Traveling in Alaska

Traditionally, Eskimos used dogsleds to get around in winter. Now, snowmobiles have largely replaced dogsleds. But dogsled racing is a favorite Alaskan sport. And if you go to Alaska, you can take a dogsled tour. On a dogsled or otherwise, travel in Alaska is unusual and interesting.

Alaska has only about 10,000 miles of road - not much, especially for a state its size. The Alaska Highway (Alcan) links Alaska to the other states through Canada. Traveling on the Alcan used to be very rough. Now, however, the Alcan is fully paved and has gas stations every 50 miles. On Alaskan roads you are almost as likely to see an animal - say, a bear or a moose - as you are to see another car.

In Southeast and South Central Alaska, you're best off traveling on the Maritime Highway, which isn't a road at all, but a system of ferries. Because of geography, travel by water in these areas is much easier than travel by road. In fact, only three cities in the Southeast can be reached by road. The others, including Juneau, Alaska's capital, can be reached only by water or air.

In many ways, air travel is the most important form of transportation. Almost every community in Alaska has a landing field for planes. "Bush planes" fly to Alaska's small, distant communities. They are propeller driven and can land on floats or skis. Bush pilots are heroes in Alaska - and rightly so. They often fly under extremely dangerous conditions.

Randee Falk: Spotlight on the USA; Oxford University Press, 1993, page 143 ff.