Dalton Highway to the Arctic Ocean

Fairbanks to Deadhorse, Alaska · United States

Challenging5 daysNorth America~£1,200 est.

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Overview

The James Dalton Highway is 414 miles of haul-road gravel built to service the trans-Alaska pipeline, running from just north of Fairbanks across the Yukon River, over the Arctic Circle, and through the Brooks Range to the oilfield settlement of Deadhorse near Prudhoe Bay. It is the loneliest public road in North America, and driving it is a genuine expedition in a hire vehicle. The moment is cresting 1,444 m Atigun Pass — the highest road pass in Alaska — as the mountains fall away into the treeless immensity of the North Slope, muskoxen grazing the tundra beside the pipeline's silver thread. Coldfoot, roughly halfway, is the last fuel for 240 miles. The variables are legion: ordinary rental agreements ban the Dalton, so hire from a Fairbanks specialist that supplies CB radio and two full-size spares; windscreen chips from passing trucks are a when, not an if; and Deadhorse beds are oil-camp dorms that must be booked, as must the shuttle onto the security-controlled shore of the Arctic Ocean. Five days return from Fairbanks, around £1,200 per person, June to August only for reliable conditions.