Arctic Valley Road Drive Alaska | ALASKA.ORG Alaska Highway Travel

To enjoy a scenic drive just a few minutes from downtown Anchorage, head north to mile 6.1 on the Glenn Highway. From here, you can head up the steep and winding, Arctic Valley Road. The drive itself is only 45 minutes, but once you get there, you'll want to spend more time photographing and exploring.

Arctic Valley Road Drive

The first mile is a straightaway past beautiful green lawns on both sides of the road, including the driving range for Moose Run Golf Course. Then the road starts climbing and the pavement ends, sending you up a wide gravel road. Within a few minutes, you're already high enough to look down on downtown Anchorage and across the Inlet to the Mat Su Valley. Ship Creek flows through the bottom of the valley to the west and steep mountainsides hem in the road on the east. Around mile six, there is an old abandoned Nike missile site (although not currently accessible to the public), part of Fort Richardson Military Reservation. Another mile of switchbacking four-wheel-drive road takes you to the top. Here you'll find Alpenglow ski area, which offers miles of hiking trails and late-summer berry picking.

8 min from downtown

7 miles one-way to road's start

Alaska Highway Drives from Anchorage

Classic Day Drives From Anchorage » Arctic Valley Road