Top of the World Highway condition

[Charlie_Bravo]

We did the top of the World Highway about 10 years ago in a Truck camper, and remember it being narrow and a little challenging. We now have a 30’ fifth wheel and plan on doing it next year or so. Did anybody do it last summer and how was it’s condition?

[PA12DRVR]

"Came back out in early September, found the road mostly in good shape. In my opinion much better than the Destruction Bay - Tok (& beyond) Highway"

Although I haven't driven the Alcan since 2002-ish nor the TOTW since before then, the Destruction Bay to Tok-ish part of the road has been the most memorably bad stretch since at least '76 when I first made the trip. Glad to see some things don't change. 🙂

[gmctoyman]

Came back out in early September, found the road mostly in good shape. In my opinion much better than the Destruction Bay - Tok (& beyond) Highway

[explorenorth]

Johnny G1 wrote:
... they don't seem to know what rd grader's were built for.

They do, but a former employee that we knew as "High-Blade Harry" showed the department that they could save a lot of money on grader blades by keeping the blade 2 inches above the gravel. 🙂

Murray

[Johnny_G1]

It was good this past July except where they were doing rd work in Chicken about 3k was very rough, they don't seem to know what rd grader's were built for. Just my thought's go back up there in a heartbeat. Took our truck and 5th wheel this summer.

[DrewE]

It didn't strike me as particularly bad last summer when I was there (in a 32' class C). The day I went it was a rather drizzly/rainy day, but it had been reasonably dry prior so the road was not all muddy. It just meant that some of the views were a little muted.

I don't remember the Taylor highway south being particularly challenging. The Taylor highway north to Eagle was quite narrow and curvy and among the roughest roads I encountered in Alaska, and would be a big challenge for someone scared of heights. It is a pretty road, perched halfway up a very steep valley, and I found Eagle to be a most interesting little town.

[Peg_Leg]

Did it in 11 with a TC but it was raining and all I remember is the mud. Thank God for the wash station at the Tok campground. Charged by vehicle type, TC was cheapest. Use it as long as your want and the mud on the ground showed extensive use. Have fun, wish I was going again.

[bob_nestor]

I did it in 2016 in my Jeep Wrangler and again this summer in a small Chevy Spark. The only section that was narrow were parts of the Taylor Highway in Alaska south of Chicken. This summer they were doing a lot of work on widening some of those parts though. I did see quite a few large 5th wheels and Class A's camped in Chicken. Some were headed into Alaska and some were headed out, but none of the people I spoke with complained about having problems.

I honestly didn't see any part of the road (Taylor in Alaska or Top of the World in the Yukon) that I'd be conceded about doing in any type of RV. There are sections of the road that you'll want to go slow on because of construction, pot holes and wildlife, but that's all part of the fun.

[rag-ftw]

Here's some "light" reading for you where people mention TOW highway.

Top Of The World Highway Discussions

We did it in 2014 and again in 2016 with a 38' motorhome and a towed.
It got a little narrow and dusty at times, especially when we met a road grader, but was most definitely worth the trip. We will do it again next year! If you make that trip in the fall after the first killing frost you will understand the meaning of "purple mountain majesties"!