

Based on the most recent U.S. Census Department figures, some 7,000 Utahns — representing 15 Utah communities — have to drive on a dirt or gravel road to reach their permanent home. Most live in Box Elder, Tooele, Juab, Iron and San Juan counties.

While there are only 22 miles of gravel roads in the state highway system, adding the county and city roads in that total gives a different picture.

Only 53 percent of all the roads in Utah (or 20,688 miles worth) are actually paved, according to 2007 annual statistical summary by the Utah Department of Transportation.

Twenty-one percent, or 8,250 miles of the state's total roads, are gravel, while another 3 percent (1,338 miles) are graded and the remaining 23 percent (9,111 miles) are unimproved.

According to UDOT spokesman Nile Easton, insufficient funding is the main reason for some roads in Utah not being paved. He said the other factor is whether or not a road has enough traffic to warrant being paved. Once a road is paved, it usually requires more ongoing upkeep costs, too.

"Dirt roads require some upkeep, but it's not as intensive as paved ones," he said.

Easton said a third reason why some roads may not be paved is that the U.S. Forest Service controls them and makes such decisions.

UDOT had 124 miles of unpaved state roads back in 1986. It has been adding more asphalt, as the most recent figure of 22 miles would indicate.

A unique situation is the Moki Dugway in San Juan County. This is a 2.2-mile gravel road that rises about 1,100 feet on a 10 percent grade up Cedar Mesa sandstone. It is part of Utah Highway 261, paved in the 1970s except for this section.

The Moki Dugway was constructed in the early 1950s at a cost of $250,000 ($2 million in today's dollars) to aid uranium mining in the area. Some 80 tons of explosives were used to blast the road into the sandstone.

There are alternative paved roads to use from Mexican Hat, but if you've ever driven the Moki Dugway, you will remember it.

Max Bertola's southern Utah Web site accurately describes the section as "the roller coaster ride of southern Utah." He says "it is spectacular, dirt and a little bumpy."

In fact, Lynn Laws, road superintendent for San Juan County, said he's known people to turn around and use an alternate route when they see the cliff they have to drive up.