The Dalton Highway was built in five months in 1974 to carry pipe and people north, and it still works for a living. Alaska DOT&PF says most of the traffic is commercial trucks hauling fuel, equipment and supplies to the North Slope. Everything a traveller needs on it, the agencies say plainly, you bring with you.
BLM calls it one of the most isolated roads in the United States. The road begins 84 miles north of Fairbanks at Livengood and ends 414 miles later at Deadhorse, the industrial camp at Prudhoe Bay. This page sets out only what the two agencies publish: the surface, the distances between services, the four BLM campgrounds, the hazards they name and the preparation they ask for. For conditions on the day, both point to Alaska 511.
What the Dalton is, and why people drive it
Oil was found at Prudhoe Bay in 1968 and the road went in to build the pipeline that would carry it out. BLM records that the Haul Road was finished in five months. It stayed shut to the public until 1981, when the state allowed traffic as far as milepost 211, and only in 1994 did the whole road open.
What it offers now is distance and latitude: rolling forested hills, the Yukon River, the Arctic Circle, the Brooks Range and the North Slope, with few services along the way. DOT&PF, whose crews keep it open, is blunt about it. This is not your average highway, and it demands respect.
One thing it does not offer is the ocean. Public access ends at Deadhorse, about 8 miles short of the water. The access roads are guarded around the clock, permits for individuals are not available, and the only way through is with the one authorized tour provider, booked at least 24 hours ahead.
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The road, in the order you drive it
From Fairbanks you reach the start on the Steese and Elliott highways, joining the Dalton at Elliott Highway milepost 73.1. Mileposts then count from Livengood. BLM singles out the first stretch to the Yukon River, mileposts 0 to 56, for dangerous curves and loose gravel. Truckers named the hills north of the river and still use the names: Roller Coaster at 75, Beaver Slide at 110, Gobblers Knob at 132.
Yukon Crossing sits just north of the river bridge at milepost 56, with a seasonal BLM visitor contact station. Five Mile Campground is at 60, Finger Mountain at 98, and the Arctic Circle wayside at 115, where a side road climbs half a mile to a campground. Coldfoot, milepost 175, is the hinge of the trip: gas, food, lodging, repair, and the Arctic Interagency Visitor Center, open daily from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Marion Creek Campground is 5 miles on, Wiseman 3 miles west of the highway at 189.
North of Wiseman the trees thin out. Sukakpak Mountain rises at 204 and the road climbs to Atigun Pass at 244, where BLM says storms can dump snow even in June and July, with a major winter avalanche zone either side. Galbraith Lake Campground lies 4 miles west of the highway at 275, Toolik Lake research station at 284 has no public facilities and no camping, and Slope Mountain at 300 marks the northern edge of BLM land. Happy Valley at 334 has room for camping beside an active airstrip. Deadhorse is at 414.
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What the agencies ask of your vehicle
Neither agency requires four-wheel drive. Both require self-sufficiency. DOT&PF says travelling the Dalton takes a reliable vehicle capable of handling rough road conditions, along with extra fuel, food, water, first aid supplies, spare tires, warm clothing and other emergency equipment. BLM is specific about tires: at least two full-sized spares mounted on rims, with a jack and tools.
Check your rental agreement first. Both agencies warn that many rental car companies prohibit travel on the Dalton or do not cover damage incurred on it, which DOT&PF says can be very expensive in a breakdown or accident.
BLM’s list, before you leave Fairbanks and what to carry
- 01Check that all tires are properly inflated and all fluids topped up, replace worn hoses and belts, and buy groceries and supplies. Empty an RV holding tank and fill its water tank.
- 02At least two full-sized spare tires mounted on rims, a tire jack and tools, emergency flares, extra gasoline, motor oil and wiper fluid, and a CB radio.
- 03Drinking water, ready-to-eat food, camping gear, medications, toilet paper and garbage bags.
- 04Rain gear, warm clothes including hat and gloves, a first aid kit, sunglasses and sunscreen.
- 05Insect repellent and a head net. BLM says mosquitoes emerge in mid-June and last into August, and calls a head net and bug jacket essential outdoors.
Do not skipThere are no public or emergency medical facilities on the Elliott or Dalton highways. BLM tells drivers to be prepared for any emergency, to use CB channel 19 to relay a message to the Alaska State Troopers in a critical one, and that it may be many hours before help arrives.
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Fuel, water and the distances between services
BLM publishes a services table for the whole road, and it is short. Gas appears at three places: Yukon Crossing at milepost 56, Coldfoot at 175 and Deadhorse at 414. The longest run between them is 239 miles, Coldfoot to Deadhorse, and it is 140 miles from Fairbanks to the Yukon River before the first one. Carry extra fuel and confirm hours before you go, because a station that is closed is the same as a station that is not there.
Tire and vehicle repair appears at two places only, Coldfoot and Deadhorse: the two stations BLM means when it says repair is limited across the 500 miles from Fairbanks. Restaurants and lodging are at Yukon Crossing, Coldfoot and Deadhorse, lodging also at Wiseman. Water is listed at Five Mile, Coldfoot and Deadhorse, and the only public RV dump station is at Five Mile. There are no grocery stores and no banks; ATMs are in Deadhorse. Yukon Crossing closes in winter and Wiseman is limited.
Communications are thinner still. BLM says AT&T and GCI cell service reach Coldfoot and Galbraith Lake but not the length of the highway, that there are no pay phones, and that a satellite phone or other satellite device is worth renting.
Do not skipTreat all water. BLM says it is best to bring your own, and that stream water used for cooking or cleaning must be boiled rapidly for 3 to 5 minutes, or treated with iodine tablets or a filter, because giardia is widespread in Alaska waters.
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Camping along the highway
BLM maintains four campgrounds, all first come, first served with no reservations and none with electrical hookups, open, in its words, late May through early September. Five Mile at milepost 60 is undeveloped: seven gravel sites, a vault toilet and potable water from an artesian well, beside the highway’s only RV dump station. Arctic Circle at 115 has 19 sites, fire rings, picnic tables, two vault toilets and no water. Marion Creek at 180 is the developed one: 27 gravel sites, 14 of them pull-through, potable water from a hand pump, vault toilets, firewood and a camp host. Galbraith Lake at 275, up 4 miles of access road of which the last 2.5 are unimproved, has roughly 12 unimproved sites, a vault toilet and creek water that must be treated.
As of September 2026 BLM lists $12 per night at Arctic Circle, Marion Creek and Galbraith Lake, and $5 per use for the Five Mile dump station, payable by cash, check or card through the Recreation.gov app’s Scan and Pay, which works offline and charges once you are back in range. Its recreation page lists no camping fee at Five Mile while its 2024 guide marks the site a fee area, so read the kiosk when you arrive.
Away from them, recreational camping is limited to 14 days at any one spot. Park well off the road, because BLM says passing vehicles can fling rocks more than 30 feet off the highway, and never block the pipeline access roads. There is no camping at Toolik Lake and none in Deadhorse.
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Hazards and the season
BLM describes a road that is narrow, with soft shoulders, high embankments and steep hills, long stretches of gravel with sharp rocks, potholes and washboarding, and, depending on the weather, clouds of dust or slick mud. The intermittent pavement, it warns, can be deceptively smooth until a very deep pothole, and you may meet snow and ice north of Coldfoot in any month of the year.
Heavy or prolonged rain can cause flash floods any time in summer, and running water may cover the road or wash out culverts and bridges. BLM says not to cross flooded areas, and not to drive through dense smoke or flames from the lightning-caused wildfires that may be left to burn.
Summer can reach the high 80s Fahrenheit south of the Brooks Range and averages in the 30s and 40s in Deadhorse. BLM says snow starts to fly by late August or early September, that travel between late October and early April is not advised, and that in winter services of any kind exist only at the Yukon River camp, Coldfoot and Deadhorse, with windchills to minus 70.
The agencies’ rules of the road
- 01Big trucks and road maintenance equipment have the right of way.
- 02Slow to 25 to 30 mph when passing, so your stones do not break their glass.
- 03Drive with your lights on, and keep headlights and taillights clean.
- 04Do not stop on bridges, hills or curves. If you spot wildlife, pull over somewhere safe first, and let faster traffic past.
- 05Carry a CB radio. Truckers and road workers monitor channel 19, and it is how you reach flaggers and pilot cars.
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Leaving it as you found it
BLM hauls about 20 tons of litter from the Dalton back to Fairbanks each year, the nearest landfill, and asks travellers to pack out everything they pack in.
Stay on the road with your vehicle. Alaska state statute prohibits off-road vehicle use, snowmachines included, within 5 miles either side of the highway from the Yukon River to the Arctic Ocean. Hunting with firearms is prohibited in that same band north of the Yukon, bow hunting is allowed in most of it, and all hunting is prohibited in the Prudhoe Bay Closed Area.
Keep a clean camp, cook at least 100 feet from the tent, and use bear-resistant containers, which the Arctic Interagency Visitor Center lends free. Gold panning is permitted on a few federal stream segments south of Atigun Pass, never within 27 feet of the pipeline. If you find artifacts or fossils, leave them and tell BLM.
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Winter, and who to check with before you go
DOT&PF keeps the road open all year for the trucks, and says winter conditions can begin as early as August and persist through June, with snowfall recorded in July. Severe weather makes for hazardous driving, particularly at Atigun Pass, where avalanches can close the highway and leave travellers stranded for days, and heavy snowdrifts can become impassable even for large commercial trucks.
Check Alaska 511 for conditions and construction. DOT&PF explains why the reports are sparse: with no cell reception along the highway, operators must drive the road, return to camp and telephone Fairbanks before anything is entered. Message boards carry conditions at Fox, north of Fairbanks, and either side of Atigun Pass.
For land, camping and recreation questions, BLM’s Central Yukon Field Office answers on 907-474-2200. In summer the Arctic Interagency Visitor Center at Coldfoot, a partnership of BLM, the National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service, is the place on the road to ask what lies ahead.
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Questions people ask
How long is the Dalton Highway and how long does it take?
BLM gives 414 miles from Livengood to Deadhorse, 498 miles from Fairbanks. Under good conditions it estimates 13 or more hours of driving from Fairbanks to Deadhorse, 6 hours to Coldfoot, and says the round trip demands at least four days.
Where can I get fuel on the Dalton Highway?
BLM’s services table lists gas at Yukon Crossing (milepost 56), Coldfoot (175) and Deadhorse (414). The longest run between them is 239 miles. Carry extra fuel and confirm hours before you go.
Do I need four-wheel drive?
Neither agency requires it. DOT&PF requires a reliable vehicle able to handle rough road conditions, with extra fuel, food, water, first aid supplies, spare tires and warm clothing. BLM asks for at least two full-sized spare tires mounted on rims.
Is the Dalton Highway paved?
Mostly not. BLM and DOT&PF describe it as mostly gravel and dirt with intermittent sections of pavement, which BLM warns can be deceptively smooth until a deep pothole.
Can I camp along the Dalton Highway?
Yes. BLM runs four first come, first served campgrounds at mileposts 60, 115, 180 and 275, open approximately May to September, and allows recreational camping for up to 14 days at any one spot elsewhere, parked well off the road and never blocking pipeline access roads.
Can I drive to the Arctic Ocean?
No. Public access ends at Deadhorse, about 8 miles from the ocean. The access roads are guarded 24 hours a day, permits for individuals are not available, and the only way through is with the one authorized tour provider, booked at least 24 hours in advance.
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
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National Park Service (NPS)
US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
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