For
vacationing motorists, there are basically 2 ways to drive
the Taylor Highway. One is via the Top of the World Highway
from Dawson City, Yukon, to the Alaska border, where it
joins the Taylor Highway at Jack Wade Junction. This is
the so-called "Klondike Loop" itinerary, an alternative
to the Alaska Highway route into Alaska. The other way is
to drive the Taylor Highway as a side trip, turning off
the Alaska Highway where it junctions with the Taylor Highway,
about 11 miles southeast of Tok, and driving all or part
of the Taylor Highway.
In this itinerary, we'll turn off the Alaska Highway at
Milepost DC 1301.7 and take a side trip up the Taylor Highway
all the way to where it ends at the community of Eagle on
the Yukon River. From Tetlin Junction on the Alaska Highway,
site of the boarded-up 40-Mile Roadhouse, the Taylor Highway
begins as a wide, paved highway. It also begins a gradual,
winding climb to the summit of Mount Fairplay. After about
28 miles you have some good scenic views of the Alaska Range
to the west. At Milepost 35 is a wayside with information
signs on the Fortymile caribou herd. The pavement ends at
Milepost 44, but watch for road construction this summer
as road improvement and paving continue for the next 20
miles.
At Milepost 49 is the first public campground on the Taylor
Highway, the BLM's West Fork campground. Last summer's campground
host was Don Marshall. Take the left fork in the campground
access road to find the sites overlooking a small lake.
For
RVers who want more company around them and a few more amenities,
wait until you get to Chicken at Milepost 66. There are
3 businesses in "commercial" Chicken: Beautiful
Downtown Chicken;
The
Original Chicken Gold Camp/Chicken Creek Outpost; and Chicken
Center's The Goldpanner. Beautiful Downtown Chicken, just
off the main highway on Chicken Airport Road, is a favorite
hangout and photo subject for many travelers. It offers
a cafe, saloon, gift shop and other services.
Also
located on Chicken Airport Road is the Original Chicken
Gold Camp/Chicken Creek Outpost, offering spacious RV sites,
a gift shop (with espresso bar) and informative talks on
modern mining techniques.
Owner/operator
Mike Busby, also a miner, moved the old Pedro Dredge No.
4 to his property in 1998 as an attraction for tourists.
On the highway adjacent Chicken Creek is Chicken Center/The
Goldpanner, offering gas, diesel, propane and tire repair,
as well as RV parking, gold panning, gifts and snacks.
Ingrid
leads tours of Historic Chicken Gold Camp from The Goldpanner.
Historic Chicken includes Tisha's Schoolhouse. ("Tisha"
was the late Ann Purdy, author of the book Tisha, a semi-autobiographical
account of her experiences as a young schoolteacher in the
Bush.)
Just past Chicken a couple of miles is the Mosquito Fork
Dredge Hiking Trail. This is a good example of a great little
stop along the highway that many motorists would probably
drive by, intent on covering as many miles as possible.
But if you stop and walk down this trail just 5 minutes
there's a great view of the entire Chicken Creek area. Walk
another 15 minutes to the end of the trail and a view of
the old Mosquito Fork Dredge.
About Milepost 70 the highway narrows, the road surface
deteriorates, and the switchbacks start. (If you are driving
in from Canada, this is where the Taylor Highway starts
to improve.)
At
Milepost 86 is the old Jack Wade No. 1 dredge, a popular
photo subject that sits right alongside the highway. Mining
dredges were used in Alaska and the Yukon from the turn-of-the-century
on into the 1950s to extract gold from the land. For anyone
interested in gold rush history and relics, the Taylor Highway
is a great route because it has 3 dredges: the Pedro Dredge
in Chicken; the Mosquito Fork Dredge, visible from the Mosquito
Fork Dredge Hiking Trail; and the Jack wade No. 1 dredge.
For travelers using the Taylor Highway as part of the Klondike
Loop, there's also Gold Dredge No. 4 just outside Dawson
City, YT.
Jack Wade Junction at Milepost 95.7 is decision-making time
for motorists. This is where you either turnoff for Eagle
or continue on to the Canadian border and the Top of the
World Highway to Dawson City if you are northbound on the
Taylor Highway, or continue on to Chicken if you are southbound
on the Taylor Highway.
Eagle has a lot to recommend it, although the Taylor Highway
to Eagle has some steep, narrow, winding sections of road.
However, RVers take heart: the large tour buses that transport
passengers embarking and debarking from the riverboat tours
on the Yukon River between Eagle and Dawson City manage
to drive the road (although they do use a pilot car). On
the way to Eagle, stop at Larry and June Taylor's 40-Mile
River Boat Tours at Milepost 113.3. This unique and immaculate
property offers 4 cabins for rent; half-day and full-day
riverboat tours on the historic 40-Mile River; and half-hour
and full hour Hovercraft rides, an unusual and unique experience.
On up the road at American Summit, Milepost 142.5, are beautiful
top-of-the-world views. Also located here is American Summit
Gifts and Crafts. Woody and Jean offer snacks and souvenirs,
and have the only liquor store around.
Visiting Eagle is a great opportunity to dip your toes in
the Yukon River and explore Interior Alaska's history. Eagle
Historical Society (www.eagleak.org) offers daily walking
tours of downtown Eagle and helps manage nearby Fort Egbert.
established in 1899, 5 of the 46 original structures have
been restored by the BLM and its well worth visiting. Stop
by the National Park Service office in Eagle for information
on exploring the Yukon River within Yukon-Charley Rivers
National Preserve (www.nps.gov/yuch/).
You
can arrange for canoe and raft rentals on the river with
Eagle Canoe Rentals. Motel rooms are offered at Eagle Trading
Co. (www.eagletrading.com)
as well as RV hookups, groceries, a cafe, gas, tire repair
and you name it.
Charlie
and Marlys run the Falcon Inn Bed & Breakfast, an attractive
3-story log home overlooking the river. Driving distance:
It is 160 miles one-way from Tetlin Junction on the Alaska
Highway to Eagle. It is 66 miles one-way from Tetlin Junction
to Chicken. It is 175 miles between Tetlin Junction on the
Alaska Highway and Dawson City, YT, using the Top of the
World Highway (and excluding the 65-mile Taylor Highway
spur from Jack Wade Junction to Eagle, AK.
