Cycling the Dalton Highway to Prudhoe Bay Alaska

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Cycling the Dalton Highway

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 Cycling the Dalton Highway Alaska 

I stood on the still frozen Arctic Ocean contemplating the toughest energy sapping day that I have had in recent memory. Welcome to a day in the life of cycling the Dalton Highway Alaska. It started with -1 degrees Celsius temperatures and a strong Northerly wind of 40km/h and I cycled straight into that bad boy for several hours at a blistering pace of 9km/h, and that was on the downhill section!  This is cycling the Dalton Highway, Alaska, this is the Best Bike Touring in Alaska.

It wasn’t just cold it was stupid cold and I suffered, a lot. I was not able to generate enough body heat to radiate to my fingers which started to become so cold that they were hard to move and awfully painful.

On that last day I cycled for the first 2 hours till I reached a portable toilet in the middle of nowhere. It was unlocked. I went in and just sat down. My hands were cold and I was starting to get worried. I placed them under my armpits to get warmth into them. If a warm oil workers truck pulled up I would probably get in. I was done.

I was only about 20km from the town of Deadhorse, which promised unlimited food and heat. It that seemed way too far away at the slow pace I was making into the bitter cold headwind. But I forced myself to carry on. Lucile who traveled with me for the last month was a long way ahead. I think she too was struggling.

An hour after leaving the warmth of the portable toilet I saw what I thought were 2 Muskox about 200 meters to the right of Lucile, she was only about 200 meters ahead of me at this point. I thought she might stop to take a photo but she kept going. As I got closer I thought, holy crap that’s 2 Polar Bears. They were huge. They seemed to be playing with each other or fighting, I’m not sure. I didn’t think it was prudent to shout out and warn Lucile. She was too far away for any sound to penetrate the headwind. As I got closer I noticed that they were only Brown Bear. But they were quite big and only 8km from town.

It took me another hour to reach warmth and find out that the windchill pushed the temperature to -17 degrees. I struggled this day, but not all the trip was like this. Eventually we made it to Deadhorse Camp and a trip to the Arctic Ocean which was still frozen. But the end is only part of the journey.

cycling the Dalton highway
Windchill factor made it around -20 degrees celcius when the wind was 40km/h and I was cycling at 9km/h into it. At this moment, I felt like I looked. Crap
Frozen Arctic Ocean near Prudhoe Bay Alaska
Several hours later, standing on the Frozen Arctic Ocean
beaufort sea is frozen near Prudhoe Bay
Its cold, one finger is enough. I can’t feel my finger at this point anyway!

The Dream to Cycle the Dalton Highway

Cycling the Dalton Highway had been a dream of mine for a couple of years. I read stories of other cyclists making this journey and decided to stop dreaming and make it happen. I set off from Fairbanks with Lucile and Tim with around 11 days food, which made the bikes rather heavy, specially on the hills. And there were many hills and interesting campsites in the first couple of days. In fact some parts of the first couple of days it felt like we were either going up a steep hill or down a steep hill.

Arctic Trading Post

We nearly ran into a Brown Bear near the Arctic Circle trading post. We were warned it was heading our way by a gun packing Nun and several road crew but no sightings. The hills were ruthless on these days with our way too loaded bikes and on the last hill before the descent to camp I completely ran out of energy.

Dalton Highway
Before reaching the Dalton Highway
Arctic Trading Post on route
Arctic Trading Post
arctic trading post
Nice in its day
Dalton Highway
Start of cycling the Dalton Highway
Dalton Highway
camping dalton highway
trucks on the dalton highway
cycling the dalton highway
cycling the dalton highway
cycling the dalton highway
cycling the dalton highway
Yukon River dalton highway
Yukon River campsite dalton highway

Mudfest

After reaching the Yukon River and grabbing a large meal inside a large storm hit, which promised to make the road a sloppy mudfest. It didn’t disappoint. The road at this point turned to mud which had the consistency of wet concrete. It was getting stuck in everything. My brakes failed. My mudguards were so packed with mud I was unable to make any progress and had to clean out the mud regularly. To ensure the mud didn’t dry out it rained heavily on and off all day, including sleet at one point.

Luckily I use a Rohloff hub that works great in the mud. Lucile with her derailler gears got so clogged up she was forced to push up steep hills. The wet concrete like mud sets as hard as concrete when its left on the bike and not cleaned off. This section of road was not the place to get a flat tyre, but I managed to get one. Its easy to repair when conditions are good, but crap when everything is covered in mud.

At the end of the day we found a discarded toilet brush (I think it was covered in mud!) on the side of the road to clean out the mud from every place on the bike. But the damage had been done to my bike, one of my water bottle holders broke due to the weight of the mud and rough roads and my front fender broke due to the weight of the mud minutes after arriving at camp. Oh and it was damn cold that night, which was good, cause that meant no mosquitoes which had been active during the other nights. Well I cant really say night because it doesn’t get dark. Tim at this point went on ahead, he was a much stronger rider than myself and Lucile.

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cycling the dalton highway
cycling the dalton highway
cycling the dalton highway
cycling the dalton highway
rain dalton highway
cycling the dalton highway
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dalton highway mud

I had heard that there was quite a big section of sealed asphalt road and when it started it just kept going and going. As it turned out for around 160km or so. It initially went past the rolling hills that reminded of the Australian Alps or photos I’ve seen of Scotland till it reached the Arctic Circle.

We stopped for the photo shoot, like everybody else and stayed for lunch. I was somewhat surprised that the vast majority of people stayed less than 5 minutes, took photos, bitched about the mosquitoes then turned around and drove back. All that way for a photo and turn around and head back out. Each to their own.

We continued along some rolling hills to a vast valley near a hill called Gobblers Knob which was named by one of the truck drivers, your imagination may be needed to find reason in the name. So I camped on the Knob for the night. It overlooks the Prospect Creek Valley which was reported to have the coldest temperature in Alaska of -57 degrees Celsius. By now there was no sunset and from here on we had 24 hours of sunlight.

flowers dalton highway
Arctic circle Cycling the dalton highway
dalton highway camping
State bird of Alaska, the mosquito
Critter warming up on the road
Oil pipeline alsaka
cycling the dalton highway

Coldfoot is just a village with a roadhouse and was the halfway point of the journey and I was looking forward to completing the 5 plate cyclist challenge. There is an all you can eat buffet and the challenge to cyclists is to eat 5 plates of food, which is quite easy when I’m burning between 5000-6000 calories a day. Mission complete. By now it was the end of day 6 so we planned to have a rest day in Coldfoot to eat, visit the information centre and then eat some more, another 5 plate challenge completed.

The sealed roads continued well past Coldfoot. It seemed to be about 160km of sealed roads till it finally ended. But the riding was great with the hot weather and string tailwind. Up to this point I saw no wildlife. Only mosquitoes. But on the side of the road was our first Moose.

By camp that night we were warned of a resident Bear in the area known as Chandlers Shelf, but other truck drivers thought that there were many more Wolves than Bears in that area. But we didn’t see any. At this point we were in the middle of the Brooks Range and at 777 meters above sea level is the tree line which means no trees grow above this point. There’s a place called the last Spruce Tree, with a sign that says ‘don’t cut down’. Well, you can’t tell an Alaskan what they can’t do. Somebody took to it with a chainsaw.

Moose dalton highway
Coldfoot
is the dalton highway sealed
dalton highway
alaskan humour or senseless

Once above the tree line we had to make it over Atigan Pass the highest road pass in Alaska at 1444m. It was said to be a challenge but with a strong tailwind I thought the several kilometers of steep climbing was ok. Lucile agreed. Once at the top a car stopped and out jumped Duncan, our warmshowers host from Anchorage. He was traveling the road with an old friend Art. They were in a rush so set off down the pass with us just behind them.

Only meters after starting the descent a truck was stopped. I thought it strange. I looked closer and seen white fluffy things moving all around the truck. It was a group of sheep. They weren’t worried about the truck but when us scary cyclist appeared they bolted across the road and up onto the scree slope to what they must have felt was safety. I hear they are not a common sighting from the Dalton Highway.

About 10 kilometers further down the North Slope I found a nice spot for lunch and started to get thing ready when I noticed a Brown Bear about 500 meters away on the side of a hill. Not a good lunch spot, time to find a safer one. There are no trees or cover here. Wonder how many other times I’ve had lunch near Bears but couldn’t see them through the trees!

is the dalton highway dusty
dust dalton highway
Atigan Pass - Cycling the dalton highway
Dahl sheep
Cycling the Dalton Highway down the north slope

Late that evening we caught up with Tim, he was cycling back from the end of the road after only getting a lift 100 miles. He said hitch hiking back was difficult, nobody would stop(he later got a lift the following day). We made camp under the Oil pipeline that was the reason the road was built in the first place and nearby there was a shipping container which made an ideal place to store our smelly bags so the bears couldn’t get them. After seeing  bear earlier in the day I was a little more conscience about their presence at camp during sleeping ours. I woke after midnight and went for a walk around the tent admiring the vast landscape of the tundra. Magical place.

Shipping container on the side of the road makes a great place to store food away from bears!
dalton highway camping
Dalton Highway Camping

At this point it was now day 10 and Lucile and I had covered 692km. We were getting close to the Arctic Ocean and moved out of camp slowing and met Duncan and Art again on their return journey. Right at that moment the wind started to rage from the North and when we set off we only managed about 10km/h. During the morning we were averaging 20km/h on the now dusty roadwork sections. Wind can make a big difference.

After beating ourselves up we decided it best to pull over and eat some food and set up camp for a couple of hours then start cycling again near midnight when the wind had hopefully calmed down. A large storm was raging on the now distance Brooks Range and it seemed to suck the wind away.

Midnight Cycling

So at 10.30pm we set off and didn’t stop until just near 1am. Cycling to the midnight sun. It was still light with the sun trying its best to make it through the clouds. . We made good time. During the ride the silence was amazing. When a truck approached us we could hear it from maybe 5-10km away. Amazing how sound carries. Our camp for the night was near the Sag river which was still frozen in parts. It was about 4 degrees when we made camp.

storm dalton highway
Cycling at midnight
Midnight riding in Alaska

We were now close enough to the end that we could have made it in one day, but the late start from camp didn’t help. We continued across the expansive Arctic Tundra. Passing heards of Caribou, a distant Muskox and a Red Fox which was more of Blonde than Red.

I lost count of the number of Caribou during the day. Just near the place we saw the Muskox and Fox and family told of a sighting of a Wolf that was the size of a small pony. We must have just missed it. Apparently there were 2 of them. And I thought they were just like large dogs, I was assured they not. More like the size of bears but not as fat and solid. Maybe good not to cross paths on that day. By late evening the wind was increasing from the north and starting to get cold. We made camp with only 44km to go on the last day which was brutal.

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Caribou dalton highway

Cycling the Dalton Highway – Reflections

My experiences cycling the Dalton Highway was one I will never forget. I will forever remember many moments, the animals, the wilderness, the mosquitoes, the heat, the cold the campsites and the emotion of the journey. Sure there were times that it was not too much fun cycling through soft mud in the rain with trucks, cars and motorbikes passing by spraying mud over me or the last day cycling into the string arctic headwind but in reflection it was a combination of the difficult times that seemed to make the amazing times exponentially better.

20 years from now the road will be paved all the way to the Arctic Ocean and bus tours will be cruising up and down the highway. That is the inevitable future of tourism in the area. So to be part of the cycling community that has completed the trip in its raw form now makes me rather chuffed.

Information for cycling the Dalton Highway

In total I spent 12 days cycling the Dalton Highway. I covered 809km which is a longer time than most people. I was carrying food for 11-12 days which weighed about 15kg. At times I was carrying 12 litres of water, normally late in the day, not all pull out camp areas are near water. So at times my bike was heavy.

There always seemed to be a steep hill at the end of the day when I was loaded with food and water, damn. I rode from south to north and past about 15 cyclists over the 12 days, about half were traveling all the way to South America with quite a few going to Mexico, so I’m not the only one. There is about 100 cyclists that attempt the Dalton Highway every year but I spoke with workers along the road who advised that there were above average numbers this year even though its only early in the season.

The airport staff advised that about 30 cyclists had arrived at the airport by mid June. They had never seen that many so early. There are no supplies for cyclists for the 809km so we carried all our food, tools, spares etc. Some cyclists had a lot a problems and needed to catch a lift with trucks or passing cars part way along due to either mechanical problems or underestimating the trip.

Yukon River and Coldfoot had meals which we ate, they were reasonably priced but no food supplies other than bottles of coke and a couple of chocolate bars. I was treated with the utmost care and respect from Truckers, they were very considerate and slowed down when safe and appropriate. Unfortunately some cyclists are not so considerate of them, give them space, move to the side of the road when safe, use mirrors because when its a strong headwind you will not hear them approach, don’t sit on the middle of the road or have lunch on bridges (yes, cyclists on the road were doing this and nearly got cleaned up by the trucks), don’t give the rest of us a bad name.

Prior to heading off on the trip I gathered information from other cycling blogs and people who had first hand experience on the road like my warmshowers host Duncan who traveled the road many times and was a goldmine of information. He also had the knowledge of all the cyclists who had stayed with him over the years and hearing the information they reported back. This is not the place to do your first cycle tour.

If you want any further information or have any questions leave me a comment or contact me through my contact page and I will try and help if I can with information. It’s a great adventure.

Cycling the Dalton Highway Stats

  • Day 1 Fairbanks to Washington Creek – 56km – 2 hours 38 mins
  • Day 2 Washington Creek to start of Dalton Highway – 83km – 2 hours 11 mins
  • Day 3 Start of Dalton Highway to Yukon River Camp – 89km – 1 hour 36 min between sunset and sunrise
  • Day 4 Yukon River Camp to Mud Camp – 55km – 47 minutes between sunset and sunrise
  • Day 5 Mud Camp to Gobblers Knob (above the arctic circle)- 68km – 24 hours of sunlight
  • Day 6 Gobblers Knob to Coldfoot – 70km – 24 hours of sunlight
  • Day 7 Coldfoot to Marions Creek camp – 8km – 24 hours sunlight
  • Day 8 Marions Creek to Chandler Shelf Rest area – 95km – 24 hours of sunlight
  • Day 9 Chandler Shelf rest area to Green container camp – 95km – 24 hours of sunlight
  • Day 10 Green container camp to Tundra Camp – 73km – 24 hours of sunlight
  • Day 11 Tundra Camp to Windy Camp – 73km – 24 hours of sunlight
  • Day 12 Windy Camp to Deadhorse – 44km – 24 hours of sunlight

Next : Fairbanks to Tok


Bicycle Touring and Bikepacking Pages might like:
Bicycle Touring Gear List
Bicycle Touring Spares and Tool Kit
Cycling from Alaska to Argentina

Where to buy all the best gear for Bicycle Touring and Bikepacking:
REI | Moosejaw |Amazon | Backcountry.com | 
Campsaver | Competitive Cyclist | Patagonia | Snowys.com.au | MEC Canada -Bicycle Touring Gear | Wildfiresports.com.au

Cycling the Dalton Highway Alaska. From Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay.

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About the Author:
Brad is an Australian who has completed the hiking Triple Crown after he hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail and Appalachian Trail. He has hiked on every continent (except Antarctica) and has cycled from Alaska to Ecuador. He is an expert on outdoor gear currently living in Chile.

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37 thoughts on “Cycling the Dalton Highway to Prudhoe Bay Alaska”

  1. Can you share some insight on your bike set up? I am debating if I can do this trip on my mountain bike, so I don’t have to purchase a gravel bike. Additionally, what set up did you use to hold all your gear.

    Reply
    • You can do it on a mountain bike. Just be sure you are able to carry enough food and water. I used a touring bike, so I used panniers and a rear bike rack to carry all my gear. You might be able to use a bikepacking setup which is a good idea with mountain bikes.

      Reply
      • Re: Food and other supplies. If you are cycling north to south and get to your starting point (Deadhorse) on the Dalton Highway Express then you can leave food parcels at Yukon River Camp and Coldfoot on the trip up. If you’re cycling south to north, consider sending food parcels ahead of time to those same places via one of the tour companies in Fairbanks. This is exactly what I did when I cycled the road. It lightens the load considerably.

    • I used a mountain bike with fixed forks. Back rack with panniers and dry bag. On the front forks I had Salsa anything cages. Ortlieb handlebar bag plus attachments on handlebars for extra water bottles. Consider sending food parcels to Yukon River Camp and Coldfoot so you’re not carrying everything at once. It lightens the load. Carry a small but strong stick (or have a tent peg to hand). If you cycle when the road is muddy, your bike will clog up very quickly and it will grind to a halt, believe me.
      I lived on, worked on and cycled on the Dalton Highway. Any questions, post on here using my name. I’ll keep the page open.

      Reply
  2. Hi.

    I just found your page during me research for my upcoming Alaska bike trip. you haven’t bee. I exactly the area I suppose to go but maybe you have a ‘feeling’ how much time would make sense – for the ‘main area’ if Alaska, South East part. I thought maybe 4 weeks? what do you think? I am not in rush and wanna take some time for relaxing and some hike too.

    let me know when you ‘have a feeling’. :D

    thank you. and thank you for the great artikel and information. wonderful trip, amazing adventure!

    Kathrin

    Reply
    • 4-6 weeks would be a good amount of time to spend in Alaska bike touring and hiking. I spent about 6 weeks and never felt in a rush and had time to explore a lot of the state.

      Reply
  3. great article and photos! i am planning to ride from Prudhoe Bay to Anchorage end of may to beginning of June this year. Any advice / hints on the weather conditions?
    I have read it would be the most dry season. But historical weather reports suggests that it might be quite cold as well..

    Bike bike & pack would be a lighter setup than yours – traveling a bit faster (if conditions allow :) )

    Appreciate the advice!

    Reply
    • Hey Peter, End of May, start of June is very early to be on the North Slpoe of Alaska. Keep in mind it will be very cold and there will still be a lot of snow on the ground. I was there in mid June and it was awesome but cold. If cycling north from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay be aware of the potentially very cold and very strong headwinds that come from the Arctic Ocean to the Brooks Range. If you could start your trip mid June or Late June at the earliest it would be more comfortable, good luck.

      Reply
    • No sat phone but there is enough traffic that if you had a problem someone would help. I went in June which was quite early, July is more popular with warmer weather

      Reply
  4. Great adventure! I must have missed it but when exactly did you start your trip? I don’t think i saw any dates

    Reply
      • Thank you. What do you think it would be the best time? I am thinking end of August for my birthday:) also, what would be the best bike option? Fat bike vs mountain bike vs gravel? Two weeks would be enough or plan for more?

      • July would be good and it will start to get colder in August, specially towards the end of the month. A normal touring bike or mountain bike will be fine, even a gravel bike. Just be aware you will need to carry quite a bit of food so there will be quite a lot of weight. 2 weeks should be enough

  5. Thank you for sharing this beautiful post. I’m hoping to To this ride spring 2019, I can’t seem to find much info on the best seasons. I’m thinking end if April north to south. I may be rolling solo which scares the hell out of me!

    Reply
    • If you head there end of April it will be winter conditions. The snow will not have melted. Studs for your tyres? Wonter clothing? Good luck.

      Reply
  6. Hi,
    What a great article about the Dalton Highway! It I’m considering doing this road for the next summer. My plan is to start in Fairbanks and then arrive at Prudhoe Bay. Will it be easy to get a ride to Fairbanks? How were the temperature? Does it often rain? How is the road? A good gravel road or a very bad one with washboards?

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Thank you Michele, the ride from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay is awesome. The ride back from Prudhoe Bay can be difficult. A girl I cycled with got a ride on a truck very easily and a guy a cycled with waited 2 days before giving up and cycling back. It was cold and windy in the tundra north of Atigan pass, below zero close to Prudhoe Bay. As for rain we hit a bit of rain which made the road very muddy, but that is all part of the adventure. Many cyclists ride the road, you will be fine.

      Reply
  7. Wow!!!! What a crazy cycling! Maybe someday in the future I could do this path and with another mad guy. Need to be dare.

    It’s wonderful Pure Nature.

    Greetings from Brazil

    Reply
    • It’s a great cycle journey. I will be cycling in Brazil in a couple of years as I continue my journey south.

      Reply
  8. Sorry, I meant Arctic!! We’ve sailed our wooden sailboat up in the Beaufort Sea, even near the pack ice, and hell yes, it’s brutal!!

    Reply
  9. Can’t believe it took me so long to find this post – thanks so much for sharing! Know a bit about that stinging Arctic wind… good work cycling into it/surrounded by it for so many miles!

    Reply
    • Thanks, this was worse than a stinging Atlantic wind, it was the Arctic wind from the Beaufort Sea. Oh, brings a chill to my spine just writing about it again.

      Reply
  10. Is it possible to reach Point Barrow by Bike or Hiking? Did you bring firearms for safety or what is your course of action against the animals you witnessed? I am contemplating a journey from Point Barrow Alaska to Southernmost Point Key West FL similar to Bill Marcell, however cannot seem to bridge the gap between Prudhoe Bay to Point Barrow. Being from Alaska and have had several moose encounters already, I’m curious if they just shuffle off due to fear or disinterest. Looking forward to this if at all possible! Wonderful article brother!

    Reply
    • Thanks for the kind words. I believe there is a winter road to Pt Barrow or nearby but not during summer. I suspect. Lot of the land is owned/leased/controlled by the oil industry so access might not be possible. I flew back to Fairbanks from Prudhoe bay with a stopover at Barrow. So I cannot help you in that regard. I took bear spray with me, just in case. I put all my food/toiletries/smelly stuff in one pannier and placed it 20-30 yards away from my tent. No use hanging food as the trees are either non existent or very small and weak. Good luck with your trip. The

      Reply
  11. Great info. I plan a trip in 2016 from Key West Fl., to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Would love to talk with you about the northern part.

    Reply
    • Thanks Bill. I replied to your private message sent through the contact me page. Would love to help out if I can.

      Reply
  12. Well done you guys.
    That was an awesome feat. Made my cycle trip look effortless!!! Inspirational stuff.
    Thanks for recording and sharing Brad.

    Mark.

    www.completingourjourney.blogspot.com

    Reply

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