Winter Driving in Alaska
May 26th, 2011, 04:19 AM
#1
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Winter Driving in Alaska
Hi all,
I am planning to visit Alaska next March , in order to see aurora, which believes to have higher intensity around equinox. I would like to rent a car at Anchorage airport and drive to Fairbanks, where aurora can be seen frequently. I want to know if it's dangerous to drive along the Route 3. Any accommodation/gas stations opened in March en route? I am from Hong Kong and have little experience driving in snow.
I am planning to visit Alaska next March , in order to see aurora, which believes to have higher intensity around equinox. I would like to rent a car at Anchorage airport and drive to Fairbanks, where aurora can be seen frequently. I want to know if it's dangerous to drive along the Route 3. Any accommodation/gas stations opened in March en route? I am from Hong Kong and have little experience driving in snow.
May 26th, 2011, 07:57 AM
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Why not fly into Fairbanks and rent a car there? Should be just one more short flight from Anchorage and you avoid a nasty winter drive.
Anyway, to answer your Q, in March you could find dry roads and encounter few problems or you could arrive after a bad snow storm and have very dangerous, icy roads for parts of the route. Most likely there will be some icy roads somewhere on your route.
I've only been up there three times in winter, usually driving from Anchorage to Homer to photograph eagles (January and February) or Haines to the Yukon in April to photograph Dall sheep, and each time we hit some snow on the passes but nothing we couldn't handle with a 4-WD. But we were lucky. Fairbanks is much colder than where I was.
I am from Hong Kong and have little experience driving in snow.
I would definitely try to fly into Fairbanks to cut down on the driving!
Anyway, to answer your Q, in March you could find dry roads and encounter few problems or you could arrive after a bad snow storm and have very dangerous, icy roads for parts of the route. Most likely there will be some icy roads somewhere on your route.
I've only been up there three times in winter, usually driving from Anchorage to Homer to photograph eagles (January and February) or Haines to the Yukon in April to photograph Dall sheep, and each time we hit some snow on the passes but nothing we couldn't handle with a 4-WD. But we were lucky. Fairbanks is much colder than where I was.
I am from Hong Kong and have little experience driving in snow.
I would definitely try to fly into Fairbanks to cut down on the driving!
May 27th, 2011, 01:18 PM
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Nothing worth visiting along the route from Anchorage to Fairbanks?
I've only been in that part of the state in summer and early fall, so take this with a grain of salt ... Denali Park and Talkeetna are probably the two biggest attractions summer-fall but in winter the main access road into Denali is closed beyond the first few miles and most all of the businesses near the entrance are closed.
Not sure how much of the tourist stuff in Talky is open in March ...
I've only been in that part of the state in summer and early fall, so take this with a grain of salt ... Denali Park and Talkeetna are probably the two biggest attractions summer-fall but in winter the main access road into Denali is closed beyond the first few miles and most all of the businesses near the entrance are closed.
Not sure how much of the tourist stuff in Talky is open in March ...
May 27th, 2011, 05:24 PM
#5
If you want to experience the area between Anchorage and Fairbanks in the winter, don't drive, take the train.
http://www.alaskarailroad.com/travel...8/Default.aspx
Driving the Parks Hwy (Route 3) in winter is not that hard, but it can be cold and icy (much more dangerous than snowy) and frankly it isn't all that interesting, just long. If you can't take the train (just one train/week) fly and rent a car locally in Fairbanks. One-way car rental prices between Anchorage and Fairbanks or v.v. are extortionate.
http://www.alaskarailroad.com/travel...8/Default.aspx
Driving the Parks Hwy (Route 3) in winter is not that hard, but it can be cold and icy (much more dangerous than snowy) and frankly it isn't all that interesting, just long. If you can't take the train (just one train/week) fly and rent a car locally in Fairbanks. One-way car rental prices between Anchorage and Fairbanks or v.v. are extortionate.
Jun 7th, 2011, 10:40 PM
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Hi Ostertag, I would definitely NOT recommend driving. I've lived in Anchorage for 13 years. I've driven this road a few times, in summer and winter. There is no where, really, no where to stop between Talkeetna and Denali. What little facilities are available along the road are clustered near the entrance to Denali and will probably be closed in March. It is not unusual for people to get stuck on this road for DAYS in winter. And March is still winter. Really, fly. Alaska Air has flights at regular intervals from Anchorage to Fairbanks all day. It is a 5-hour, boring drive on a good day. There is no cell phone service from Talkeetna to Denali. Once in Fairbanks, go to the Turtle Club for dinner, and if you love Christmas, visit Santa's shop in North Pole, about 20 minutes from Fairbanks. Visit the University of Alaska Fairbanks Museum of the North. Also, there are sections of the oil pipeline available just north of Fairbanks for photo ops. Have fun.
