Canada Guide
The North
The Alaska Highway
The best part of the Alaska Highway – a distance of about 1500km – winds through northern British Columbia from Dawson Creek to Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon; only 320km of the hwy is actually in Alaska. Don't be fooled by the string of villages emblazoned across the area's maps, for there are only two towns worthy of the name en route – Fort St John and Fort Nelson – the rest are no more than a garage, a store and perhaps a motel. Watson Lake, on the Yukon border, is the largest of these lesser spots, and also marks the junction of the Alaska and Stewart-Cassiar hwys. All the way down the road, though, it's vital to book accommodation during July and August.
Driving the Alaska Hwy is no longer the adventure of days past – that's now provided by the Stewart-Cassiar and Dempster hwys and the "Deh-Cho route". Food, fuel and lodgings are found at between forty- and eighty-kilometre intervals, though cars still need to be in good shape. You should drive with headlights on at all times, and take care when passing or being passed by heavy trucks. It goes without saying that wilderness – anything up to 800km of it on each side – begins at the edge of the hwy and unless you're very experienced, you shouldn't contemplate off-road exploration. Any number of free guides and pamphlets are available at visitor centres along the route to take you through to Fairbanks, but The Milepost ( 
www.themilepost.com ), the road's bible, is, for all its mind-numbing detail, the only one you need buy.