The Taylor Highway is a highway

Highway

A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...

 in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

 that extends 160 miles (258 km) from Tetlin

Tetlin, Alaska

Tetlin is a census-designated place in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 117.-Geography:Tetlin is located at ....

, about 11 miles (17 km) south of Tok

Tok, Alaska

Tok is a census-designated place in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 1,393 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...

 on the Alaska Highway

Alaska Highway

The Alaska Highway was constructed during World War II for the purpose of connecting the contiguous U.S. to Alaska through Canada. It begins at the junction with several Canadian highways in Dawson Creek, British Columbia and runs to Delta Junction, Alaska, via Whitehorse, Yukon...

, to Eagle

Eagle, Alaska

Eagle is a city located along the United States-Canada border in the Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, United States. It includes Eagle Historic District, a U.S. National Historic Landmark. The population was 129 at the 2000 census...

.

It was built in 1953 to provide access to Eagle, Chicken

Chicken, Alaska

Chicken is a census-designated place in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, United States. Chicken is a community founded on gold mining and is one of the few surviving gold rush towns in Alaska...

, and the historic Fortymile Mining District. It connects to the Top of the World Highway

Top of the World Highway

The Top of the World Highway is a long highway, beginning at a junction with the Taylor Highway near Jack Wade, Alaska traveling east to its terminus at the ferry terminal in West Dawson, on the western banks of the Yukon River. The highway has been in existence since at least 1955 and is only...

 96 miles (155 km) from Tetlin, at Jack Wade Junction, allowing road access to Dawson City, Yukon

Dawson City, Yukon

The Town of the City of Dawson or Dawson City is a town in the Yukon, Canada.The population was 1,327 at the 2006 census. The area draws some 60,000 visitors each year...

 during parts of the year. It is 79 miles (127 km) from Jack Wade Junction to Dawson City.

The first 60 miles (96 km) of the highway are paved; the rest are gravel. The highway is closed to automobile traffic from October through April, but is used by snowmobile

Snowmobile

A snowmobile, also known in some places as a snowmachine, or sled,is a land vehicle for winter travel on snow. Designed to be operated on snow and ice, they require no road or trail. Design variations enable some machines to operate in deep snow or forests; most are used on open terrain, including...

s in the winter.

The large Fortymile caribou

Reindeer

The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...

 herd roams near the highway. The highway also provides access to the Fortymile River

Fortymile River

The Fortymile River is a river in Alaska and the Yukon. Prior to the Klondike Gold Rush, there was considerable mining activity along this tributary of the Yukon River. In the 1970s, there was an asbestos mine at Clinton Creek in the Yukon. When gold was discovered on the Fortymille River in 1886,...

 National Wild and Scenic River system.

Towns and places along the Taylor Highway

• Tetlin
  Tetlin, Alaska
  Tetlin is a census-designated place in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 117.-Geography:Tetlin is located at ....
  
  , mile 0 (km 0)
• Chicken
  Chicken, Alaska
  Chicken is a census-designated place in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, United States. Chicken is a community founded on gold mining and is one of the few surviving gold rush towns in Alaska...
  
  , mile 66 (km 106)
• Jack Wade Junction (Top of the World Highway
  Top of the World Highway
  The Top of the World Highway is a long highway, beginning at a junction with the Taylor Highway near Jack Wade, Alaska traveling east to its terminus at the ferry terminal in West Dawson, on the western banks of the Yukon River. The highway has been in existence since at least 1955 and is only...
  
  ), mile 96 (km 154)
• Eagle
  Eagle, Alaska
  Eagle is a city located along the United States-Canada border in the Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, United States. It includes Eagle Historic District, a U.S. National Historic Landmark. The population was 129 at the 2000 census...
  
  , mile 160 (km 258)