As sue mentioned, it for the most part is just a good gravel road, the kind many of us learned to drive on many years ago, especially those of us that grew up in rural North America. Just slow down and don't be afraid to get your emergency blinkers on and come to a complete stop over at the side, as it would appear that sue's husband has done, in the photo she posted.
The Canadian side is much better because, they kept the road up on the ridges, where you have good drainage and it doesn't ever flood. Now on the US side, it almost appears as if some drunken surveyor was following a moose, as it wandered along the creek beds looking for willows to eat. LOL If it is raining or has been, just take it even slower as it isn't very far between Dawson and the Tok Junction with the Alaska Highway. I have done the Top probably 6 or so times but never kept count. While living in Alaska we would often just make a week or two vacation out of running from the Fairbanks area down to Whitehorse, spend a few days, head to Dawson for a few more and then wander on back to Fairbanks or Anchorage, depending on where we were storing our RV at that time. We made the same trip several times in our airplanes.
It is just a most excellent drive with beautiful scenery.
Rainy weather on the Top, on the US side, is not real fun.
.JPG)
This was on the Canadian side, with just starting to rain, the road in this section was chip and seal in reasonable shape, even had a center line or in Canada I guess it would be a "centre" line. ๐
.JPG)
Here I was practicing my tire changing skills. LOL This is the first and only tire I have ever had to change myself on any of our trips to Alaska, that have covered the last 52 years, since 1962. Had one starting to go flat as I was pulling into a station in Watson Lake, many years before when we had a Class C rig. I have changed flats in Colorado, Florida, Montana and a few other places but this was a first for me. But it is one of those experiences I will always remember. It was no big deal, just took a couple of hours of my time.
We were on the Canadian side, just a few miles from the Customs station, and pulled off on a good side road to have lunch. My wife commented that something outside was making a funny hissing sound.
.JPG)
The Canadian side is much better because, they kept the road up on the ridges, where you have good drainage and it doesn't ever flood. Now on the US side, it almost appears as if some drunken surveyor was following a moose, as it wandered along the creek beds looking for willows to eat. LOL If it is raining or has been, just take it even slower as it isn't very far between Dawson and the Tok Junction with the Alaska Highway. I have done the Top probably 6 or so times but never kept count. While living in Alaska we would often just make a week or two vacation out of running from the Fairbanks area down to Whitehorse, spend a few days, head to Dawson for a few more and then wander on back to Fairbanks or Anchorage, depending on where we were storing our RV at that time. We made the same trip several times in our airplanes.
It is just a most excellent drive with beautiful scenery.
Rainy weather on the Top, on the US side, is not real fun.
This was on the Canadian side, with just starting to rain, the road in this section was chip and seal in reasonable shape, even had a center line or in Canada I guess it would be a "centre" line. ๐
Here I was practicing my tire changing skills. LOL This is the first and only tire I have ever had to change myself on any of our trips to Alaska, that have covered the last 52 years, since 1962. Had one starting to go flat as I was pulling into a station in Watson Lake, many years before when we had a Class C rig. I have changed flats in Colorado, Florida, Montana and a few other places but this was a first for me. But it is one of those experiences I will always remember. It was no big deal, just took a couple of hours of my time.
We were on the Canadian side, just a few miles from the Customs station, and pulled off on a good side road to have lunch. My wife commented that something outside was making a funny hissing sound.
CA Traveler wrote:
Klondike Loop Question: This loop gets lots of press and we're considering driving it. But from Milepost it includes 112 miles of gravel roads from Dawson City to Chicken. What are the pros and cons of taking this route? Apparently bragging rights is one pro.
Some images of the Top of the World Highway are on my website http://suethomas.ca/TopOfTheWorld.html
Images of the Taylor Highway here http://suethomas.ca/TaylorHwy.html
The scenery, on a clear day, is spectacular. Even better in September with the fall colours. We often see moose along the route too. If you enjoy drycamping/boondocking, the possibilities are endless.
If the weather has been, or is, wet the route can be miserable. The road surface can be a bit slick, not so much on the Yukon side but on the newly refurbished gravel portion of the Alaska side.
We usually take 2-3 days to drive through, rather than being in a hurry. It isn't a route on which to make good time. Some places it is narrow, some spots are rough.
You also need to keep your eyes open for oncoming RVers who have heard the horror stories of soft road shoulders and who refuse to budge from the center of the road. An approaching Class A motorhome caused us to move over the road's edge & partially into the ditch, while towing our fifth wheel because he refused to budge off the middle of the road.
The tour buses on the route do move over and give room. This picture between the community of Boundary and the border in July 2011.
