Porcupine Lake

This far north region is best reached from Fairbanks. There are regularly scheduled flights with several operators from Fairbanks to Bettles or Deadhorse, where a chartered plane on wheels or floats can get you to the river's start. You could drive to Coldfoot where Coyote Air specializes in flights into this region. They may even pick you up in Fairbanks if you book their B&B. It is even possible to drive the Dalton Highway all the way to Deadhorse and start from there, but you will likely lose both headlights, the windshield and a tire or two on this rough gravel road. Eventually you will fly to the headwaters in the Philip Smith Mountains. Floatplanes can land you on a small lake not far from the much bigger Porcupine Lake. Wheel planes can drop you on a gravel bar below the outlet stream from Porcupine Lake.

Getting There

Coordinates
Latitude: 68.788181
Longitude: -146.47017
Driving Directions