ultimate guide to driving the alcan from the lower 48 to alaska

Driving from the Lower 48 up to Alaska is one of the most beautiful roadtrips that you could ever dream of! But, it is most definitely not for the faint of heart. In March of 2023, I took a travel physical therapist position on a whim and had 2 weeks to pack our life up and start heading north. We were living in California at the time so this was going to be a 3,000 mile roadtrip!

Here is our ultimate guide with everything you need to know to take the Alaska Highway, also known as the Alcan, from the Lower 48 to ALASKA!

What is the Alaska Highway?

The Alaska Highway is the gateway to Alaska! It is a 1,397-mile long highway that begins in Dawson Creek, British Columbia and ends in Delta Junction, Alaska. Despite it being quite remote, it is well traversed for both road-trippers and truck drivers. It is important to note that cell service can be intermittent and non-existent while traveling along here. Also, because of how desolate it can be, it’s important to fill up on gas as frequently as you can and have your accommodations laid out prior to beginning!

Accessing the Alaska Highway

First you have to get to Dawson Creek, BC. We took the route through Seattle and crossed the border into Vancouver, Canada. We spent a day in Vancouver and opted to take a slight detour to drive the Sea to Sky Highway to Whistler. 10/10 wound recommend!

Vancouver, BC to Cache Creek, BC

215 miles via the Sea to Sky Highway and BC-99N. We booked the Bear’s Claw Lodge for the evening.

Cache Creek, BC to Dawson Creek, BC

525 miles via BC-97 and the Cariboo Highway.

Dawson Creek is the official beginning of the Alaska Highway. This was one of the more populated towns that we stopped in. There was a Walmart, Safeway and Canadian Tire here with a few different hotel chains to choose from, which made it the perfect stop to re-stock for the rest of our trip.

Dawson Creek, BC to Toad River, BC

398 miles via the Alaska Highway and BC-97.

We spent the night in a dog-friendly cabin at the Toad River Lodge, which is nestled in the heart of the Northern Canadian Rockies. The mountain peaks were spectacular & the frozen lake out back was the perfect touch! We watched the sunset amongst the mountains and rose early for sunrise. Another option was to drive a bit further to the Northern Rockies Lodge at Muncho Lake, but it was sold out (on a random weekday in March).

Toad River, BC to Whitehorse, Yukon

474 miles via BC-97 Yukon 1 W and the Alaska Highway

A few things to note for this stretch of drive.

• Liard River Hot Springs

• There are TONS of bison along the way. Give them space & keep your eyes peeled along the side of the road.

• The mountains just seem to be getting bigger and more beautiful the further north we drove. I couldn’t believe my eyes!

• Another larger city where there were many places to stay. We booked the Best Western, which was one of the nicer hotels to choose from.

Whitehorse, Yukon to Delta Junction, AK

494 miles via AK 2 E and Alaska Highway / Yukon 1 W

The final stretch! We crossed the border into Alaska and finished driving the Alcan staying in Delta Junction for a few nights. We initially were going to drive south towards Anchorage as we were moving to Palmer, AK for the next 8 months, but we decided to head north and extend the roadtrip a bit.

Tok is 93 miles from the Alaska Border. It is the major junction between the Alcan heading north to Fairbanks and the Tok cutoff (an extension of the Glenn Highway) heading west to Palmer and Anchorage.

The distance between Tok & Palmer: 231 miles

• Palmer to Anchorage: 43 miles

The distance between Tok & Fairbanks: 202 miles

Final Thoughts

We gave ourselves a full week to get from the Lower 48 into Alaska & it took just about that. In the more desolate and remote areas we filled up on gas at every gas station we passed. A good general rule of thumb would be to never let your tank get below 1/2. The service is intermittent and unreliable. We didn’t have our own internet with us, such as Starlink, but we did have our Garmin InReach. We traveled during the month of March & 4WD with all-terrain tires worked just fine for us! We had our chains with us but they were never required. The directions are fairly straightforward but we did have paper maps with us just in case!