Data were collected by the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station to characterize sections of gravel roads and courses selected for testing in conjunction with a U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, tire wear-road deterioration study. The primary purpose of the study reported herein was to describe, in quantitative terms, the surface and subgrade of selected sections of unpaved road surfaces in Oregon representative of logging roads in the western United States. Data also were collected on one road and one test course in Nevada. Data summaries are presented in tables. The data include identification of surface type according to the Forest Service scheme; values of gravimetric and nuclear moisture content and density; volume, depth, and moisture content of loose surface materials; soil strength in terms of California Bearing Ratio and cone index; and material classification according to the Unified Soil Classification System. The results indicate that the road sections selected for the tire wear-road deterioration study represent a fairly wide range of surface characteristics for which data were collected. Observations revealed that the maximum safe speed that could be attained on the roads by the test vehicles was controlled primarily by curvature-visibility, grade, and roughness, in that order. It is recommended that road deterioration and performance criteria be established, and that tire wear and/or road deterioration state-of-the-art studies be conducted.