Best Option for Alaska Dirt Roads and Highways: GoNorth Alaska Rental Cars

Most of the places a lot of visitors want to see in Alaska are easily drivable on paved, well maintained roads… but not all of them. When you pick up a rental car in Alaska you’ll actually see a whole list of roads and highways you’re not allowed to take a rental car on, including the Denali and Dempster Highways, which are two amazing dirt road routes to drive. GoNorth Alaska Rentals is a great company that we’ve worked with in the past and they have cars that you can drive on the crazy dirt roads, 4WD cars and even camper rentals. If you need a car rental in Alaska for going beyond the main highways, GoNorth is THE place to rent one that doesn’t have the rental car restrictions everyone else does.

We’ve got the full scoop on renting a 4WD drive car in Alaska, including some great ideas for off the beaten path places you can explore with your gravel-roads approved vehicle. I know it sounds odd, but really this is a great way to be able to see a different side of Alaska and have an unforgettable trip. If you have any questions about getting a rental car in Alaska for the gravel highways, dirt roads, and off the beaten path places, please leave a comment or send us a note. We’re always happy to share more and help you plan a great Alaska trip!

Alaska Rental Car Restrictions for Gravel Roads

So one time upon picking up a rental car in Anchorage, I was finishing up my time at the counter and I listened as the ladies next to me discover that they couldn’t complete their travel plans because they didn’t know they couldn’t drive their rental on the Dalton or Denali Highways, which are both unpaved roads. They literally had two weeks planned out that included two of the coolest highways in Alaska… and then didn’t realize they were not going to be allowed to do their travel plan because of the gravel roads. That’s when it hit me how many people come to Alaska with a cool itinerary not backed up with research, or worse, with a travel plan made by ChatGPT or something and that they didn’t know the practical side of renting a car in Alaska and the restrictions of driving the rough highways. Well, that’s why I try to mention GoNorth Alaska Rentals in as many articles as I can.

Check out GoNorth here! Use discount code GON2TD for a free mileage package with your vehicle rental. Be sure to use the code to get the mileage deal!

The vehicles you rent from GoNorth Alaska are in great shape and all of them have full-sized spare tires. Yes, that’s something you need when you’re driving the Dalton Highway to Deadhorse or the Denali Highway between Cantwell and Paxson. Even though the highways are pretty well maintained, they are still really rough and the Alaska weather takes its toll swiftly and continually on the unpaved roads. I’d like to think that you could just be careful and you won’t have to ever change a tire or traverse deep ruts, but that’s not realistic. The other side of that isn’t just being prepared, but it’s the rental companies like Hertz and Enterprise actually don’t allow their vehicles on a whole list of highways, and with GPS technology, if they wanted to confirm that you didn’t break their policy, they could. And that’s why renting through GoNorth Alaska to get a gravel-road-approved vehicle is important.

Our most recent rental was a new blue Bronco named Albus. It was great to have a car with low miles, a full-size spare (which we didn’t need, thank goodness) and a pre-inspection under our belts to make sure we’d be good to go before hitting the remote gravel roads of Alaska. And not like we’d intentionally be rough on a car, it’s good to know that we’ve rented a vehicle that can handle something more than a smooth paved highway.

Gravel Road Restrictions in Alaska

While Alaska does have an excellent highway system that connects much of South Central Alaska and up into the Interior, there are still a lot of gravel highways that you may want to travel on. Some of the most breathtaking sights in AK are not along the primary highways, so if you’ve got a sense of adventure or are planning an epic Alaska road trip, or maybe you even want to head into the Yukon, you’ll need a 4WD vehicle that is allowed on the gravel highways. Alaska rental car restrictions are real and a lot of people just don’t consider if the gravel road are forbidden when it comes to their rental cars.

Here are the gravel highways that standard rental car companies restrict. I’ve ordered them by how likely a visitor is to plan on driving these forbidden adventure roads:

• Denali Highway – an option from Cantwell near Denali National Park cutting to the Richardson Highway connecting Glenallen to Fairbanks
• Edgerton Highway – connecting Copper Center to Chitina (the Fisherman’s Highway)
• McCarthy Road – connecting the Richardson Highway to McCarthy and Wrangell-St Elias National Park
• Dalton Highway – the epic gravel road to Deadhorse through the Arctic Circle
• Elliot Highway – north of Fairbanks into the Interior
• Dempster Highway – gravel road through the Yukon and into the Northwest Territories
• Steese Highway – north of Fairbanks heading up to Circle on the Yukon River
• KIondike Highway – connecting Whitehorse to Dawson City in the Yukon, accessible from Haines
• Taylor Highway – eastern Alaska connecting Chicken AK to Tok AK
• Top of the World Highway – aka Yukon Highway 9 or the Ridge Road

I don’t want to discourage you from planning these adventures, but just know that there are reasons rental car companies have forbidden roads listed when you pick up your vehicle. Tire damage, flying rocks and just excessive wear and tear on the rental cars happens on these gravel roads.

Can I do a One-Way Rental from GoNorth?

Yes! Parts of the AlCan Highway and Cassiar are really incredible and you can indeed do a rental agreement for picking up in Anchorage or Fairbanks and then returning your GoNorth rental car in Seattle. Doing a one-way road trip is an incredible way to see, not just Alaska, but the Yukon and British Columbia too. I’ve done this drive many times and it’s phenomenal. And yes, you can cross the Alaska-Canada border in a GoNorth 4WD rental car.

Also, if you’re not feeling as intense as doing the drive from Alaska to Seattle in a rental car, you can still plan on exploring the gravel roads of AK as a one way car rental returning to either Fairbanks or Anchorage from the other city. Making a road trip plan that starts and ends in different Alaska cities is a great way to get to see more of the wilderness without backtracking your journey. You can pick up in Anchorage, drive the unpaved roads to McCarthy and then after completing several days in Wrangell-St Elias National Park you can drive the gravel Denali Highway and enjoy a few days at Denali National Park, finishing by returning your 4WD vehicle to Fairbanks.

Tips for a Remote Road Trip in Alaska

Now that you understand why it’s worth renting a vehicle from GoNorth Alaska, you can more easily and confidently plan an Alaska road trip that’s more than the usual Denali/Kenai trip that most people do (and I do love that trip). With a gravel-road approved rental your trip opportunities open up to visit places like McCarthy, Prudhoe Bay, the Top of the World Highway and more and you won’t be in violation of a rental agreement. There is so much of Alaska that most people don’t get to visit, and some of the best wildlife watching and epic views fall into that territory.

When you’re planning your trip, just because you’ve got a gravel-road approved car, and likely a 4WD one, that doesn’t mean you just get on the highway and drive. You still need to plan your stops and make sure that the road are driveable. Some of the epic gravel roads of Alaska tend to have washouts randomly, even in the summer, so checking the Alaska Dept of Transportation before driving. For example, the Nabesna Road into Wrangell-St Elias National Park is just 42 miles of gravel, but there are some creeks that tend to shift the road conditions pretty swiftly.

Another thing to think about when you’re planning a trip on the gravel highways of Alaska is that there are very limited services. You need to be well stocked in your vehicle with snacks and water. Even if your final destination is at the end of the gravel highway and it’s got services, due to the remoteness and the potential of something going wrong on the road, you need to be ready for for whatever could happen even when the road conditions in summer seem like they’ll be fine. Also, something we’ve learned the hard way is that when you’re driving the Denali Highway or one of the other remote roads with beautiful views and great hikes, time seems to slip away quickly and you may not reach your end destination before the last food option closes, so it’s doubly important to ready your vehicle for that sort of situation as well.

TIP: you can also rent campers through GoNorth Alaska 4WD Rentals. This is a great solution for lots of types of Alaska trips and destinations!

What do you Need to Bring for a Gravel Highway Road Trip

Road trips to remote Alaska destinations are fun and a great adventure, and you’ll want to be sure that you’re well prepared. I was thinking about some of the things we tend to bring when we’re doing trips in remote Alaska and it’s not too different from a regular road trip, but we’re a little extra thoughtful. We pack for both varying weather and potential problems and delays. Here’s what we’re sure to have with us for a remote road trip:

• cooler with extra snacks and drinks
• picnic blanket
• camp chairs
• mosquito jackets
• raingear
• binoculars
• bear spray

Yes, you saw mosquito jackets on our remote road trip packing list. This is for a great reason: as you get more remote, nature is ruling everything and the mosquito population can be very healthy. If you’re planning hiking and hanging out in forest and river areas you’ll likely encounter a lot of mosquitos. It’s much worse in the interior than along the coast, so if your Alaska experience has been Seward and Valdez, you haven’t seen the Alaska state bird at its peak. It’s best to be prepared, because bug spray really isn’t very effective. For things like camp chairs and coolers, since we’re ultimately talking about renting a vehicle approved for the rough gravel highways of Alaska, you likely are coming from out of state and won’t have standard camp gear. GoNorth Alaska rentals also has all the camping and general road trip gear you might need for rent. You can arrange this in advance or when you pick up your vehicle. It’s nice to have some comfort and convenience items with you when you’re on a road trip.

For bear spray, some people feel it’s needed when you’re out in the wilds of Alaska, and it definitely serves a purpose. If you’re going to get bear spray, just rent it (you can get it here) and be sure you know how to properly use it. If you’re unfamiliar, bear spray can be very dangerous for the user, not just the bear. Bear safety is very important, so if you’re doing a remote road trip, make sure you understand how to keep your family or travel group safe when you’re traveling the highways and hiking in the mountains. Alaska wilderness driving on dirt roads can provide unforgettable wildlife viewing, so be ready and safe.

Where to Pickup Your GoNorth Alaska Rental

When you start out your Alaska trip, you’ll need to get your rental car within the first day or two. GoNorth Alaska has a rental depot near the airport in both Anchorage and Fairbanks. It’s an easy 3-5 minute Uber ride to pick up your vehicle, at which point you’ll be led through a full inspection before you leave the lot so that you know you’re all set with a car that’s in great shape. Something different about picking up a rental vehicle from GoNorth Alaska versus a regular rental car is that you need to provide your proof of insurance coverage in advance or arrive with a document showing you’ll be covered. You can also do an agreement that has insurance coverage for dirt roads through GoNorth, but your regular insurance is likely okay. It sounds intense, but it’s just a little more official than a regular airport rental.

When it’s time to return your gravel-road approved rental at the end of your trip, it’s easy with a simple return inspection or overnight drop. The service is good and the people care that you have fun and that your trip is safe. It’s a really good rental experience.