Prospect Creek, in the Interior, January 23, 1971. The highest is 100 degrees at Fort Yukon in 1915
Clubs, and why local knowledge counts here
Alaska has few roads and long gaps between them, so what a club knows is worth more than a map. The seasons are a good example: the Denali Highway is generally open mid-May to October 1, the Taylor from April to mid-October, the McCarthy Road maintained mid-May to mid-September, the Denali Park Road from late April until the first snow. The exact week any of them opens depends on the snow. Clubs are also where drivers learn which stream crossings on the Nabesna Road are running this year.
A club turns a vehicle into a calendar. Day runs, weekend trips, training days, garage nights, and a list of people who will come and get you.
Most clubs offer
01Organized runs and trips at different levels
02Training days for new members
03Trail maintenance and clean-ups
04A voice in local land-use planning
05Help, tools and advice
How to find the right one
Go on a run as a guest before you pay dues.
01Decide between a club built around one make and one open to anything.
02Ask about the pace and style: family camping, technical trails, long-distance travel.
03Ask what the dues pay for.
04Watch how they treat the newest driver on a run.
Why clubs matter
Routes stay open because someone shows up. Clubs that adopt trails, clear them after winter and take part in land-use planning are a large part of why there is still somewhere to drive.
Questions people ask
Do I need a certain vehicle?
Some clubs are built around one make. Many are open to anything with four-wheel drive and a willingness to learn.
How do I list my club?
Use the List your business form and choose Clubs. Tell us where you meet and how people can join a run.
How high is Alaska?
From Valdez at 20 feet to Mount McKinley at 20,310.
Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.
CantwellOn the Parks Highway at the west end of the Denali Highway.2,212 ft
ChickenOn the Taylor Highway in the historic Fortymile gold mining district, between Tetlin Junction and Eagle.1,700 ft
TokOn the Alaska Highway, 64 miles north of Slana on the Tok Cutoff by the Park Service’s reckoning. The Taylor Highway leaves at Tetlin Junction nearby.1,638 ft
GlennallenOn the Richardson Highway. The Park Service tells Nabesna Road travelers to fill up here, 76 miles south of Slana.1,414 ft
Delta JunctionOn the Richardson Highway between the Denali Highway junction at Paxson and Fairbanks.1,168 ft
ColdfootDalton Highway milepost 175, with the last tire and repair service before Deadhorse and the Arctic Interagency Visitor Center.1,058 ft
EagleEnd of the Taylor Highway on the Yukon, 160 miles from Tetlin Junction.877 ft
CircleEnd of the Steese Highway at mile 162, on the Yukon River. The BLM notes the town sits about 50 miles south of the Arctic Circle.585 ft
ChitinaEnd of the Edgerton Highway and the start of the McCarthy Road, off the Richardson 30 miles south of Glennallen.570 ft
FairbanksThe hub for everything north. The Richardson and the Parks both end here, the Steese leads northeast out of town, the Elliott begins at Fox on the Steese, and the Dalton starts 84 miles up the road.445 ft
PalmerOn the Glenn Highway where the byway turns up the braided Matanuska River toward the canyon.250 ft
AnchorageWhere the Glenn and the Seward highways meet. The Glenn Highway National Scenic Byway starts downtown.104 ft
HomerWhat the state’s byway page calls the end of the road on the Sterling Highway.101 ft
SewardThe southern end of the 127-mile Seward Highway, an All-American Road, on the Kenai Peninsula.89 ft
DeadhorseThe north end of the Dalton at milepost 414. Public access stops here, about 8 miles short of the Arctic Ocean.45 ft
ValdezSouth end of the Richardson Highway on Prince William Sound. The road out of town climbs straight into Thompson Pass.20 ft
Passes, high roads and summits
Mount McKinleyThe highest point in North America, in Denali National Park and Preserve. No road goes near it20,310 ft
Atigun PassDalton Highway milepost 244, where the road crosses the Continental Divide4,739 ft
Atigun PassDalton Highway: Livengood, 84 miles north of Fairbanks, to Deadhorse at Prudhoe Bay4,739 ft
Eagle SummitSteese Highway: Fairbanks to Circle on the Yukon River3,668 ft
Thompson PassRichardson Highway: Valdez on Prince William Sound to Fairbanks2,794 ft
Broad PassGeorge Parks Highway: Anchorage to Fairbanks, by the entrance to Denali National Park and Preserve2,400 ft
Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own
figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates),
retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.
