Alaska Regional Roundup

Small-plane airstrip in Eagle, Alaska

Comment On This Article

Add to My Favorites

Fairbanks is the hub of the Interior, and road-trip possibilities abound: Head south to Denali and Anchorage on the Parks Highway. Go north to the edge of the world — Prudhoe Bay and the Arctic Ocean — by way of the unpaved Dalton. From Fairbanks, you can drive southeast to Valdez on the Richardson Highway, northeast to Circle by way of the Steese, or deep into the heartland on various gravel roads.

Fairbanks is Alaska's second largest city, but it is the only bona fide city in the Interior. These roadways — although few and far between — connect communities located far from the majority of state's population and the mitigating effects of ocean breezes. If you can stand winter's bone-chilling cold and cabin fever — or just avoid the Interior's colder months altogether — there are the endless summer days to look forward to.

Fairbanks

By the Light of the Midnight Sun
Take a summer road trip where the sun sets long after you're ready to hit the sack: Explore the Interior on three Fairbanks-area highways.

Read By the Light of the Midnight Sun

Crossing the Alaskan Wilderness
The Dalton Highway begins in Fairbanks, passing by old gold rush towns and Native Alaskan communities on its way to the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay. Bone up on some history, natural history, and a few rules for the road.

Read Crossing the Alaskan Wilderness

Doing the Dalton
Now that you've read the road guide to the Dalton Highway, follow author Bill Sherwonit and a friend as they make this exhilarating, desolate drive north to the Arctic Ocean.

Read Doing the Dalton

Denali

Denali's Trailless Wilderness
Native Alaskan Bill Sherwonit gets off the beaten track in Denali's Outer Range, a “trailless wilderness”. With no trailheads, signposts, campgrounds, or developed pathways, backpackers and hikers are on their own; however, self-sufficiency seems like a small price to pay for the chance to share the great outdoors with a grizzly or two.

Read Denali's Trailless Wilderness

Photo Galleries

On the Mountain
Denali — or Mount McKinley, as the mountain is officially known — is a hard peak to catch sight of through the clouds. Get up close and personal with the mountain Native Alaskans named"The Great One" with photos of climbers on and around Denali.

Read On the Mountain