Introducing Tok
Tok, 92 miles up the Alcan from the Canadian border, is the first Alaskan town motorists on multiweek pilgrimages from the Lower 48 will encounter. Thus, this hodgepodge of gas stations, motels and RV parks is viewed with a strange, out-of-proportion reverence, like a sort of pearly gates opening onto heavenly Alaska. The town was born in 1942 as a construction camp for the highway, and was originally called Tokyo Camp until anti-Japanese sentiment caused locals to shorten it to Tok. From here, the rest of the state beckons: the Alcan heads 206 miles northwest to Fairbanks, Tok Cutoff and Glenn Hwy reaches 328 miles southwest to Anchorage, and the Taylor Hwy curls back 161 miles to Eagle.
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Last updated: Feb 17, 2009
Thorn Tree forum discussion
Recent posts
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Re: Quebec south-west across us up west coast to Alaska then back to Quebec
by trekker502 18 March 2012
I lived in Alaska for 15 years and I have driven over most of the main roads, north-south, in Alaska, Yukon Territory, British Columbia,…
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RE: Fairbanks (Alaska) to Whitehorse (Canada)
by trekker502 26 February 2012
If I recall correctly, Alaska Direct shuttlebus no longer plies this route. Contrary to #1's description, the Alcan Highway is a very…
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RE: Alaska Woes
by trekker502 06 January 2012
[www.greylinealaska.com] operates out of Whitehorse and Anchorage and Fairbanks. It is part of Holland-America Tour Company, which has…
