Written Directions
Take US Route 1 North from Anchorage and just southeast of Wasilla, get on US Route 3 east.
Scenery
Anchorage tends to be like any other larger city, but as Anchorage faded behind us, we came upon Talkeetna, which offers magnificent views of Mt. McKinley and also a quaint little artsy stop over. From there we proceeded to Denali State park which offers magnificent mountains and lakes on further north to Nenana home of the Railroad museum and Moochers Tavern and finally on into Fairbanks.
Drive Enjoyment
Its Alaska, expect sweeping curves and a ton of road work. Again we encountered intermittent gravel which poses dangers to motorcyles, but as this is a highly traveled tourist route, they did well to maintain the roads.
Tourism Opportunities
Near the bigger cities amenities were plentiful. As you close in on Denali, STOP FOR FUEL and consider carrying some with you. We got through Denali on fumes and were never so relieved to see a gas station in our lives. Denali and north there were a few more opportunities for food and fuel.
Motorcycle Road Additional info
The stop at Talkeetna to view Mt. McKinley was breathtaking. The town was extremely quaint and offered food fuel and shopping opportunities. Denali was barren until you reached the entrance to the state park and then it was tourist trap central. North from Denali was a little more populous but one cannot miss Moochers Tavern in Nenana. The town consists of a quarter mile stretch of road that dead ends in the railroad museum, Moochers was an experience. We were exhausted and hungry. We were greeted a the bar by a woman in slippers with an cigarette ash the length of the cigarette. I thought I had been on the bike too long because the floor seemed to slope to ones side. She informed us that an earthquake had done that and they just never fixed it. It apparently took out the plumbing too because I was the only one allowed to use the bathroom! The had a small menu of grilled cheese, hamburgers, and a few other items. I made due with bourbon and grilled cheese, but the memory will last a lifetime. Fairbanks was a nice city and the North Pole just a few minutes from Fairbanks is worth visiting. I have never seen so much Christmas in one place. We contemplated the haul road on motorcycle and would strongly urge motorcycles to stay OFF this route. It was gravel all the way and big gravel, would have been unsafe for us if we had not been on an enduro.
