Dalton Highway
 The
Dalton Highway, known locally as “The Haul Road,” stretches 414 miles
between mile 73 of the Elliott Highway to its northern terminus at Deadhorse/Prudhoe
Bay. The Dalton is an adventure in
and of itself. It is entirely a
gravel road. There are two reasons
to drive this road. One is to move material and equipment up to the industrial
complex situated on the northern coast of Alaska. The second is just to sightsee. We recommend giving
yourself a minimum of two days to drive all the way to Deadhorse/Prudhoe Bay.
 Parts
of the Dalton are incredibly well maintained, so driving the speed limit of 50
m.p.h. is no problem. There are portions where the ground is very rough.
This road should never be attempted without good sturdy truck tires, and
at least one, but better yet two, real (not temporary) spare tires.
Doug and Linda began the road with two spare tires.
They punctured one on the first day of the trip.
Luckily they patched it at the station located on the Yukon River
crossing. The next day they blew
two tires in the same spot, one of which completely splintered.
Luckily they had the second spare and the patched tire which lasted until
we reached the town of Coldfoot. In
Coldfoot Doug learned that his truck only came with “car tires”.
So he purchased a full set of 10 ply truck tires (70 lbs. of pressure).
From that point on they had no problems with their tires.
Linda did say she could feel the difference between the two sets of tires
when it came to the bumps – the truck tires have much less give making the
trip bumpier. But
she preferred the bumps to having to change blown tires, or worse yet – to run
out of good tires.
Animal spotting could not have been better.
On the way up we spotted a group of mountain goats, a brown bear, and a
large heard of caribou. On the way back down we spotted arctic and red foxes, a lone
musk ox and several snowy owls. We
spotted moose in both directions. During
our hike around Castle Mountain we found a herd of Dall sheep.
Cute little ground squirrels run everywhere, and there are snowshoe hares
sitting right in the middle of some of the side roads. Mosquitos are also
abundant  during
the summer months along the Dalton. Caribou lose a pint of blood a
day. We found we needed to use a combination of mosquito spray and netting
to keep them off of us. Using the great out-of-doors as a restroom
presents a multitude of problems. If you have to use the woods, just keep
that spray can handy!
Construction is continual on the Haul Road.
Expect to stop from time to time while an earthmover dumps loads of
material and rollers smooth it out. The
road service is very conscientious and works hard to make sure the waits are not
longer than 15 minutes. Be
respectful of survey crews and slow down as you pass them.
While they will likely still get dusted, a slow speed will ensure you do
not kick up rocks to hit them. Also,
do not stop along the roadway where there are blind turns or rises.
Trucks move through very quickly and have a dangerous job to accomplish.
Blocking them or causing them to swerve quickly is a hazard they can do
without.
 Services
and gas are few and far between along the Haul Road.
Here is a list of the services and points of interest we found along the
way and their respective mileposts:
56
- Yukon Ventures Alaska. Doug
had his tire repaired. We gassed up
here and ate lunch. Across the
street we found a visitor’s center with information about the area.
There is a public boat launch here for the Yukon River and a small motel
and gift shop.
115 - Arctic Circle
wayside. We stopped to have our
picture taken at the arctic circle sign. Toilet,
picnic area, camping, photo opportunity.
156 - South Fork
Koyukuk River. We found gold here.
Toilet. Click here to jump
to a more detailed description of the adventure.
175 - Coldfoot,
Alaska. Doug purchased a new set of
tires and we ate and spent the night here.
Gas, food, tire and auto repair. Lodging
at Slate Creek Inn. Visitor’s
Center.
180 - Marion Creek Campground.
Toilets, water, campsites. Click
here to jump to a more detailed description of the campground.
188 - Wiseman,
Alaska. Lodging.
 235
- Last Spruce. We had our
picture taken at the sign stating the tree behind is the northern most spruce
tree.
270 - Parking lot to
the west of the road. We used this
to park when we hiked around Castle Mountain. Click here
to
jump to the write up on our Castle Mountain adventure.
274 - Galbraith Lake
turnoff. We drove around past the
airport to use the toilet at the end of the road. This would be a great place to camp, too.
Some bear proof garbage cans stand right next to the toilet.
414 - Deadhorse/Prudhoe
Bay, Alaska. We stayed here for two
nights before heading back down the Haul Road.
Gas, food, lodging, and a tour taking tourists through the industrial
park to the Arctic Ocean. Become a
“Polar Bear” by swimming in the Arctic ocean.
Click here for more detailed information on our
Deadhorse/Prudhoe Bay
adventures.
Last Visited: July 2001
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