ALASKA AND THE CANADIAN ROCKIES

This tour is crammed full and will live in your heart and memory for many, many years to come. If you’re looking for a tour through the real Americas beyond the four lane highways and Route 66 gift shops then this one is for you.

You are starting with two nights in Anchorage with a chance to explore this charming city, collect our bikes, and prepare for the journey ahead. Leaving Anchorage you immediately feel the scale of this place. Anchorage is home to nearly half the people that live here and yet the state is half the size of Europe with just 350,000 people spread thinly across it. Our first night is a stopover in the town of Tok. Tok lies at the start of the Top of the World Highway and this is our route for tomorrow. Through the outpost of Chicken to the most northerly border in the Americas at Boundary you are heading for the frontier town of Dawson City. Dirt roads and clapboard sidewalks are the norm leaving you in no doubt of where you are. What better way to spend the evening than at Diamond Toothed Gerties Gambling House – a western bar with dancing girls and great food.

The next two days are riding through the “Larger than Life” Yukon and into British Columbia to the Signpost Forest of Watson Lake. Started by a lonely soldier in 1942 there are now 72,000 signs so don’t forget to bring one of your own to add to the forest. After a night in cabins on the Alaska Highway we are heading south on the famous Stewart Cassiar Highway. Crossing the Jade rich Cassiar Mountains this area is also heavily populated with bear so keep your eyes peeled. You are overnighting at Bell Crossing. Originally a remote gas station it has developed into a Heli-Skiing centre in the winter with the best Log Cabins of the trip!

From Bell we continue down the road to our first Glacier – Bear Glacier – carving a new valley through the mountains and on to the small town of Stewart. You are here for two nights with the chance to walk, cycle or ride to Hyder, Alaska. This tiny settlement of just 70 people lies almost completely cut off from the rest of Alaska in the southern strip of the state. From here you can visit Fish River, famous for wildlife viewing, ride to the huge Salmon Glacier, or weather permitting there is the chance to take a helicopter ride up onto the Ice Fields!

The next two days rides take us past many lakes (fancy a swim?) to the Kitawanga Totem Poles, through the Bulkley Valley, via Smithers to Prince George, the first proper town since Anchorage. Prince George lies on the Trans Canada Highway and we are following it through the heart of the Canadian Rockies to Mount Robson, the Canadian Rockies highest peak and on to the Jasper National Park and Jasper itself.

You have another two nights in Jasper in our cabins on the edge of town. Close enough to walk in and enjoy the vibe of the town and its many restaurants but quiet enough for deer to wander between the cabins in the late evening. On the day off you can ride to Maligne Lake to spot bears, ride up Mount Edith Cavell , go hiking or fishing, white water rafting or just take the time to relax.

Leaving the National Park our route follows the Icefields Parkway. Huntington and Bow Glaciers are en route as well as the stunning Athabasca Waterfalls and the beautiful Lake Louise. We cross the Continental Divide as we head to the small town of Kimberley.

From Kimberley we have an action packed day. Fort Steele Heritage Town, The Worlds Biggest Truck, Frankslide and the Crowsnest Highway are all en route to Waterton National Park. But not before visiting the UNESCO World Heritage site of Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump. This ancient Indian hunting ground was used only once in a generation and yet the knowledge required was handed down over a thousand years by the native tribes.

The charming town of Waterton sets us up for the border form Alberta Canada to Montana USA and then the extremely popular Going to the Sun Road through the Glacier National Park crossing the Continental divide at Logan’s Pass. We are heading for the small town of Big Fork on Flathead Lake.

From the Big Sky State you are heading through the Flathead Reservation and the Lolo Forests in Idaho. The last two days of the tour cross from Idaho to Washington and on to Portland. All that is left is hand back the bikes and enjoy our farewell dinner, before flying home with hearts and cameras full of Alaska and the Rockies.

PLEASE NOTE: This tour includes circa a hundred and fifty miles of dirt roads. We are not going off road and these dirt roads are used by normal traffic (not exclusively 4×4’s). Some dirt road experience would be beneficial but you do not need to be an off road rider to complete the tour.

We are staying in many remote places on tour. For five nights we are in log cabins and two nights in basic motels. All accommodation is in private rooms with en suite bathrooms. However you should expect some of the facilities to reflect the remote nature of the locations.