Travelling the Dalton Highway (Haul Road)
The Dalton Highway stretches 414 miles from the Elliott Highway north of Fairbanks to the "community" of Deadhorse, which serves Prudhoe Bay. If you don't have your own vehicle, Arctic Outfitters can rent a vehicle specially prepared for travel along the gravel Dalton Highway from the end of May through mid-September. Traveling by rental car allows you to travel at your own pace as you explore Fairbanks, the Yukon River, Coldfoot, Alaska's Brooks Mountain Range, the Arctic Coastal Plain, and Deadhorse. Please note if you do travel to Deadhorse, access to Prudhoe Bay and the Arctic Ocean is restricted and visitors will need to arrange for seats on an Arctic Ocean Shuttle to access that area.
If your travel plans include traveling all the way to Prudhoe Bay, a minimum of 3 days would be encouraged to allow you to travel at a safe speed and allow a few stops along the way. While the trip from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay is just 500 miles, the distance can easily take 12 - 16 hours depending on the conditions of the road and weather. Often visitors will break the journey up with a stop in the Brooks Mountain Range in Coldfoot on the way north and/or south.