Road trip question: Calling all western Canadians, Alaskans

[imported_Stewy]

So, some of my friends and I were talking about a road trip that we could do before school starts up for fall term. We all decided that we could take off around two weeks before the term actually begins and take a road trip. The time frame we are looking at is early to mid September.

The end goal of the road trip is to take my 1994 Civic hatchback up the Dalton highway to Prudhoe Bay. We plan on driving straight up there from Portland, Oregon over the course of a few days, and then take our time driving down, visiting Denali National Park, and other places.

So far, just looking at the maps, it looks like the fastest way to get up to I-2 in Alaska would be to come up British Columbia on highway 37, which I've read is in the middle of nowhere, but very scenic. However, google maps suggests another route, which seems a little out of the way.

Is this route really quicker than using highway 37, which seems to be a much more direct route?

Also, has anyone here ever driven the Dalton highway? I've read a lot of the conditions on it, but more feedback on the road conditions couldn't hurt.

On the way back as I mentioned earlier, we plan on stopping by Denali national park. However, we should have a week and change to drive back to Oregon. What are some other places that we should think about stopping at? These can be in the Yukon Territory, BC, or Alaska.

Thanks to anyone who responds to this reply. Any information which you can provide will be helpful.

[edit] Also, what is the weather up there like that time of year? Is it too late to plan a trip to the very northern tip of Alaska during mid September?

CLIFFS:

What places of interest lie along highway 37 in BC/Yukon Territory or Interstate 2 in Alaska?

Other than that, read the post. If you're too busy to do that, then chances are you are too busy to reply.

 

[RbSX]

****** you I ain't reading that..

I'm from BC ask me EXACTLY what you want to know in the cliffs so I don't need to read about what car you've got and how long you're going (I don't need to know)

 

[imported_Stewy]

Originally posted by: RyanSengara
****** you I ain't reading that..

I'm from BC ask me EXACTLY what you want to know in the cliffs so I don't need to read about what car you've got and how long you're going (I don't need to know)

The car type and how long I am going for are important guidelines-- if someone suggests that perhaps I can not make the Dalton highway in my Civic, or that two weeks might not be long enough, I may need to reconsider some of my plans.. However, I will update the cliffs.

Also, I am sorry that a short post of 348 words is not worth your time. If there was an Oregon-related post like this, I'd be glad to share my experiences even if the OP was a lengthy 500 words.

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

I driven the Dalton Hwy all the way to Coldfoot. To be honest I wouldn't recommend it. It makes the Alaska Hwy look good. Just my opinion. Text '94 Civic probably isn't the right car to take up there.


I live in Fairbanks. Most of the tourist stuff shuts down early to mid-September. But it really just depends on the weather and tourist flow. Most of the tourists are gone by the end of August. By mid-September it will be cooling off. (40's-50's during the day) Chena Hotsprings is a nice place to visit if you get the chance and it's open year round. It's also a very pretty drive. I hesitate to recommend other things because most of them will be shut down by the time you get here.

Denali park will be starting to shut down when you get up here too. The bigger hotels should still be open. They might still be running the buses back into the park. If so, you'll want to spend a day and do that. Car traffic is only allowed into certain areas. To see the good stuff you need to hop on the bus. Usually by the second week in September the buses are done and the park opens the roads to the lottery winners. These are people who have won the right to drive their personal vehicles back into the park.

South Central is very nice. I highly recommend taking a day and make the loop from Anchorage to Seward. Along the way you can zip up to Girdwood, take the Whittier tunnel and check out that town and see Portage Glacier. When you're in Seward check out the Sealife Center.

Valdez is also a must see. Take the Stan Stevens boat tour. You'll get to see Columbia and Meares Glaciers. Awesome. Plus they have 15'+ tides. If you've never seen anything like that it will blow your mind. Plan on spending the night. Link

 

[EagleKeeper]

Do not plan for a 2 week trip.

It will tire you out and you will not see everything that you want to.

It took my son 4 days to get from Anchorage down to Seattle with his family.
They came in a Suburban with no problems.

 

[imported_Stewy]

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
Do not plan for a 2 week trip.

It will tire you out and you will not see everything that you want to.

It took my son 4 days to get from Anchorage down to Seattle with his family.
They came in a Suburban with no problems.

Unfortunately I have no choice in this matter... Mid September is the only chance that everyone who wants to go has time off between working during the summer, and fall term, which starts around the 20th of September. I figure with 3 other people besides me, we can make it up there doing a marathon drive in a matter of 3 days, and from then on we would have time to explore everything we wanted to see.

Whoozeyerdaddy: Thanks for the reply!

You've driven the Dalton Highway, huh? So, up to Coldfoot, what is the road like? Being from Oregon, I'm accusom to driving on gravel roads which are potholed and washboarded. I've seen pictures of the highway which show some pretty large fist-size gravel chunks. Also, would you say that the scenery is worth the drive? I really want to make it into the artic circle -- it's one of the goals of the trip. Also, in mid-September, is there a longer day than night? I'm not sure if you experience that in Fairbanks, but I guess it doesn't hurt to ask.

Also, you mentioned a boat tour in Valdez. Do you have any idea how much that costs?

Thanks for the reply... I'm sure I'll come up with some more questions pretty soon!

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

Originally posted by: Stewy

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
Do not plan for a 2 week trip.

It will tire you out and you will not see everything that you want to.

It took my son 4 days to get from Anchorage down to Seattle with his family.
They came in a Suburban with no problems.

Unfortunately I have no choice in this matter... Mid September is the only chance that everyone who wants to go has time off between working during the summer, and fall term, which starts around the 20th of September. I figure with 3 other people besides me, we can make it up there doing a marathon drive in a matter of 3 days, and from then on we would have time to explore everything we wanted to see.

Whoozeyerdaddy: Thanks for the reply!

You've driven the Dalton Highway, huh? So, up to Coldfoot, what is the road like? Being from Oregon, I'm accusom to driving on gravel roads which are potholed and washboarded. I've seen pictures of the highway which show some pretty large fist-size gravel chunks. Also, would you say that the scenery is worth the drive? I really want to make it into the artic circle -- it's one of the goals of the trip. Also, in mid-September, is there a longer day than night? I'm not sure if you experience that in Fairbanks, but I guess it doesn't hurt to ask.

Also, you mentioned a boat tour in Valdez. Do you have any idea how much that costs?

Thanks for the reply... I'm sure I'll come up with some more questions pretty soon!

The road to Coldfoot just plain sucks. And not just because of the road conditions. The truckers that drive that road are certifiably insane. It's not too bad (by Alaska standards) up to the Arctic Circle but after that it's a mess. The mountains are pretty and you'll get to see a lot of the pipeline. You never know what kind of wildlife you'll see. It's likely you'll see some caribou and maybe a bear or two. But there isn't much else to look at. Lots and lots of tundra.

If you were coming up in the summer I'd feel better about giving you the thumbs up to drive the haul road but in September... Not so much. For the dates you are thinking about I think you'd have a better time in the southern part of the state. (Seward, Whittier, Girdwood, Valdez) Since you're driving up and you only have a two week window there's no way you can see everything anyway. If you drove into Fairbanks and looked around for a day, then drove through Denali on your way to Anchorage... Then hit the Seward Hwy to see Girdwood (Eat dinner at the Double Musky on your way back), Whittier, Portage Glacier, Seward and maybe Kenai... Then down the Glenn to the Rich and on to Valdez... That would probably take you about two weeks (including the drive time to Oregon) and you'd have a handle on the major parts of the state.

As for daylight... It starts to get dark at night in September but you'll still have 13-14 hours of daylight.

This is the glacier cruise I usually take when I'm down there. My mom goes down there every summer. She loves it. FYI... September is the end of spawning season. Be prepared to see A LOT of dead fish in the harbor. Some people get turne off by that but dead fish means lots of otters and sea lions.

 

[imported_Stewy]

On that note, perhaps I'll have to re-consider driving the entire way up the Dalton highway. I really want to drive within the Artic Circle though, and see the tundra/pipeline and the wildlife that I hear is very prevalent up there.

Your suggest about places to visit are very helpful. I'm considering going to Valdez, mainly to see the tides. I don't know if my friends and I will have enough in the budget for a $130 cruise, and even if we did, the one you linked to closes up shop at the end of August.

Coming from Oregon, we've seen a lot of the woods and small mountains in our lives. The main things we're interesting in seeing are glaciers, the monsterous tide that you mentioned (here if we get a 9 foot tide, it's huge) Denali Naitonal Park, the pre-mentioned artic circle and pipeline, and of course, the Northern Lights.

Speaking of the Northern Lights, are they even viewable during September? I read somewhere that the best time to view them is from August - April, but it would be nice if you could confirm that for me.

We are planning on camping outside for the majority of the nights we are on the road. Besides being cautious about bears, is there anything else we need to know about? Are the mosquitoes horrible during September, or have they mostly became dorment?

TY for all the information so far... You've saved a ton of time of reading trip blogs of people who have done this type of trip before.

 

[sandorski]

That Google Map looks funky. I've never driven up the middle of BC before so I don't know what that highway is like, so I'll let someone else comment on that. I suspect, despite the wonky detour into Alberta, that might be the fastest way due to better Highways and higher speed limits. Highways in BC are usually quite windy due to mountains being everywhere.

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

Originally posted by: Stewy
On that note, perhaps I'll have to re-consider driving the entire way up the Dalton highway. I really want to drive within the Artic Circle though, and see the tundra/pipeline and the wildlife that I hear is very prevalent up there.

Your suggest about places to visit are very helpful. I'm considering going to Valdez, mainly to see the tides. I don't know if my friends and I will have enough in the budget for a $130 cruise, and even if we did, the one you linked to closes up shop at the end of August.

Coming from Oregon, we've seen a lot of the woods and small mountains in our lives. The main things we're interesting in seeing are glaciers, the monsterous tide that you mentioned (here if we get a 9 foot tide, it's huge) Denali Naitonal Park, the pre-mentioned artic circle and pipeline, and of course, the Northern Lights.

Speaking of the Northern Lights, are they even viewable during September? I read somewhere that the best time to view them is from August - April, but it would be nice if you could confirm that for me.

We are planning on camping outside for the majority of the nights we are on the road. Besides being cautious about bears, is there anything else we need to know about? Are the mosquitoes horrible during September, or have they mostly became dorment?

TY for all the information so far... You've saved a ton of time of reading trip blogs of people who have done this type of trip before.

LOL that you would take my word for it. Not that I'm lying... just... well... this is the internet.

You can see the pipeline and wildlife without driving the haul road. Sorry to keep harping on this but you could spend your time doing much more memorable things with far less risk to life, limb and vehicle.

The northern lights are not usually visible until October. It's not dark enough in September. You might get lucky though. The aurora is usually best seen from Oct to March.

The mosquito situation will depend on what the weather is like. If it's still farily warm they will be horrible. If it's below freezing at night you'll be fine. Cutters or Off is always recommended.

Any chance you could come up earlier? Even a few weeks would make a huge difference in your experience. Most of the tourist stuff is still open in August.