dalton highway

The only way to truly experience this, is of course to drive it yourself, but meanwhile here is a tiny bit of taste through our eyes: https://vimeo.com/120558656We flew into Fairbanks one late February weekend and followed the Haul Road north well into the Arctic. Despite the low aurora activity forecast we captured some nice footage of the Northern Lights. The drive itself was phenomenal. We drove through hundreds of miles of gravel, mud and ice into the fabled Brooks Range and a frontier town called Wiseman, with a population of 16. To quote Frommers "the scenery is so mind-boggling in its grandeur and repetition, that after a time it feels as if you are living in a dream", it really does. The Dalton Highway is a tough drive though: all but three specialized rental agencies allow their cars on this road; but we were rewarded with absolutely one of the most stunning driving experience through this dreamy winter wonderland. Practical notes:Speed limit is 50, be extremely vigilant of the flying gravels (less likely in winter), low temperature, and ice conditions, Go with snow tires, carry two full-sized spare tires. Tow trucks all come from Fairbanks and are $$$$$. The road has no shoulders for the most part and you should park only in the few designated pullout sites. Avoid sudden stops or stopping on top of a hill, as the trucks may not see you. Many services are closed during winter. Make sure you fill up in Fox; Hilltop is the last station, then it's 200 miles to Coldfoot (open 24 hours), then no gas until 240 miles later at Deadhorse.

The Dalton Highway or Haul Road is so great and beautiful it deserves to be called an attraction. From start to Finnish and return its unbelievable scenery and wildlife viewing experience. It could be the most amazing drive or road to hell depending on the weather (rain),just go slow and pull over when you meet the big trucks on the road and slow right down. Take as long as you can pull over and explore all the pull offs and points of interest and the few towns and information places.The meals if you got to buy them at the truck stops are great and filling and respectably priced. Finger rock, Yukon river, arctic circle rest stop,goblers nob and many other places are worth checking out. Keep your camera out and ready and keep shooting you can always delete later, Wild life you see on the way up will probable be in a different location on way back. The road is perfectly safe just drive accordingly and keep your gas tank mostly full all the time. Over 450 miles and at least 3 fuel stops each way We didnt do it in 2014 The other is the Dempster in the Yukon and that's this year.

What a great experience. I had only one day for Dalton highway fun, so I left Fairbanks early in the morning in my rented F-150 4x4 and stopped at the grocery store on the way out of town for breakdown supplies (food and water). I made it up to the Yukon River which is stunning. Several stops along the way for animals and to see the Alaska Pipeline and for scenic photography. I hope to return to do the whole thing one of these days.

The drive up to the Brooks Range is breathtaking. It is an experience everyone should take in the winter.

Read my review of Coldfoot and Fairbanks.The view of Denali, is almost a once in a lifetime view for travelers. The first time we visited Denali, the mountain had a halo of fog or clouds. The second time we visited Alaska, we saw the ice cream cone top of Denali, and the next day, as we left Denali, we could still see Denali for the entire day, as we headed as far southeast as we could drive.

I volunteer at the UAF's Toolik Field Station (admittance is by reservation only, this is an NSF working field station). My travel and expenses are paid. Sometimes I drive all the way from Fairbanks, or down from Deadhorse. So we see most of the traffic from roughnecks and truckers to Princess Cruises people ("Luxury ends here" at the airport), oh, and the bicyclists, motorcyclists, and last year a horse party rode South (I caught sign of them at the start in Deadhorse and they have a facebook page).I don't drive a personal vehicle. The Haul road has no shoulders to fix a flat. Traffic plies the haul road 24 hours a day. It's handy to have a CB road (you also hear the chatter). Most civilians will be "4-wheelers" (this means you). You can get gas North of Fox at: Yukon River, Coldfoot (got the mosquito tee shirt), and Deadhorse. It's not like there is a lot to do along the way. Get lost of rest before starting and when you can take a break.The Haul Road has been traversed by Google street view.It's mostly a gravel road where the AK DOT does paving experiments (most failing). A satellite phone is an expensive but useable tool. Forget cell phones (they will work in Deadhorse because of the number of oil guys).Animals: THE DRIVER SHOULD NOT LOOK FOR ANIMALS, only the PASSENGERS.I've seen grizzly bear, a wolf, fox, many, many caribou (depends on time of year), moose (south) muskox. We had a polar bear once in camp early season. I just missed it. Drive too fast, and you will miss animals. You have to realize that driving 50 MPH on a gravel road means to traction. The Atigun Pass (the highest) may have a ice base. It can snow on this road any time the further North you go. Carry chains. Discharge of firearms, I think with 5 miles of either side of the pipeline is forbidden. They are NOT forgiving about this (people have already been thrown in prison for putting holes in the Pipe). The Pipe is constantly patrolled 365 days a year by truck (the Alyeska (oil pipe consortium) trucks have the industrial motto on the side "and no one get hurt.") and a couple of times a day by air. Bow hunting is allowed in season, check with AK DFG. What's visible is mostly insulation. It's barely flowing at half capacity right now. They have a pull out just North of Fairbanks to describe this.The oil facilities can be toured with a background check and a few $$. Deadhorse has a famous post office and store. The photo is the Arctic Circle sign. Plan where you think you will camp. You can ride the Dalton Express if you don't want to drive (small plane flying is better in my opinion). Get a copy of The Milepost (a friend's mom is an editor).Driving the Dalton is a serious proposition (people carry extra spare tires), and people get killed and injured on it with regularity. Note: the North Slope Borough is DRY. Alcohol is forbidden in the Deadhorse hotels and anywhere near the oil facilities. You will learn that the mosquito is the Alaskan state bird in summer.

Not so impressive as the other reviewers described. It's pretty much a common road in Alaska. We flu to Cold foot and then joined a guided van tour back to Fairbanks. I was impressed by the pipeline story . The sign "attic circle" it's basically in a parking area. As I said one of those things you do just bcs you have to.

drive from Fairbanks Ak Dollton highway to just north of Coldfoot AkFairbanks to Liivengood Ak about 84 miles Artic Circle 199 milesthis is the start of the Dolton Highway Livengood Ak to Pruedoe Bay Artic Ocean (Deadhorse Ak)We didnt have enough time to drive all the way to Deadhorse (about 15 plus hours each way)We got to about mile post 204 Sukakpak Moutains in the brooks RangeWe wanted to get to Atigun Pass (highest pass in Ak) but ran out of timeBLM camp at Artic Circle was very good BUT no Fuel Water very nice Bathrooms No ShowerHighway was not good but way better than I was expecting

I'm not going to tell anyone not to believe the hype and be responsible for them putting themselves in danger but I will say that after reading the reviews we rented a "specially equipped" SUV to make the drive on "The Haul Road" and at least in Early August, as far as the Arctic Circle the Dalton Highway was in better shape than the road I grew up on in South Dakota, we actually regretted not having our more comfortable Minivan but I do believe Hertz would have frowned on our taking their equipment up there anyway.Stock up on bug spray and snacks before the trip but the views are pretty amazing and this drive is worth your time. Be careful, although you think you are all alone up there, we got nabbed by a State Trooper above the arctic circle for rolling through a stop sign.So is the Dalton Highway scary? Absolutely not.Should you take your travel there seriously and be prepared, Yes of course.Have an awesome trip, and I'm dead serious about the bug spray.

We took a tour up the Dalton Highway to Prudhoe Bay. The tour was with 1st Alaska Outdoor School. We rode in a large van. Our driver/guide was very knowledgeable and friendly and planned frequent stops to stretch our legs and view the gorgeous scenery. The vastness of the wilderness is unbelievable!! We saw a black bear, wolves, musk oxen, various birds, and amazing scenery. AND we got to see the Arctic Ocean and wade in it! It was definitely worth the trip. I would advise anyone who wants to experience the Dalton Highway and the Arctic Ocean to take this tour or one like it. The "highway" is a two lane gravel road -- unbelievably bumpy -- with no guard rails. A good idea to have someone driving who is familiar with the road and the area. I'm really glad we took this tour!

We made the trip in our diesel pickup pulling a 22 foot trailer. We took 7 days for the entire trip of as little over 1,000 miles round trip from Fairbanks. The BLM has a good booklet on the Dalton Highway that everyone should have. It is also very useful to have Milepost, a book the describes every road in Alaska in some detail. We prepared for the trip by having a CB radio, two spare truck tires and three spare trailer tires. Luckily we did not need the extra tires, but the CB radio was really useful for hearing truckers comments and progress.Unfortunately we encountered rain for the first three days making the roads to Coldfoot quite muddy. The first night we stayed at an unimproved campground near mile 60 and just up from the Hotspot Cafe (143 miles from Fairbanks), with its great burgers and milk shakes. The only dump site is at that location. Also very good water at an artesian well. The second day we made the 124 miles to Coldfoot in less than 6 hours. We camped at a nice developed forest campground a Marion Creek, 5 miles to the north. There is a really nice visitors center at Coldfoot. Because it was still raining (and snowing in Atigun Pass) we decided to spend another day in the Coldfoot area. Ate a reasonably good lunch and dinner at the Coldfoot cafe. In the evening we saw a PBS special on the pipeline and attended the evening program at the visitor's center.The next day turned out with better weather, but still snow in the passes and on the mountains with plenty of muddy stretches. We left our trailer at Marion Creek and were glad we did--it's not a good run for RVs. The Atigun Pass road was steep, but no real problem. Just after the pass we encountered a 15 mile road-work section with delays waiting for a pilot car. The road was quite rough and muddy in places and we pitied people who were driving low-clearance cars (very few seen). After the construction it was just a matter of time and pothole avoidance to finish the trip to Deadhorse. Just before town we saw a small herd of Muskox, some close enough to photograph. The trip took us about 8 hours and was 241 miles.We stayed in the Prudhoe Bay Hotel and took the tour to the Arctic Ocean. Only one night due to the relatively high cost. The next day after the tour we headed back. This time we made the trip in 6 hours because the roads were dryer, the construction delay was shorter and we were more experienced at high-speed gravel road driving. The weather and views were spectacular on the way back. The Brooks Range is one of the more exciting ranges we have seen. The game sightings were few on the road. We did see a pretty red fox and lots of arctic ground squirrels. A trucker say he sees very few bears along the road. He thought the truck traffic had driven them a few miles off the highway.On the return to Coldfoot we counted the trucks: 27 northbound and 5 southbound. There were 16 pickups, campers, cars, etc northbound. Interesting that one truck had three pilot cars because it was 31 foot wide (we think some kind of building). The made everyone pull over as far as possible before it passed.Overall the trip was great and the drive was not too bad if you are comfortable driving gravel and mud and you are prepared. The trucks had the right of way so it is important to get out of their way. Most were courteous and slowed down, but a few created a storm of rocks as they passed us at 50 mph plus. Broken windshields and headlamps are common. Fuel is available at the Yukon River, Coldfoot, and Deadhorse so plan to keep your tanks topped off.

Yes, some of the road is gravel, but I found it to be in better shape than other roads I traveled in Alaska. I was worried about driving the Dalton, but decided to give it a try. We were so glad. Lots of great places to admire the view. We drove about 20 miles north of the Arctic circle. Wonderful drive. We were driving a Yukon (oh the irony), but there were some smaller cars, though I would recommend some type of SUV.There is some gas on the way. I would recommend filing up north in Fairbanks. The next station is 135 miles from Fairbanks at mile 56 on the Dalton. It is easy to find if you know where to look. It is found on the left after you cross the Yukon river. It's open from 6am-10pm during summer. They have a website if you want to make sure they are open yukonrivercamp.comOpposite of the "camp" is an information cabin that you can get "arctic circle club" and get information. Trails to river view, bathrooms, and a good spot to picnic.From the Yukon river it is about 60 miles to the arctic circle. There is a place to pull off and get a picture with the sign. I recommend driving at least 15 miles further north for some great views.Make sure you have a good spare tire, some snacks, and plenty of fuel to make it where you are going. Plan and you will be fine. Some of the worst of the road we drove was within the first 20 miles so if you make it that far you will be fine. I was surprised how much was paved, I expected much less.

I rode on the Dalton Highway along its entire length, from Fairbanks to Deadhorse. I was traveling solo. I'm from Quebec (Quebec City) and I went on board my old Chevrolet Cavalier 2003 (small low clearance sedan) all the way through Canada up to Alaska. On the Dalton I had some mechanical problems given the quality of the road but nothing major. There was a lot of work on the road which caused timeouts and almost impassable stretches. It was pretty scary but the landscape and the wild life was totally worth it. I'll never forget that drive. In fact, after doing this drive I'm not afraid of anything else. ;) Other notes: I had a CB mounted on my car so I could hear what was happening around (truckers, workers, ...). There's no cell service between Fox and Deadhorse. Be sure to bring food, water, spare tires and basic tools. If you're traveling with your own car, be sure you know your car well (I knew what were the weaknesses of mine so it was easier to troubleshoot when I was in trouble). Make sure to yield when you encounter trucks.Oh I almost forgot. Mosquitos are horrible, seriously. Be sure to bring a good mosquito repel. I hope you'll enjoy that ride as much as I did, but that definitly come with good preparation.www.quebecalaska.ca

We cycled the Dalton in July 2014, taking 12 days after flying into Deadhorse. The first few days are flat, the hills begin after the brooks range and are crippling. No supplies and a cafe at Coldfoot, glad to have done it but wont be doing it again. The landscape was beautiful and the wildlife was plentiful. The mosquitos where the size of pigeons and would eat your face off however.

Drove up to the Artice Circle in July. You must go if you can. We arrived at the sign at about 12:30am and have a picture in front of the sign with the Sun still sitting on the horizon in the back ground. How many people can say they have driven to the Artic Circle taken a picture at midnight with the sun in the background. I highly recommend making this a stop on your journey in Alaska.