Driving the Alaska Highway
Average Driving Time; 7 to 14 Days
Driving the Alaska Highway From Dawson Creek B.C. north through Canada's
Yukon Territory and into eastern Alaska is a trip that just has to be experienced to fully appreciate.
The roads are paved, smooth and well maintained making the drive fun and relaxing.
There is still that ever present adventure of driving this amazing historical route by car
or RV that will impress even your most skeptical roadies, friends and family members too. There's
a reason why companies like National Geographic Explorer, Lonely Planet, and Fodor's Travel
Guides continually rate this journey among the most spectacular drives of North America.
How to Drive the Alaska Highway
There just may be no more amazing road trips left than driving the famous Alaska Highway.
It's understandable as to why the Alaska Highway has been immortalized in movies, songs and
campfire chatter as it would be difficult to find any more appealing destination that the of
sub-arctic tundra covered by towering mountains, uninhibited wildlife and vibrant wildflowers.
The Alaska Highway which stretches 1,387 miles through the rolling tundra of British Columbia,
the rugged Stony Mountains and the towering Rocky Mountains too. You'll cross the continental
divide and enter the sequestered world of the Alaska Time Zone; you'll travel the remotest stretches
of highway in all of North America and encounter beauty as seen by the earliest settlers of the
last frontier.
But even with all this unknown there is a calm found in the magnificent road that we have
here today. Driving to Alaska over the Alaska Highway is something anyone can do and if inclined
to do so, should do too.
How long does it take to drive the Alaska Highway?
This is one of the most common question we get asked about driving the Alaska Highway. The
answer is not cut and dried as it all depends upon your desires and limits. We have driven between
Anchorage Alaska and Seattle Washington, 2400 miles one way, numerous times in 48 to 50 hours
total but on those trips we were in a car or SUV and not stopping for pictures or even
food, we were usually picking up a car and heading back home to Anchorage. This does tell
you that the roads are very good and if necessary you can make some very good time - especially
with two drivers.
In tour mode these times greatly change. The first trip you can count on at least 14 days from
B.C./U.S. border to Alaska/Yukon border. The actual time would be difficult to calculate as
there are so many routes leading to the Alaska Highway that these times will vary greatly. Our
two most favorite northern routes take you through some absolutely beautiful territory that
could and should be a destination in itself, more on that later.
British Columbia & Yukon Territory Circle Tours
The "Circle Tours" in northern Canada are extremely popular vacations where you drive
the Alaska Highway one way and return on the Cassiar Highway or from Haines via the Alaska
Ferry.