Top of the World Highway (Thursday, July 23, 2009) We have heard war stories about traveling the Top of the World Highway. They are true! We crossed the Yukon River via ferry at Dawson City right after breaking camp at 6:15 AM, traveling on the Top of the World Highway. It began innocent enough, alternately changing from pavement to good gravel to pavement, etc., with sure enough “top of the world” views. Then, it became gravel, followed by washboard gravel. In some places we drove between 5 to10 mph. Kay handled the height, without guard rails, really well, trooper that she is. I was white knuckled every time we hit an unsuspecting wash-boarded stretch. Finally, as we neared the Canada-US border, the road changed to good pavement for several miles, and we reached the pinnacle of the highway about a mile from the border. We crossed without fanfare, with only a few questions and a passport check by the US Border Patrol. Then, the road got really bad. The US/Alaska maintenance doesn’t quite match Canada/Yukon Territory maintenance. In several places, the road was only a single lane, and one didn’t dare get off the shoulder for fear of tipping over. We finally reached Chicken, AK, at 12:30 PM, Alaska time (one hour earlier than Pacific time), traveling 110 miles in 7+ hours, where we set up for the night at Chicken Creek RV Park.
Back in the USA Even though I’m of partial French Canadian ancestry (my mother’s maiden name was Malott); we’re so glad to be back in the US where the language is English only; no French. Of course, we’re moving in the direction of Canada with the inclusion of Spanish on all of our packaging, signage, etc. Will our road signs be next?
Beautiful Downtown Chicken, AK It was a great feeling to be back in the US, despite the friendliness of Canadians. We met with the other caravaners at 2 PM and toured the old town of Chicken, established in the late 1800s, when a major gold discovery was made on Chicken Creek.
Many of the original buildings are still standing, including the schoolhouse made famous by the book, Tisha, about Anne Purdy’s life teaching there in 1927.
Rain, Again After the tour of Chicken, we napped for an hour or so, and woke up to a few rain drops on top of the motorhome. The intensity increased and we had a steady downpour for about an hour and a half. This was a welcome rain as the roads and RV parking sites were dry and dusty; an added benefit was removal of mud and dust from the Saturn. Our caravaners enjoyed a Welcome to Alaska dinner prepared by our wagon master’s wife, Jean Potteiger, featuring chicken tetrazzini, green beans, and strawberries, pound cake, and whipped topping. The meal was excellent! After dinner, we walked to the other RV park in Chicken, Goldpanner Gift Shop and RV Park, watching folks pan for gold, walking past the Pedro Dredge, and perusing the gift shop. Tomorrow, it’s back to real pavement and civilization as we travel to Tok, Alaska, for or a couple of days.
Our Recommendations for Chicken, AK Everyone should visit Chicken at least once; enough said!
I was glad to have traveled the Top of the World Highway, and would “probably” do it again, despite the wear and tear on the motorhome. Kay, on the other hand, said once was enough, and, “Never again.” It is not for the faint of heart, and one should be prepared for very rough roads and driving conditions.
Kay’s Take The Top of the World Highway was much overrated in my humble opinion. You are traveling in wilderness over the tops of a beautiful mountain range, but the condition of the roads is horrible. We may have had decent paved/dirt roads for a total of 10 miles of the 110 miles we traveled. It kind of reminded me of Push Mtn. Road back home but much higher! I think it’s a man-thing: conquer/traverse the Top of the World Highway when you go to Alaska. No sane woman would take a vehicle, much less a motorhome on such a road! I think every bone in our bodies rattled and I’m majorly surprised that every screw holding our motorhome together held up under that beating. One of the big rigs had a flat tire on the trailer that he was towing his car on behind the RV. We think he ruined the tire driving on it as a flat the last few miles before arriving at Chicken. I would never drive this road again! Brutal, would be an understatement!
Campground Chicken Creek RV Park was a gravel lot, with 20 and 30 amp electric only sites. It really didn’t matter as the voltage was too low to safely operate most RV appliances. Wi-fi was advertised, but not working! It’s only half-step above dry camping.
Driving Statistics

Beginning Mileage: 13,211.5
Beginning Time: 6:15 AM PDST
Ending Mileage: 13,321.1
Ending Time: 12:30 PM Alaska DST
TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 109.6
CUMULATIVE MILEAGE: 3,929.6