There are precious few adventures to be had while sitting down – but then, most road trips aren’t on the legendary Dalton Hwy. Also known as the Haul Rd, this punishing truck route rambles 414 miles from Alaska’s Interior to the North Slope, paralleling the Trans-Alaska Pipeline to its source at the supergiant Prudhoe Bay Oil Field. The highway reaches further north than any other on the continent, and is the only way to motor to the stunning Brooks Range and the Arctic. If you’re steeled for multiple days aboard a gravel rollercoaster – dodging hell-on-wheels big-rigs, risking bankruptcy if you need a tow, and (almost) reaching the edge of the Earth – it’s a helluva trip.
Fueled by crude-oil fever, the Dalton was built in a whirlwind five months in 1974. For the ensuing two decades, however, it was effectively a private driveway for the gas companies, until a bitter battle in the state legislature opened it to the public. Even now, though, you can’t drive clear to the Arctic Ocean: due to security concerns the road ends just shy of the oilfields, at the sprawling industrial camp of Deadhorse. From there the ‘beach’ is 8 miles distant, accessible only via a corporate tour.
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