Dalton Highway to the Arctic Ocean

Prudhoe Bay was our ultimate destination. Swimming in the arctic ocean on the summer solstice was our ultimate goal. Prudhoe Bay is where the top of the continent meets the Arctic Ocean. The industrial road to reach the arctic ocean begins 84 miles north of Fairbanks also known as the Dalton Highway and Highway 11. Before the Dalton Highway the only way you could get to Prudhoe Bay was by airplane. In the late 1960’s oil was discovered in Prudhoe Bay and at that time it became the modern day gold rush.  Black gold. And so became the Dalton Highway. At first it was called the “Haul Road” because truckers would haul supplies up to Prudhoe Bay but in 1981 it became the Dalton Highway in honor of James W. Dalton; an arctic engineer expert involved in oil exploration on the North Slope.

When the road was first built it could only be accessed commercially, it wasn’t until 1994 that the road was opened to public all the way to Deadhorse, Milepost 414 (MP414). Which is about 9 miles short of the actual Arctic Ocean. Deadhorse Camp is one of the many industrial camps you will find in Prudhoe Bay. Northern Alaska Tour Company is located in Deadhorse and they are the authorized tour company that provides guided shuttle bus service taking visitors to the Arctic Ocean. At the time of this writing it was $69 per person. The tour company recommends reservations ahead of time but we talked to some people who were able to get on the shuttle without prior reservations within a day of arriving in Deadhorse. It’s a security thing.

While in Alaska, Tim had this idea of going to the Arctic Ocean for our wedding anniversary which happens to be on the summer solstice, June 21st. It sounded like a great adventure so of course I was happy to go but had no real idea of what to expect. Tim was handling most of the research and he figured we needed about 3-4 days to get up there and then as many days to get back mostly related to the rough roads.

Tim reached out to @Smokey_and_the_Vandit, who we follow on Instagram. He had recently driven the Dalton Highway and said he averaged about 40 miles per hour, and reassured us it was totally doable.

Our next preparations began while we were in Fairbanks; the big city before heading north to the Dalton Highway. Because there is limited services along the 500 miles we’d be driving northbound, we took showers, did laundry, stocked up on food so our refrigerator and cupboards were full. We found this fun place to fill up with water called “The Water Wagon”. For 2.7 cents a gallon, you can fill up your water tanks with a hose that comes out of a building. It’s like a gas station only it’s water. We also found some mosquito netting at a fabric store to make our own mosquito net hats, thanks to a very helpful employee who showed us just what we needed for our adventure. I know you are wondering and Yes! They bite your face, scalp, fingers and ears. Any exposed skin is a potential meal and nothing seems to be off limits (and we don’t think we should be feeding the wildlife). What I really wanted was an EVA (extra vehicular activity) suit but my “go to” seamstress, aka sister-in-law is in Bellingham, WA. We’d have to make do. 

Tim learned there would be gas stations spaced so we could get fuel to make this 500 mile (one way) drive and refill our water along the way. We were told we’d have a cell signal in Coldfoot if we needed to cancel our shuttle reservations. While talking to the store owners in Coldfoot and Deadhorse they adamantly recommended we have two spare tires. Whoa! Wait a minute.  Really?!

It was almost a game changer not having a second spare tire and we considered not going at all. For one brief moment we dared to think “should we just take our chances with one spare tire”. A few locals we mentioned it to also agreed, “you really should have two spare tires”. A friend who lives in Fairbanks, said she did it in her minivan, but she didn’t go all the way to the end. I guess the thought of “popping a tire” and getting a tow truck to the tune of $2000 sent us into prevention mode. We decided to find a spare tire.

One tire shop quoted us at $440 for a rim and tire, another place had the tire but not the rim. We started wondering if it was worth it or not. How much were we willing to spend for this arctic adventure? Almost stymied, we tried one more place and acquired a brand new rim and a used tire for $240. A price that we could live with. It took a little maneuvering in our garage to accommodate the extra tire but we were relieved to continue this adventure with peace of mind.

Our last stop was the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitor Center and the Alaska Public Lands Information Center at 101 Dunkel Street in Fairbanks where we picked up an updated, brand new, full page magazine “The Dalton Highway Visitor Guide”. I would highly recommend getting this to help you plan your trip, it’s free and is an invaluable guide along the way. It explains the history, gives you information on how to prepare and what to expect. Definitely our go to resource for this epic road trip.

Phew! And we were off. With a full tank of fuel and a clean windshield we left Fairbanks and rolled onto Elliot Highway or Highway 2 prepared for the Arctic Ocean with paved road under our tires. However, as you progress northward it loses its smooth and flowy feel, the road can be narrow and has gaping holes. The road has areas of uneven cracking and lifting caused by long periods of freezing weather and heavy truck traffic. Not too far up the highway you’ll encounter  packed dirt, rock and gravel road and drop your speed down to 30 miles per hour; as your mind struggles to slow down to match the speed of the vehicle. We traveled an average of 30mph, the speed limit is 50mph. Our van rattled and shook. Our teeth chattered and we vibrated. Wahoo! What a ride. We took a deep breath and inhaled this magical wonderland.

One thing I had hoped for was to see wildlife. Muskox, Caribou, Bears, Moose were all on my list of must-sees. We got a tip from some like minded travelers we met in Coldfoot: travel in the evening between 10pm and 2am to see all the wildlife, plus there is less vehicle traffic during that time of night. What a great tip considering the sun doesn’t set so it would still be light out. But, the most prominent wildlife we’d seen and felt so far was the mosquitoes. They encouraged us to stay covered and stay in the safety of our van unless we wanted to donate to the survival of their species.

Day 1, We stopped at the Dalton Highway entrance sign  (MP 0/414), Tim got out and was greeted straight away by mosquitoes. I waited in the van until I knew if it was safe or not. It wasn’t. I stayed in the van. Our first campsite was near the Yukon River (MP56), and every mosquito in Alaska seemed to get the notice that we’d arrived. The only nice thing I can say about them is they are big enough to see which makes them easier to kill. I try to think of them as being part of the food chain but that doesn’t stop me from swatting them.  

The weather was clear and we could see snow speckled mountains on either side of us. More mountains would appear as we rounded a bend and rocks jutted up from frost heave. It’s was surreal. As far as the eye could see it was all stunning. We saw slim and stunted evergreens struggling to grow in the few months of their short growing season. Some of them looked dead from disease, still upright and appearing reluctant to give up, determined somehow to keep standing. The brush that clings around the trees was vibrant green and lush. I was in rapture with all this raw scenery and what I knew to be wild wilderness.

Day 2 We drove to the Arctic Circle (MP115), braved the mosquitoes for a quick picture at the welcome sign located at the entrance of the campground. We drove around this newly renovated campground completely vacant except for one man in his camper, having a nice day, he waved. I noticed he was wearing a mosquito net hat. We continued driving until about MP 150 where we found an empty gravel lot hidden from the road, a nice place to spent the night. We were just 15 miles from Coldfoot.

Day 3, We drove to Coldfoot that morning, fueled up and filled our water tank. While we were waiting for our turn at the water station we met a couple of bicyclists traveling the Dalton Highway. Tressa and Natsko flew into Deadhorse with their bikes and were cycling to Fairbanks. Having worked together in Alaska previously they thought it would be cool to ride the Dalton Hwy. We actually passed quite a few cyclists traveling the Dalton Hwy, all heading south towards Fairbanks. I was so impressed that someone would even consider doing this trek by bicycle. And yet it seemed to be a thing. Just take a minute to think about it; limited services, no grocery stores or medical facilities, limited places to get water, the roads were narrow and awful for vehicles (remember two spare tires), I couldn’t imagine riding a bike. In fact, I was so curious I asked them how many extra bike tubes they carried; a total of four between the two of them. They happened to be riding mountain bikes with tubeless tires, but still. Oh and then to brave the mosquitoes. Just saying. Hardy and daring!

By now we were aching for a stretch. And the only sizable (by that I mean more than a quarter of a mile) hike I found on AllTrails was at Chandalar Shelf (MP244). A 4.8 mile out and back. If only I’d read the description more clearly I would have known that there wasn’t an actual trail. The reviewer who posted this hike must have scrambled up the side of the hill. Had I not been so cooped up dodging the mosquitoes and so looking forward to a good heart pumping stretch, I would have said “No.” to this particular hike. The reason being the first half mile or so we scrambled across virgin tundra that can take years, even decades to recover from any damage and it wasn’t much fun to hike in this soft, squishy terrain. Our scramble up the hill was less challenging than traversing the tundra despite its steep incline and loose shale, but I couldn’t shake the guilt I felt for intruding on this pristine wilderness.

After our stretch, we continued driving up and over Atigun Pass and lost sight of the last spruce trees. It was cool to see how the landscape flattened out and the mountains sloped into hills that disappeared into the ground. We arrived at Galbraith Lake (MP275) and spent the night in a campground about 3 miles west off the main road. Nestled in the valley of the guardian mountains, the campground is set back from the lake, in fact I don’t think you can walk to the lake, let alone drive to it. But the primitive campground is spacious and every spot has a beautiful view. Our beloved mosquitoes managed to join us. However, they seemed to be thinning out, so we could venture outside with insect repellent and long sleeved shirts and long pants for protection.

Up until now we hadn’t seen any wildlife. I was beginning to wonder if we would at all. We stayed and played at Galbraith Lake until 10pm that next night and then took off. It was perfect because the sun doesn’t set so it was daylight outside and we could see everything. I about jumped out of my seat when I saw our first Muskox; just grazing by the side of the road. Muskox are brown shaggy creatures from the sheep family; about size of a small cow but super hardy as this is their home year round. We kept driving and saw caribou with their amazing antlers jutting skyward, two arctic foxes that looked like big white fluff balls frolicking on the tundra, pouncing and chasing something between them. We saw a lone wolf crossing the road,  very wary of us-keeping his eyes on us as we passed, and a red fox interested in a resting or hurt muskox; we weren’t sure which. It was all worth going at night.  We found a place to overnight about 50 miles before Deadhorse. We’d arrive the next day for our 3:30pm scheduled tour to dip in in the Arctic Ocean.

After seeing all that beautiful raw silent countryside it was a bit of a disappointment when we got to Deadhorse Camp; it was like we just dropped into an apocalyptic movie set. Imagine northern safari-like landscapes then BAM!, industrial wastelands, cargo containers stacked up on stilts to prevent the permafrost below from melting, dirty roads leading to more of the same buildings, and oil rigs towering in the cloud covered horizon, semi trucks racing past us and around us;  it felt cold, hard and unfriendly. I couldn’t find a warm and fuzzy feeling to save my life .

June 21st, 2022 15:30, We boarded our tour bus with 20 other people and our tour guide Tim, drove us through the restricted area to the arctic ocean where we could dip in the ocean.  Tour guide Tim was a bird naturalist by profession and did these tours in the summers. He was informative, soft spoken and not very enthusiastic but I enjoyed listening to him. This however, was the longest 9 mile drive I’d ever been on. I think we drove at 15mph.

Beforehand, I had envisioned we would be swimming in the arctic ocean, clear blue glacial water as far as the eye could see, but the water was still frozen and we actually just laid down for a dip in the larger puddles that had thawed around the ice. It was hard to feel serene with the decayed rusty abandoned barrels sticking out from the ice and scraps of rusted metal we dodged in places. Luckily we had our water shoes on, so we weren’t barefoot. It was fun to say we did it and collect our official black and white printed certificate that stated “Official Polar Bear Club” but really this part of the trip made me sad. Later I decided I was disappointed in humanity. I felt ashamed to be a part of what we’ve done to destroy and take advantage of our world and the environment. I wondered if my grandchildren would ever see this beautiful country or will all this be gone by the time they are able to experience it. This area had certainly changed within my lifetime.

The one highlight of Deadhorse Camp was the people we met. All traveling Alaska from various parts of the country and enjoying the adventure as much as we were. I love connecting with people from our tribe. So fun to meet you, Karen, Jason, Pete, Grace and Warren.

On our way back to Fairbanks, we stopped at Galbraith Lake again and it wasn’t until we made it near the Arctic Circle campground that we encountered forest fire smoke. A lightning storm had started a fire just north of the Arctic Circle.

We had camped just south of there and were lucky to see a mama moose and her two calves. We wondered if the smoke from the fires had her on edge.  She kept pacing in front of our van about 100 feet away and looking off past us into the distance.  Her two calves seemed oblivious to anything but her and like shadows they stuck to her like glue.

The drive back was a chance to see it again and get do overs. We got to stay in some places we missed on the way up and see things from a different perspective. So indescribably beautiful you will want to turn into a sponge and soak it all up.

Now that we’ve done it I wouldn’t recommend doing it in a motorhome or towing a trailer. It was really rough in places; with potholes, ruts, uneven road damage, dirt and rocks and gravel that shook the van so hard it made my teeth hurt. The one caveat is the road condition forces you to slow down, giving you time to absorb the most beautiful mouth dropping landscapes. It was more than my eyes could take in, I was completely saturated. I felt the vastness of what it might have been like a hundred years ago. It was a spiritual experience. I could taste the freshness of my surroundings and smell the fragrance of life growing and happening all around me. I actually heard the silence. It reminded me of our friend, Clint when he said:

“My top 5 favorite qualities in a desert campsite: Space, Stillness, Silence, Solitude and Serenity”.

We experienced all those things and more on this drive. I wasn’t ready to leave.
I felt completely infused and I felt humility. I was in awe of this amazing place. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Check out our Dalton Highway video: