Arctic Circle Ice Road Truckin’

It would be a shame to get all the way to Fairbanks Alaska and not venture onto one of the most iconic roadways in the world, the Dalton Highway. Embarking on a journey along the Dalton Highway from Fairbanks to Coldfoot is the modern-day version of primitive driving.

This remote, 175-mile stretch of road, famously featured on “Ice Road Truckers,” offers a breathtaking variety of vistas such as boreal forests, tundra, and mountain ranges. Known as the “haul road,” Dalton Highway sees significant truck traffic, with about 160 trucks daily in the summer and 250 in the winter. It’s notorious for its challenging conditions, including rough terrain, steep grades, and extreme weather.

The communities along the Dalton Highway are situated where many of the amenities common in today’s modern world are nonexistent. Remarkably, this is the only land route in Alaska that crosses the Arctic Circle.

Unfortunately, Terri was unable to make the trip. She got food poisoning and had to stay home. We could not reschedule nor get a refund, which was a shame. Our recommendation is if you want to go, find a tour company with a better cancellation policy.

Allen did not drive this roadway by himself. Tackling the Dalton requires more than meets the eye. While Ram trucks are tough, the Dalton is even tougher. This roadway is restricted for rental cars. Instead, he left the driving to the experts at Northern Alaska Tour Company. They specialize in excursions north of the Arctic Circle.

For this trip, Allen was a passenger in a Freightliner Sprinter van. It is equipped with a CB Radio, satellite telephone, road safety kit, and two spare tires. Enough said. For the return trip, they offer a one-hour return flight from Coldfoot to Fairbanks. Allen's trip departed Fairbanks at 9:30am on the 14th of September.

This rugged and comfortable vehicle was our transportation for the drive up the Dalton Highway.

First Things First – The Elliot Highway

To reach the Dalton Highway, Allen had to travel 73 miles north of Fairbanks on the Steese and then the Elliot Highway. This first stop to stretch our legs and have restroom facilities was the Wildwood General Store located at Mile 49.5 on the Elliott Highway in Joy, Alaska. It was around 2 hours into the trip. It is no longer a store but served as an important stop in the late 20th century when the pipeline construction began. Many truckers stopped for lemonade at the kid's lemonade stand. The stand grew to become a convenience store, the only one for hundreds of miles. Today, it is used as an aurora viewing stop.

The Wildwood General Store on the Elliot Highway.

The original Lemonade Stand that started the store.

Mile 0 – The Dalton

There is a lonely signpost at the beginning of the Dalton Highway. Here marks mile 0. 175 miles to Coldfoot. We have now travelled for three hours.

Signpost for Mile 0 of the Dalton Highway.

Mile 56 – Yukon River Bridge

At 2:00 pm, after travelling four and a half hours, we crossed the mighty Yukon River on the Yukon River Bridge, officially known as the E. L. Patton Bridge. It is the only bridge over the Yukon River in Alaska. The bridge serves as a vital crossing on the Dalton Highway, connecting Fairbanks to Deadhorse. This impressive girder bridge spans 2,295 feet. For safety and security reasons, the bridge restricts all foot traffic. The bridge carries both the Dalton Highway and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, making it a critical infrastructure with heavy vehicle traffic and hazardous conditions. It is monitored by cameras and has loudspeakers to tell people not to walk on the bridge.

Constructed as a joint venture between the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company and the State of Alaska, the bridge was completed in 1975. Named after Edward Patton, the former president of Alyeska Pipeline during the pipeline’s construction, the bridge stands approximately 200 feet above the river at its highest point. Its design accommodates the extreme seasonal temperature variations, with the length of the bridge changing by nearly two feet between summer and winter. The bridge has wooden planks which provide better traction during icy or wet conditions.

We stopped here for lunch at the Yukon River Camp. Our guide told us that he had never seen so many trucks with boat trailers at this stop. We found out from a local that it is a popular place to launch a boat to hunt moose.

After a bite to eat at the Yukon River Camp, the journey north continued.

Notice the wooden planks on the Yukon River Bridge.

The Yukon River Bridge.

Yukon River Camp and diner.

Inside the diner having lunch.

Mile 75 – Roller Coaster

Roller Coaster on the Dalton Highway is a notorious section known for its steep, dramatic descents and ascents, creating a thrilling ride for travelers. Located around Mile 75, this stretch, which includes "Beaver Slide, Surprise Rise, and Gobbler's Knob," poses significant challenges, especially for truckers navigating the sharp curves and grades. When navigating the Roller Coaster, big trucks rule the road. The trucks have the right of way, so we had to wait while trucks were making their way up the hills.

Yielding to truck traffic on one of the Roller Coaster hills of the Dalton Highway. As we sat at this point, the red truck in the picture disappeared from view when it was climbing the steepest section.

Mile 115 – The Arctic Circle

After riding the roller coasters, we reached the Arctic Circle. Crossing the Arctic Circle is a significant milestone for travelers, marking the boundary where the sun can remain continuously above or below the horizon for 24 hours during the solstices. This phenomenon is known as the midnight sun in summer and the polar night in winter. The Arctic Circle, located at approximately 66°33′ North, represents a gateway to the Arctic region, a land of extreme conditions, unique wildlife, and stunning natural beauty. To give a sense of just how far north, From the northernmost point of the lower-48, near the Northwest Angle in Minnesota, the Arctic Circle is approximately 1,700 miles north. It is 4,650 miles north of the equator, but we still need to travel another 1500 miles to reach the North Pole.

When crossing the Arctic Circle, we receive a special certificate certifying we have ventured north of the line. Our group stopped for pictures. Our guide provided arctic cake for our mini celebration. We also fed the grey jays who are used to people. They flew in to eat nuts and cake out of our hand.

Ah, the Arctic Circle crossing certificate – the ultimate proof of our adventure north. We can proudly display it on our wall, right next to our participation trophy from the third-grade spelling bee. It may get us a discount at the coffee shop. Imagine the look on our friends’ faces when we casually drop, ‘Oh, this old thing? Just proof that we’ve been where the sun doesn’t set. No big deal.’ It’s a great way to one-up that guy who won’t stop bragging about their trip to the Grand Canyon. It might not be the most practical piece of paper, but one of the coolest! If we get no mileage from the certificate, we can at least use it as a fire starter next winter.

Crossing the Arctic Circle and earning an official certificate!

Feeding a jay from my hand at the Arctic Circle.

Mile 175 – Coldfoot

Around 55 miles north of the Arctic Circle, Coldfoot, Alaska, once a bustling gold mining camp, now serves as a gateway to the Arctic wilderness and Arctic Ocean. It offers a rare glimpse into what it means to be at the edge of the final frontier. Originally named Slate Creek, it earned its current name when early prospectors got “cold feet” and abandoned their quest for gold due to the harsh Arctic weather and terrain.

The Dalton Highway stands alone, with no roads branching east or west, emphasizing the sheer isolation and wildness of the journey. To give an idea of how remote Coldfoot is, think about this. In this remote part of the state, if you were to walk east from Coldfoot, you would traverse approximately 300 miles of rugged wilderness before encountering the first road in Canada. If you were to walk westward from Coldfoot, you would cover approximately 240 miles before reaching the Arctic Ocean.

Coldfoot was the destination and our overnight stay. Our transportation arrived at 8:00 pm, ten and a half hours after departing Fairbanks. There is not a lot at Coldfoot, just a diner, visitor center, truck stop, and an inn.

Given the remoteness, about 40 trucks per day stop at the truck stop. They don’t have a choice. There is no other stop on the way to Deadhorse, which is where all the truckers are heading or coming back from.

The inn for the overnight was originally built to house workers constructing the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. The camp offers a glimpse into the rugged lifestyle of those early pioneers and adds a touch of history to the stay. The camp features rustic but clean rooms, each equipped with two twin beds and a private bathroom. After eating supper at the diner, we hung out and awaited our trip to Wiseman for a possible viewing of the Northern Lights.

The Coldfoot Truck Stop looking out from the front of the Inn.

The deluxe Coldfoot Inn.

The room at the Coldfoot Inn, formerly a camp for pipeline workers in the mid 1970s.

Truckers gathering at the Coldfoot diner.

The Dalton Highway stretches another 244 miles north of Coldfoot to the Prudhoe Bay.

Brooks Range and Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve

Coldfoot lies at the entranceway to the Brooks Range, the northernmost extension of the Rocky Mountains, stretches over 700 miles across northern Alaska into Canada’s Yukon Territory, forming a dramatic and rugged landscape. This range is not only a geographical marvel but also serves as the northernmost drainage divide in North America, separating streams that flow into the Arctic Ocean from those that head toward the North Pacific. The Brooks Range is also part of the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve. The park is huge, second only to Wrangell-St. Elias, and spans an impressive 13,238 square miles. Gates of the Arctic is roughly the size of Switzerland or the state of Maryland. It is largely untouched and the least visited of the National Parks.

This visitor center for Gates of the Arctic is at Coldfoot, walking distance from the inn.

A really nice visitor center.

This globe at the visitor center shows the Arctic Circle.

Mile 189 –Wiseman

About 16 miles north of Coldfoot is Wiseman. It is a tiny historic mining village nestled in the heart of Alaska’s Brooks Range. Wiseman offers a unique glimpse into the rugged frontier life of the early 20th century. Founded by gold miners in 1908, the population peaked at around 200 people. Today, the community is home to about a dozen residents.

We couldn’t help but wonder how people living so remotely in Wiseman make a living. Residents of Wiseman, Alaska, sustain themselves through a mix of tourism, subsistence hunting and gardening, arts and crafts, and seasonal employment.

Wiseman sits directly under the auroral oval, making it one of the premier destinations for viewing the Northern Lights. Our group of 10 arrived in Wiseman around midnight. It was cloudy and drizzly. We hung out until 3:00am, and the cloud cover never dissipated. In Fairbanks, on the same evening, Terri said the Northern Lights were excellent. Oh well.

Northern lights on Sept. 14 - photo by Terri in Fairbanks!

CFX – The Flight Back

Everyone in the tour group was glad to not have to drive back to Fairbanks, but we flew in a small aircraft. Coldfoot Airport (CXF) is a small, state-owned public-use airport located in Coldfoot, Alaska, serving as a vital hub for travelers exploring the remote wilderness of the Brooks Range. What took over ten hours to drive only took about an hour to fly. Most of the trip was through and over clouds. We didn’t have much to see until we crossed the mighty Yukon River. It was a relatively smooth flight and fun to pick out landmarks as the weather cleared entering into the Fairbanks region.

Boarding the aircraft at CFX.

The flight path map.

Crossing the Yukon Flats and the mighty Yukon River.

A very interesting geological feature of the White Mountain Range.

The black feature in the water is the Chatanika Dredge #3 which we visited in June.

Civilization once again as we approach the Fairbanks airport.

Alaska To-do List: Done

This was the last of our list of "places to go" in our Alaskan adventure. Despite the cold and drizzly weather, the journey from Fairbanks to Coldfoot was an adventure worth every mile. While it would have been even more special to share the experience with Terri and under sunnier skies, it’s a to-do list item gladly checked off. Coupled with the trip to Valdez, this adventure marked over 600 miles—three-quarters of the Alaska Pipeline—traversed, showcasing the rugged beauty and untamed spirit of Alaska. It definitely was as far into the Last Frontier we could venture.