UPDATE: DENALI PARK ROAD CLOSURE
Unfortunately, the closure of the Denali Park Road at Mile 43 is expected to remain in place through summer 2024. For this reason, we will not be staying inside Denali N.P. But outside at the McKinley Creekside Cabins for 2-nights. We will then offer a 85 mile out-and-back ride to mile 43 on the Denali Park Road.
PLEASE READ THIS LINK ABOUT CYCLING INSIDE DENALI NATIONAL PARK PRIOR TO SIGNING UP TO THIS DEPARTURE.
THE LAND OF MIDNIGHT SUN
“Alaska herself can be a Sleeping Beauty in one minute and a bitch with a sawed-off shotgun the next.” – Kristin Hannah, The Great Alone
The world’s greatest destinations often measure distance in time instead of miles. Places where the journey is as much an end goal as the finish. It then comes as no surprise that a place with eternal summer daylight is no different: The Land of the Midnight Sun, Alaska.
"Hold up," you might challenge. "Alaska? Biking in Alaska? You've got to be kidding." Nope. But our relentless curiosity wasn't swayed. We dissected maps, lost ourselves in the depths of Google Earth, fixated on the northern horizon, inevitably leading us to the only logical endpoint — The Last Frontier. The venerable title still holds weight. In an era where we trick ourselves into thinking we've unraveled every inch of the planet with GPS, cell coverage, interstates, and space travel, Alaska thrusts the mystery of the unexplored and wild right into our faces.
The RAID Alaskan Gravel Expedition pulls back the curtain on the wilds of the Alaskan interior, venturing from the metropolis of Anchorage into the wilds of Denali and Wrangell-St. Elias National Parks, homes of the tallest peaks in the United States. Unlike our other departures, this one visits little in the way of population, and much in the way of natural splendor.
Nine days of exploration await, but this trip isn’t for the faint of heart. While the copious amounts of gravel riding is relatively smooth, very little else is. Unpredictable weather. Long days. Distracting vistas. Choking dust. And moose. Days will be hard, but the rewards are plenty. After all, nothing less would suit a RAID trip to the Last Frontier.
Talkeetna, Alaska
Day 1 ARRIVAL DAY – ANCHORAGE
25 mi
Welcome to Alaska. Don’t let Anchorage’s façade as an urban metropolis fool you – past its outskirts lies the tempestuous interior of the 49th state. Our arrival day takes us on tranquil spin lead by our resident local guide, Sean Martin, who we worked closely with to plan the entire trip. Views of Denali, wildlife, and perhaps a Beluga whale or two proffer a tasty appetizer of what’s to come later in the week. Tonight, we dine at the Glacier Brewhouse, the boisterous, wood-dominated dining room with local seafood, wood-grilled meats & house-brewed beer. The evening’s stay remains in town.
O/N TBD
Denali Highway
Day 2 ANCHORAGE - TALKEETNA
94 mi / 6,552 Ft
151 km / 1,997 m
Today, the “real” riding begins, but not before a full Alaskan brekky (ft. reindeer sausage or sockeye salmon) – necessary fuel for our ride today. We’ll take a quick auto transfer to the farming town of Palmer, the setting for the start of one of the most epic climbs in North America: 12 mile-long Hatcher Pass. It begins paved and gradual, but don’t let it fool you – by the last half, Hatcher features 16% ramps and gravel. What goes up must come down, and the descent off the pass is nearly as unforgiving, entirely on dirt. Covered in grime and via the famous Parks Highway, we’ll wheel into the colorful historic bush burg of Talkeetna. Stay on the lookout for climbers staging for the summit of the tallest peak in the United State, Denali, as this is where most leave from. We’ll bed down for the night here, at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge, taking in sights of the majestic mountain from the porch. Dinner comes at acclaimed Café Michele, with post-dinner drinks at the local watering hole, the Fairview Inn. Tomorrow, we venture farther into the interior.
O/N Talkeetna
Denali Highway
Day 3 TALKEETNA - DENALI
138 mi / 7,995 Ft
222 km / 2,436 m
While today doesn’t feature any gravel, it’s rewarding in its own right. The Parks Highway features for the entirety of the day, but we won’t be bored by it. Regarded as one of the most scenic roads in the world, the whole of the day features stunning views of Denali as we skirt the edge of Denali National Park. Each stop on today’s route is as rewarding as the last – viewpoints, the massive Hurricane Gulch bridge, and the anachronistic Atlas Obscura-featured Igloo City. We’ll roll over Broad Pass to cross the lowest gap in the Alaskan Range, finishing along a remote stretch of the Parks Highway. Unsurprisingly, tonight’s theme will mirror a bit of the film: Pack light, travel far. Organize your equipment, bike spares, and clothing needed for tomorrow’s hard ride.
O/N McKinley Creekside Cabins
Bush flight
Day 4 DENALI pARK ROAD
103 mi / 10,195 Ft
165 km / 3,107 m
Today’s venture is one of lifelong memories made in sheer solitude. Our route is a mostly-gravel 42 mile-long road that gains OVER 5000 vertical feet and is barred to automobiles, save occasional Park Service shuttles. Piercing into the heart of the park, Denali Park Road vaults over four mountain passes and past the tree line, crossing vast swaths of pristine arctic tundra and taiga. The feeling is otherworldly – yet it is our own world, simply one untouched by civilization. The vastness and scale is, at times, totally overwhelming. Keep an eye out for grizzly bears, moose, and the ever-present Denali, looming high above the clouds. **Due to the roads closure at milepost 42, todays route is an out and back venture, so ride as much or as little of the road as you prefer. And if you like to take the bus to mile 42, you can elect to do that and ride back, making it a slightly easier route. We will return after a day of hard exploration, to the Denali Cabins.
O/N McKinley Creekside Cabins
Denali Park Rd.
Day 5 DENALI / CANTWELL - ALPINE CREEK LODGE
94.5 mi / 5,785 Ft
152.2 km / 1,763 m
On tap for the next two days is the imposing, unpaved Denali Highway, listed as one of the most scenic roads in the world by National Geographic. Like our venture into the park, this is a mostly-gravel jaunt, with more sweeping views of the untamed wilds of the Alaskan interior. Glaciers and the mountains of the Alaska Range frame the day’s views out from above the tree line. Lolling tundra rolls below, pocked with shallow lakes, like spilt tears from ancient deities. Breaking this arduous road into two days gives us a truly immersive and unforgettable experience. On our first day, we’ll pull into Alpine Creek Lodge, a rustic bush outpost run by a warm Alaskan family. The lodging tonight might be simple, but hearing the stories of the Alaskan interior over an outstanding home-cooked meal will buoy the spirits for tomorrow’s continued adventure. If we’re lucky, we might even get a peek of the Northern Lights, a phenomena the area is known for.
O/N Alpine Creek Lodge *shared bath facilities, twin size beds & bunk beds will be provided.
Day 6 ALPINE CREEK LODGE TO PAXSON / TRANSFER TO GAKONA
67 mi / 5,925 Ft
109 Km / 1,806 m
Fresh hotcakes drenched in maple syrup will fuel our second day on the Denali Highway. Saying goodbye to Alpine Creek, we’ll keep climbing, almost entirely on dirt. Hard riding with more views of massive glaciers and endless tundra as we soar above the tree line awaits. Today ends contemplatively, with a quick auto transfer on the Richardson Highway, a rarely-used road with views of massive ice falls and the ever-controversial Alaskan Pipeline. We’ll stop at the Gakona Lodge and Trading Post for the night, the oldest roadhouse in Alaska. In years past, roadhouses were a staple of the early 20th-century bush, offering miners, travelers, oilmen, hunters, and explorers a welcome place to rest, eat, and drink en route to their destinations. Gakona is an historic collection of log buildings where cold beer, whiskey, a friendly innkeeper, and an authentic – yet comfortable – stay awaits us.
O/N Gakona Lodge *Twin bed rooms and shared bathroom facilities will be provided.
Root Glacier hike
Day 7 GAKONA - KENNICOTT / McCARTHY
100 mi / 6,603 Ft
160 km / 2,012 m
The final riding day of our trip is easily the most remote, and likely the most historically fascinating. We’ll take leave of the warm shelter of Gakona early in the morning for a difficult route that takes us to the southern flank of the largest National Park in the United States, Wrangell-St. Elias. As big as it is remote, the park is littered with remnants of the Alaskan mining booms of the late 1800s and early 1900s. It’s also one of the least-visited national parks in the United States, a marvel considering its incredible beauty and history. Our route into its environs tracks along the McCarthy Road, a former railroad bed now serving as one of only two routes into Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. It’s a dirt road infamous for its brutality to automobiles, with most rental car companies explicitly barring travel on it. Derelict railroad ties buried in the roadbed provide ample opportunities to puncture an oil pan or tires – or both. As we journey through the bush to the tiny town of McCarthy (pop. 40), boreal forests loom imposing along the route, with occasional lakes peeking through the dense foliage. Near the end of our ride, as we round a non-descript bend, the Saint Elias Mountains explode into view, heralding our arrival at the bridge leading into McCarthy, the terminus of our ride.
O/N Kennicott Glacier Lodge *Shared bathroom facilities will be provided.
Kennicott Mine
Day 8 KENNICOTT GLACIER EXPLORATION
(REST DAY)
Our final day in Alaska isn’t one on the bike, but it’s stunning all the same. We’ll wake at the Kennicott Glacier Lodge in the ghost town-cum-historical landmark of Kennicott, a few short miles from tiny McCarthy. Once one of the world’s most prolific copper mines from the 1900s into the late 1930s, Kennicott was effectively abandoned until the 1980s and the establishment of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, when it became a national historic landmark. Now a collection of former mining structures and the Glacier Lodge, it’s a marvel to behold, effectively frozen in time. Today, we’ll explore Kennicott and its locale with the famous Root Glacier walk in the morning and an afternoon spent in the camp. Our icy walk in an alien landscape consists of crevasses, ice canyons, frozen waterfalls, blue pools, and moulins (glacial boreholes) – a truly unique, unusual experience. Later, step back a century into Alaska’s past, exploring the former Kennicott Mine’s mills, copper works, and laborer accommodations.
O/N Kennicott Glacier Lodge *Shared bathroom facilities will be provided.
Day 9 MORNING FLIGHT TO ANCHORAGE
A morning bush flight, in true Alaska fashion. We’ll have coffee as we watch the sun come up over the Root Glacier before boarding a short plane ride bound for Anchorage, back to civilization. We’ll be there at the airport, helping to streamline your departure from Alaska – and plan your next.
Your lodging in Anchorage is not included in your package, please let us know if you would like for us to reserve a room for you at our arrival hotel.
*The return flight to Anchorage this morning is voluntary, you will be offered an alternative means of transport on Day 8 if you prefer not to fly. The 2.5 hour flight will be on a 5 or 10 passenger propeller aircraft, if you suffer from claustrophobia, heart conditions, physical discomfort or impairment, nervousness, anxiety or panic attacks you should seek medical advice prior to flying.
