DALTON HIGHWAY
for road conditions see bottom of page.
THE MYTH AND REALITY OF THE DALTON. JAMES W. DALTON HIGHWAY IS A SPECTACULAR ROAD TO THE NORTHERNMOST POINT OF AMERICA DRIVABLE BY PRIVATE VEHICLE - A DRIVE DEFINATELY WORTH THE DETOUR!

James W. Dalton Highway is a haul road from just north of Fairbanks to Deadhorse (population 25 permanent + thousands more depending on oil production), a small town close to the Arctic Ocean and Prudhoe Bay where oil fields dominate the landscape. It runs parallel to the Trans Alaska Pipeline which transports oil 800 miles from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez. This road was built in only five months in 1971. In the early nineties it was opened up for public traffic.
We wanted to drive this road to reach the northernmost point of the USA accessible by car and also to experience the arctic landscape (tundra) in this region.
Rumors describe the Dalton as 414 miles of rough gravel with lots of heavy industrial traffic and insane truck drivers who haul not only mass but also ass. We have been warned of huge rocks being flung into our windshield by passing trucks traveling in excess of 70 miles per hour. We expected bad washboard, mud and deep potholes. In preparation for the worst we built a stone guard for our windshield and lights (pic1).

Tuesday, July 19: We left Fairbanks at 8:00 am and hit the Elliott Highway north to connect with the Dalton. Rolling hills with dense forest eventually gave way to spectacular mountain scenery and dramatic river and valley vistas. Our first stop was the Hot Spot Cafe where we bought gas for a whopping $3.39. We had to start a compressor on a trailer next to the pump (pic2). This is one of only two gas stations between Fairbanks and Deadhorse, so we couldn't be picky.
At the Arctic Circle, 66° 33', we stopped for lunch (pic3). Here the sun doesn't set on June 21 (summer solstice) and doesn't rise on December 21 (winter solstice). Since we were a month late, we did experience a sunset just about three hours before the next sunrise. As we headed north the nights got shorter and shorter, although there is no real darkness at all.
So far the road was mostly gravel but well maintained with some paved sections. The occasional trucks we encountered slowed down and through most of our drive we didn't even get hit by any rocks from other vehicles.
The next stop was Coldfoot where we spent some time in the Interagency Visitor Center. We paid "only" $3.29 for gas and then continued north. A three-mile spur road took us to Wiseman, population 21, an old settlement of trappers, hunters and gatherers. The post office went out of service in 1914 and the local school closed for lack of students.
Back on the Dalton we found a camping spot at Middle Fork Koyukuk River 3 at the foot of Sukakpak Mountain. There are many beautiful spots for picnics or camping along this road. By now the sun didn't set until almost 1:00 am.
The next morning we pushed on through the spectacular scenery of Atigun Pass and passed the last spruce tree - from here on it was tundra. The Dalton hugs the eastern border of the Gates of the Arctic NP and later the western border of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but neither park is accessible by car. Most adventurers hire a bush pilot to drop them off in these remote wilderness areas for several days of hiking.
As we continued north, the terrain became flatter and finally we reached the Coastal Plain (pic4). We kept an eye out for the elusive herd of musk oxen but weren't lucky enough to spot any. We didn't see any caribou until we almost reached Deadhorse and started to wonder if the tales of a herd of 500.000 animals were just myths. Just ten miles short of Deadhorse the engine started to stutter and we had to fill up more gas from our spare canisters.

Deadhorse is dedicated to the oil industry and built up from prefabricated buildings (pic5). With all the industrial equipment, it doesn't look like a conventional city. We got gas for $2.84 and drove the road to the East Security gate where public traffic ends. From here on only commercial traffic is allowed and there is no public access to the Arctic Ocean. We had reached the northernmost point in the States that one can drive to!
The sun doesn't set here at all this time of the year which quite confused our GPS. First it showed the sun rising before it set (pic6), then it switched to no sunset/rise. The weather was great - sunny and clear with 44 degrees F, although the wind made it feel colder. This is considered good weather up here since sometimes it might snow in July. Finally it was time to head back south and we stopped only 20 miles or so out of Deadhorse for the night. We stayed up until past 2am to see the sun drop lower then start rising again without ever hitting the horizon (see the secession of "sunset pictures" in the gallery).

The next morning greeted us with sunshine and lots of mosquitoes. We had heard horror tales of dark clouds of mosquitoes that will make it hard to breathe without inhaling some bonus protein, but this assault was way less dramatic. Not long after we got in the car, we were hit with some bad news: smoke coming out of the engine! We realized that the serpentine belt was torn, somewhat surprising since we had just replaced it before our departure in LA. However, we came well prepared and Sven quickly replaced the belt with the spare we carried - only to find out that the serpentine idler pulley was wobbling due to a broken bearing, which had caused it to rip the belt. We did not carry a spare pulley! Luckily, we were close to the DOT station at Sag River (pic7) and walked there to seek help. The folks at DOT were extremely helpful and forthcoming and assisted us in arranging for the part to be transported south from the automotive store in Deadhorse via one of the countless truck drivers. He was supposed to reach us around 9pm; when he hadn't shown up by 11pm, we settled for the night. The next morning, we called Deadhorse again where they were surprised the part hadn't showed up and suggested that the driver might have dropped off the part in a hurry without making contact with anyone. A thorough search of the premises, gate and mailbox area proved that this was not the case. Several more phone calls revealed that the part had been "misdirected" to Fairbanks and was on its way back north. Frankly, we think the driver just got in his truck and rode the same route he always did, forgetting to stop at the DOT. So the part, which was only 110 miles from its destination, made a detour of 608 miles!
When the part finally arrived we still had to make minor adjustments since the autostore only carried a Ford part but I got it to work. I have to mention that all my knowledge of rigs and engines comes from working with my good friend Damian, who generously offers his shop, tools and expertise.
We were back on the road about 24 hours after breakdown and headed south to get some more miles in before a night's rest. After camping at the Arctic Circle we pushed on to Fairbanks where we had to clean the truck thoroughly because highly corrosive calcium is used on the Dalton to keep the dust down.

Summary:
- Against predictions, we saw very little wildlife.
- The road conditions were very good though they vary with weather.
- All truck drivers we've come across were considerate but they do have the right-of-way.
- The mosquito plague was not an issue for us, though this has to do greatly with the time of year and weather.
- Drive always with your lights on and don't stop on bridges or on hills and in curves.
- Slow down for pedestrians, bicylists and motorcycles to avoid kicking rocks at them.
- Number of trucks heading the opposite direction: 66

Disclaimer:
The above descriptions are our personal experiences. We tried to portray facts as exactly as possible, but they are only for informational use.
Road conditions vary from year to year and even from week to week.


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for more pics click here

Detailed Road Conditions  
Miles Description
0
20
25
62
92
113
114
118
160
178
179
193
198
199
210
261
262
277
283
305
316
320
343
361
412
414
Dalton begins
Pavement starts
Pavement ends
Hot Spot Cafe, gas station unleaded only ($3.39)
Pavement starts
Pavement ends
Pavement starts
Arctic Circle 66°33'
Occasional gravel patches, up to one-mile long stretches around this area
Coldfoot, visitor info, gas ($3.29)
Pavement ends
Turnoff to Wiseman
Pavement starts
Pavement ends
Nice campsite at Middle Fork Koyukuk River 3
Pavement starts
Pavement ends
Short pavement stretch
Fist-size, sharp rocks on road around this area
Sag River DOT Station
Pavement starts, some gravel on asphalt
Pavement ends
Pavement starts, first few miles lots of gravel portions on asphalt
Pavement ends
Pavement for 1/2 mile
Dalton ends at Deadhorse