Alaska and Yukon

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Start in Watson Lake, YT; then Haines, AK;  Haines Junction, YT; Tok, AK; Valdez and Whitter, AK; Kenai  Peninsula  and Homer Spit, AK; Denali, AK; Chicken, AK and Dawson City, YT; Frances Lake, YT; End in Watson Lake.

Lonely Yukon roads lead to a rugged highway over White Pass that descends nearly 3000 feet to the sea.  Overwhelming crowds from harbored cruise ships await in Skagway.  This quaint town lost it's charm amongst the elbow to elbow mass of humanity.  The Skagway to White Pass train is worth the time, otherwise, catch the first possible ferry to Haines.  

Transition from the quiet town of Haines with its cool ocean breezes to high mountain air on the drive to Haines Junction YT.  The Kluane and St. Elias Mountain Ranges with peaks over 9000 feet parallel the Alaska highway on your journey. 

The true Yukon and Alaska outback.  Bush planes take off to distant fishing and hunting camps.  Wide glacier-fed rivers meander across the vast tree covered landscape punctuated by distant mountain peaks.  Forests shelter wildlife and offer only brief glimpses of grazing bears, soaring eagles and nesting swans.

From the Worthington Glacier, waterfalls tumble and run to the sea and the picturesque Valdez harbor.  This town has an incredible history of goldmining, the infamous 1964 Good Friday earthquake and town relocation, and is home to the Alaskan pipeline.  Terrific museums, bicycling, bear watching, fishing, hatchery tours, and seafood dining.  A great place for a few days layover.

An Epic Roadtrip must! Ferry from Valdez through the Prince Edward Sound.  Sealions laze on rocky crags and buoys, seals ride icebergs, fishing boats dot the endless ocean landscape and breathtaking peaks and glaciers tower over bays.  The ride ends at the town of Whittier, population 272, with one single lane 2.5 mile tunnel under the Portage Glacier giving passage for both trains and vehicles to the Kenai  Peninsula and Anchorage.

The Kenai boasts one of the largest grizzly population and a large tourist population too! Bears fishing just feet away from fly fisherman, campers packed onto the Homer Spit, boats jam into the harbors and tourists flock to the gift shops.  A couple days are all that is needed for the Kenai Peninsula.

  The Sterling highway parallels Cook Inlet with views of the snowcapped Mt. Redoubt and Iliamna Volcanos.  Ninilchik is home to this charming Russian Orthodox Church and cemetary.  Stay near Girdwood on the highway to Anchorage for great bike riding on the Bird to Gird trail.

A miracle occurred!  Driving rain for an entire day and night gave way to early morning fog and brief morning views of Denali, still over 80 miles away but awe-inspiring all the same. 

 Top of the World Highway from Tetlin Junction to Chicken AK and Dawson City YT offers expansive views across mountain ranges, narrow gravel roads, high altitude tundra, and small hawk owls along the way.  The Chicken mining camp is one of a kind and Dawson City with its old-west gold mining history can only be accessed from this highway for a few months each year by ferry across the broad Yukon River.  

The Klondike Highway to Carmacks is all business serving active mining and consruction traffic.  Then the 400 mile Campbell Highway gives way to beautiful views of the Yukon River, generous Little Salmon Lake with its summer cabins, remote camping along the pristine Lapie River, glassy Coffee lake, and fishing on Frances Lake.  The final 250 miles are gravel and dirt.  We kissed the pavement when we reached Watson Lake!