Things to do in Dalton Highway
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Driving the Dalton Highway
Though the Dalton is slowly being tamed - since 2000 around 130 miles have been paved - it's still not a road that suffers fools. In summer the 28ft-wide corridor is a dusty minefield of potholes, its embankments littered with blown tires. Paint scratches and window chips are inevitable, which is why most car-rental companies don't allow their vehicles here. There are few services, such as telephones, tire repair, fuel and restaurants, and none for the final 225 miles from Wiseman to Deadhorse.
The road is open year-round, but you should only tackle it between late May and early September, when there's virtually endless light and little snow and ice. Drive with headlights…
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Coldfoot
From Gobbler's Knob (Mile 132) northward, the pyramids of the Brooks Range begin to dominate the scene. In the next 50 miles you'll cross several grayling-rich streams, including Prospect Creek, which, in January 1971, experienced America's lowest-ever temperature, -80°F. Then, at Mile 175, in a mountain-rimmed hollow, you'll arrive in Coldfoot. Originally named Slate Creek, the area was first settled by miners in 1898.
When a group of greenhorns got 'cold feet' at the thought of wintering in the district they headed south, and the community was renamed accordingly. It was a ghost town by 1912, but its moniker, at least, was revived in 1981, when Iditarod musher Dick Mac…
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Deadhorse
You'll know the coast draws near when the weather turns dire. Even in summer, wind, fog and bitter cold are de rigueur at the Arctic Ocean. The gloom sets the mood for your arrival at the dystopia of Deadhorse, the world's northernmost anticlimax. Centered around Lake Colleen, this is no town - nobody lives here permanently - but a sad expanse of aluminum-clad warehouses, machinery-laden lots and workmen counting the moments until they return south.
Don't even think about camping: the tundra is a quagmire and the gravel pads are plied by speeding pickups.
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Gobbler's Knob
Don't come rolling up the Dalton Hwy to the Arctic Circle on the solstice, expecting the midnight sun. See those mountains to the north? The golden orb ducks behind them at the magical moment - and then the bugs really start biting. To view El Sol all night (and having driven this far, you might as well), continue to Gobbler's Knob, a hilltop lookout at Mile 132 where there's a pullover, an outhouse and, if you scale the hill to the east on the first night of summer, perpetual sun.
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Sukapak Mountain Lookout
North from Wiseman the Dalton skirts the east edge of Gates of the Arctic National Park. Dall sheep are often visible on the mountain slopes, and the scenery goes into overdrive. By Mile 194 the first views appear of the massive wall of Sukakpak Mountain (4459ft) looming dead ahead. Just before Mile 204 is a lookout with a half-mile trail to Sukakpak's face, while soon after, even taller promontories arise - imposing black talus cones, 7000ft high, riven by glacier-carved valleys.
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Atigun Pass
The ascent of Atigun Pass is where the real fun begins. At an elevation of 4739ft this is the highest highway pass in Alaska, and marks the continental divide. While clawing your way 2 miles up the washboarded 12% grade, watch for downward-bound trucks and try to ignore the guardrails mangled by rockslides and avalanches. The view from the top - with the Philip Smith Mountains to the east and the Endicotts to the west - will steal your breath away.
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Wiseman
Those seeking a bed - or wanting an antidote to Coldfoot's culture of the quick-and-dirty - should push on to Wiseman (population 24), a century-old log-cabin village accessible via a short dirt spur road at Mile 189. The only authentic town on the Dalton, Wiseman occupies an enviable spot, overhung by peaks and fronting the Middle Fork of the Koyukuk River.
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Arctic Caribou Inn Oilfield Tour
This two-hour ordeal is the only way to gain access to the oil fields and the ocean. Taking place several times daily, it begins with a cloying corporate video and continues with a perfunctory bus ride to the waterfront, where you have the option of taking a quick, frigid dip. You must sign up for this tour a day in advance in order to clear security.
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Arctic Interagency Visitors Center
A world apart is the Arctic Interagency Visitors Center, on the opposite side of the highway to the Frozen Foot Saloon. This impressive $5 million structure opened in 2004 and features museum-quality displays about the Arctic and its denizens. It has ultrahelpful staff, a schlock-free gift shop and nightly nature presentations - the best show in town.
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Yukon River Bridge
The highway begins descending toward the Yukon River at Mile 47, and the silvery ribbon of pipeline can be seen reaching into the distance. At Mile 56, the 2290ft-long, wooden-decked Yukon River Bridge carries you and the pipeline across the silty, broad river - the only place where the legendary waterway is spanned in Alaska.
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Wiseman Historical Museum
Once upon a time the Wiseman Historical Museum has purchased it and admits only its own clients. Those wanting erudition should instead follow the signs to the cabin of Wiseman's wiseman, Jack Reakoff, an engaging and surprisingly urbane trapper who sells crafts and will discourse at length about local history and wildlife.
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Northern Alaska Tour Company
This is the granddaddy of the Dalton Hwy tour companies, offering all sorts of packages, including a three-day van trip to Prudhoe Bay that includes lodging at Wiseman and Deadhorse and flights back to Fairbanks. Food is not covered.
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Last Spruce
At Mile 235 you kiss the woods goodbye: the famed Last Spruce, though recently girdled by a vandal's ax, stands stately even in death near a turnout on the highway's east side.
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Frozen Foot Saloon
At Frozen Foot Saloon - Alaska's northernmost bar - you can sip microbrews on a deck overlooking (and oversmelling) idling trucks. The exhaust, it seems, keeps the bugs down.
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Arctic Outfitters
. Arctic Outfitters offers a self-drive package to Prudhoe Bay for $1,313, which includes a car and three nights' lodging for two people.
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Prudhoe Bay General Store
Souvenirs and sundries can also be acquired at the Prudhoe Bay General Store, located on the east edge of town and containing the post office.
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Coldfoot Restaurant
Coldfoot Restaurant has passable diner-style fare and a photo collection of jackknifed 18-wheelers.
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Coldfoot Truck Stop
Coldfoot has a plug-ugly Truck Stop with the last gas until Deadhorse.
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