Fairbanks: Arctic Circle Drive & Dalton Highway Winter Tour

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.90 (166 reviews) 95% rated it 5 stars

1/14

Duration16h

GroupUp to 26

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

The Dalton Highway reaches the Arctic Circle at Milepost 115, 200 miles from Fairbanks

You drive 200 miles north on the Dalton Highway with a professional guide, stop at the Yukon River twice, see the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, and reach the Arctic Circle Monument at Milepost 115 where you receive an official certificate. The day includes guide commentary and a lunch stop, with the return journey happening mostly in darkness during winter months. Dress for cold and variable weather, and arrive by 9:15 AM for check-in.

16h

Step-by-step itinerary

Arctic Circle Drive and Exploration

Depart from Fairbanks, Alaska
Travel Dalton Highway northbound
Stop to learn early homesteading history
Explore Yukon River Camp and eat
Celebrate at Arctic Circle Monument
Return south on Dalton Highway
Stop again at Yukon River Camp
Return to Fairbanks

The Experience

The Dalton Highway cuts north from Fairbanks through terrain that doesn't soften. You'll see the Trans-Alaska Pipeline running alongside the road for much of the drive — a steel line carrying oil from Prudhoe Bay, built in the 1970s and still working. Your guide will point out how the landscape changes as you move deeper into the Arctic, the trees getting smaller and more scattered until they thin out almost entirely. The longest stretch between stops is two hours, which sounds long until you realize you're watching the light change in ways you don't see anywhere else. In winter, that means a lot of darkness on the return drive back to Fairbanks, so the tour doesn't linger waiting for the aurora — if you want to hunt for northern lights, there's a separate aurora tour for that.

The Yukon River Camp sits roughly halfway, and you'll stop there twice — once heading north, once coming back. You can bring your own food or buy lunch there, and most people get out to walk down to the river itself. It's one of those moments where the scale of the place hits you. The river is wide and quiet in winter, and your guide will talk about what it meant to early homesteaders and trappers who had to cross it or live beside it. There are outhouses at most stops, which is the kind of detail that matters when you're hours from town.

The Arctic Circle Monument sits at Milepost 115 — that's the actual marker, not a visitor center or a gift shop. You get out, stand at it, and your guide hands you an official Arctic Circle Adventure Certificate. It's straightforward and real. The drive itself is the experience, not a destination you arrive at and spend an hour exploring. Check-in opens at 9:00 AM and closes at 9:15 AM sharp, so you need to be there early; missing that window means missing the tour.

What’s included

Your day includes a professional driver-guide with live commentary, stops at the Yukon River Camp (where you can purchase food), the Arctic Circle Monument at Milepost 115, and an official Arctic Circle Adventure Certificate. The tour operates in all weather, and you'll see the Dalton Highway, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, and the arctic tundra up close.

Good to know

Easy physical levelNot for heart conditionsNot for back problems

Operated by Northern Alaska Tour Company

Is this one for you?This works well if you want to reach the Arctic Circle without arranging your own vehicle or navigation on the Dalton Highway — the guide handles the drive and the stops, and the fixed schedule gets you to the monument and back to Fairbanks in one day. Winter darkness and remote terrain are part of the experience, not obstacles.