---
template: byway.jade
id: "12400"
name: Dalton Highway
distance: "414"
duration: "Thirteen to 15 hours, each way. "
description: "Built in the 1970s to haul cargo to and from the nation's largest oil field, the James Dalton highway was only opened for public use in 1994. The Dalton was recognized as an Alaska State Scenic Byway in 1998 for its spectacular scenery."
path: 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websites: 
  - url: "http://www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=75600"
    name: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
  - url: "http://www.dot.state.ak.us/stwdplng/scenic/byways-dalton.shtml"
    name: Dalton Highway
  - url: "http://www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=75610"
    name: Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge
  - url: "http://www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=75635"
    name: Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge
designations: 
  - Alaska State Scenic Byway
states: 
  - AK
ll: 
  - -148.65507499999998
  - 65.489349
bounds: 
  - - -150.81632999999994
    - 65.489349
  - - -148.40849299999996
    - 70.20652000000007

---

<p>A trip along the Dalton Highway is an adventure that will take you on the only road in the United States to cross the Yukon River, Arctic Circle, and Brooks Range. Named for James William Dalton, a North Slope engineer, the Dalton was originally developed as a haul road connecting the Yukon River and Prudhoe Bay during construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.</p>
