Dalton Highway Tours

A Dalton Highway tour from Fairbanks is a guided drive up Alaska’s pipeline haul road to the Arctic Circle sign at milepost 115, and on these trips the road matters as much as the sign. The highway runs 414 miles from the Elliott Highway near Livengood to Deadhorse at Prudhoe Bay, and it is often described as one of the most isolated roads in the United States. For a classic day on it, book the Original Arctic Circle Drive with Northern Alaska Tour Company, rated 4.8 from 226 reviews.

What kind of road the Dalton is

The Dalton was built as the haul road for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, and most of it was finished in 1974 in about five months. It carried commercial traffic only until 1981, and the public could not drive all the way to Deadhorse until 1994. It is still an industrial road. Most traffic is trucks hauling fuel and supplies to the oil fields, and they have the right of way.

It is mostly gravel, with paved sections such as milepost 37 to 49 and stretches farther north. Expect dust in dry weather, slick mud after rain and sudden potholes. The highway is maintained year-round and does not close in winter. Services are thin. Fuel is sold only at the Yukon River Camp (MP 56), Coldfoot (MP 175) and Deadhorse (MP 414). There are no grocery stores, and there is no medical facility in the 500 miles between Fairbanks and Deadhorse. Cell coverage is very limited from Elliott Highway milepost 28 onward, and there is none at the Arctic Circle sign.

That is why most visitors take a tour. Many rental agreements also prohibit gravel roads like the Dalton. Our self-drive vs tour guide covers the few companies that allow it.

Getting to the Dalton: the Elliott Highway leg

Every tour starts on paved road. From Fairbanks you head north on the Steese to Fox, where the Elliott Highway begins. A pipeline viewpoint at Steese mile 8.4 lets you walk up to the elevated pipe, and the Hilltop Truck Stop at Elliott mile 5.5 is the last fuel for more than 100 miles. At Joy (Elliott mile 49.5) the Arctic Circle Trading Post, a historic homestead cabin with gifts and restrooms, is a regular Northern Alaska Tour Company stop. The Elliott stays paved to its junction with the Dalton at mile 73.1, 84 miles north of Fairbanks. There the pavement ends, the gravel begins, and the Dalton’s mileposts start at zero.

The Dalton Highway, milepost by milepost

Day tours from Fairbanks turn around at milepost 115, about 200 miles from town (199 by the BLM mileage chart). That still means roughly 400 miles of driving in a day. Coldfoot and the Brooks Range lie beyond the reach of a day trip by road. Our guides to Finger Mountain and the Yukon River cover those two stops in more detail.

Who drives you: Northern Alaska Tour Company

Northern Alaska Tour Company was founded in 1987 by three University of Alaska Fairbanks students who ran Arctic Circle trips in a 10-passenger van. It is still owner-run, based at 3820 University Avenue South on the East Ramp of Fairbanks airport, and its group also runs Coldfoot Camp. It sells four drives on this road:

• The Original Arctic Circle Drive, from $289: the summer-season classic, a 16-hour day from a 5:45 a.m. check-in, by 26-passenger coach with a restroom or 15-passenger van. Our review.
• The Arctic Circle Winter Drive Adventure, from $309 and rated 4.9 from 166 reviews: 16 hours from a 9:00 a.m. check-in. It drives home in the dark but does not wait for the aurora.
• The Midnight Sun Arctic Circle Drive Adventure, from $269: 16 hours from a 9:00 a.m. check-in, built around summer’s long light, back after 1 a.m.
• The Arctic Circle Aurora Drive Adventure, for anyone who wants to stop for the lights. See our northern lights tours page.

None of the four includes hotel pickup or food, there is a parking fee at check-in, and all sales are final.

Other ways to ride the Dalton

If you would rather be collected at your hotel, two smaller-van operators cover the same road. The Arctic Circle Day Tour by Alaska Wild Lights is a 13-hour summer trip in vans of up to 8, with snacks, water and a tundra walk. In the aurora season, the same company runs the Northern Lights & Arctic Circle Tour, which has more reviews than any other Arctic Circle trip we list (989) and watches for the aurora on the way home. The Arctic Circle Adventure – Full-Day Guided Tour from 1st Alaska Tours is a summer-season trip from $260 with hotel pickup between 7:00 and 8:00 a.m., a short hike at Finger Mountain and a return around 10:00 p.m.

Whichever you choose, these are 12 to 18 hour days, mostly in a van, on a gravel road. Snow can fall north of Coldfoot in any month, and winter windchills on the highway reach −70°F, so dress for the season even on a guided trip. Our Dalton Highway from Fairbanks guide answers the usual questions about paving, safety and opening times.

Ready to pick a date? Check availability for the Original Arctic Circle Drive.