When driving the 135 mile Denali Highway, you should not take the word highway literally. Only 24 miles are paved and the rest is a “2 lane” gravel road. That being said – DRIVE IT! Many rental companies don’t allow you to drive the Denali highway, but some do. If yours doesn’t, there are several companies that rent Jeeps so you can get the full affect. Luckily, we have a Jeep so none of that was a concern to us. We started in Cantwell. I hadn’t really planned on driving the entire 135 miles to Paxson, but with such scenery, who could resist. There are some interesting fact about the highway here.
Almost as soon as the road turned to gravel, we came across an open field and we were treated to a view of Mt Denali in the distance…
The scenery only got better with every mile…
Most of the beautiful reds were courtesy of blueberry and cranberry bushes taking on their fall hues…
It took us nearly 6 hours to drive 135 mile because I had to stop so often. I think my favorite view was the cabin on the hill…
But the rivers and lakes come in a close second…
What a road…
The only bad thing was now, we had to drive back to Healy. We decided not to go back via the Denali Highway, but to go through Fairbanks instead. On the way, we saw glaciers and parts of the Alaska Pipeline…
Steve had planned a surprise for me on our last day in Healy. As always, he had checked Atlas Obscura when we arrived. He found the perfect place for me to get my abandon building fix, Igloo City. You know that little voice you have that says, “Don’t go in there, it isn’t safe”? Ya, I don’t have one…
Apparently, Steve’s little voice was missing too…
Hey, look, I can see the Jeep from here…
I was surprised how little trash and graffiti there was since it was so easy to get inside. Perhaps its remote location, half way between Anchorage and Fairbanks, keeps it off the radar for the local teenagers. But, you will always have some “art”…
The other buildings were interesting as well…
On the way back to Waldo, we had our final magnificant views of Mt Denali. Of course, I couldn’t resist a couple more shots…
And so ends our Alaska adventure. It’s been great having you along to enjoy it with us. Up next, wildlife in the Yukon and British Columbia.
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
The Wandering RVer 
The Denali Highway is one of my favorite places in Alaska for sure. It is so wild and there are no tourists. Like you, I’d always stop and take lots of photos. I used to ride my bike there a lot too.
I never did go inside the igloo. What a weird and wonderful place.
LikeLike
Being hunting season, the highway was actually quite busy. Anywhere you could park a rig was taken. That aside, it was a beautiful ride. I can see how riding a bike there would be relaxing. I HAD to go inside the igloo! Really neat.
LikeLike
Aw yes, hunting season. That is the DNL highway x-factor. Otherwise I think it is very peaceful. The only downside to riding a bike is one time I pulled off a side road and a very drunk and crazy man with a gun threatened me. I really thought I was going to die. I never felt the same way about the area again.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow. I can understand that! Drunk, crazy and gun don’t belong together!
LikeLike
LOVE the cabin photo. It really is so perfectly emblematic of Alaska. As for the igloo, Wow! That is so creepy! Especially the black window with “follow your dreams” scrawled under it. Yikes. Thanks for my upcoming nightmares!!
LikeLike
I couldn’t resist a picture of the cabin. To me it is Alaska, all the way. I had fun at the igloo. Hope it didn’t cause to many nightmares. Lol. Thanks for always coming along.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a gorgeous ride Laura. Cool to know some of the rout is gravel and 2 lane; I dig it. I figured the Denali Highway was a genuine highway all the way through.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is mostly gravel. It’s a gorgeous, scenic road!
LikeLike
That it is!
LikeLike