Cycling Alaska's Canol Road

This rigorous 11 day tour of the Northeast Yukon Valley traverses some of the most amazing territory in North America. You’ll saddle your bike and ride through a backdrop of looming mountains and calm lakes along the historic Canol road.

During World War II with the familiar scurry for oil during wartime, the Canadian Government funded a pipeline and road to facilitate the transfer of oil from the Mckenzie River to a refinery in Whitehorse, a neighboring city. Abandoned because of poor production in 1945, the only remnant of the bold Canadian Oil or “Canol” Project is the winding road at the north tip of the Rockies. Truly remote, the road runs along mountains and peaceful lakes with very little human influence. Autumn is a truly lovely time to do this ride as the trees turn to red and gold.

With its extreme weather and equally extreme landscapes, you’ll find that the northeast Yukon is a territory that merits close investigation. You’ll cycle into the glacier-carved Pelly Mountains and camp by the quiet Lapie Lake where sounds of loons often echo from the banks. The diverse topography continues as you ride through the grassy Macmillan Pass and camp in its corresponding valley. The landscape is completely isolated making it a frequent habitat for grizzly and black bears as well as wolves. Occasional abandoned trucks from the 1940s endeavor also dot the landscape, a testimony to its inaccessibility.

This tour certainly covers some incredible territory, but you will be doing all the pedaling. With 35-65 mile bike rides over mountain passes every day for 11 days, this journey is strenuous. You should probably have some significant bike experience before trying this out and that doesn’t just mean a 30 minute spinning class (although that might be a good place to start training). Most of the time you will be camping, some days skipping out on showers and sleeping in a tent some nights. Also, all bikers must be over 14.