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Multiple uses of the INHT

How Will You Travel?

The Iditarod Trail is primarily a winter trail and many sections of the Trail are barely usable in the summer. Locals rely on rivers for inter-village transportation instead.

  • A hiker with a backpack stands on a green ridge above a mountain valley.

    Summer · 9 places

    Hike or Backpack

    The trail is at its best on foot in Southcentral, where Crow Pass, Johnson Pass and the Seward waterfront are summer walks and backpacking trips.

  • Two cyclists on fat bikes ride a packed snow trail toward a mountain.

    Summer and Winter · 6 places

    Bike

    Paved paths follow the trail in Seward, Girdwood and Anchorage in summer; in winter, fat bikes ride the snow, and the human-powered races run as far as McGrath and Nome.

  • A narrow snow trail winds between frosted spruce trees.

    Winter · 2 places

    Ski or Skijor

    The Iditarod is a winter trail, and skis are one of the oldest ways over it: Ship Creek to Indian is best done on skis, and on the coast skiers and skijorers travel village to village.

  • A dog team in red booties pulls a sled along a wooded snow trail.

    Winter · 7 places

    Mush a Dog Team

    Dog teams carried the gold and the mail, and they still run the trail every winter, from the Ceremonial Start in Anchorage to the finish in Nome.

  • A snowmachine rider follows the winter trail past a rounded peak.

    Winter · 5 places

    Snowmachine

    Snowmachines carry most winter travel between the villages today, and the trail’s public shelter cabins sit along the routes they run.

  • A dog team pulls mail carriers along snowy railroad tracks beside Resurrection Bay, mountains behind.

    Summer · 2 places

    Ride the Railroad

    The Alaska Railroad follows the main route of the historic trail from Seward into the roadless Kenai Mountains, with whistle stops for hiking in the Chugach National Forest.

  • A gravel road runs past a frame roadhouse toward a hill above the sea.

    Summer · 9 places

    Drive

    Much of the Seward Highway follows the historic trail, and north of Anchorage the Glenn Highway and Knik-Goose Bay Road reach the old Knik crossing; at the far end, the first 35 miles of the Nome-Council Highway are the trail itself.

  • Seen from the air, dog teams rest beside a small cabin in snowy spruce.

    Summer and Winter · 8 places

    Fly In

    Beyond Knik the trail runs through the Bush, where communities are reached by plane or boat; McGrath, Unalakleet and Nome have regular flights from Anchorage.

No matter what the time of year, be prepared. Check local conditions before you venture out.