ABOUT THE MILEPOST TRAVEL GUIDE:
"The best source of
information"
-- USA Today
"The best guidebook I've ever
used!"
-- D.C., Linville, NC
One of North America's most famous roads sparked creation
of one of publishing's longest-running guides. The Alaska
Highway was a rugged road when it opened for tourist traffic
in 1948, and facilities were few and far between. On such
a road, a reliable guidebook was essential, and in 1949, The
MILEPOST® was born. The MILEPOST® has been guiding
travelers to Alaska longer than Alaska has been a state. Alaska
became the 49th state in 1959.
Today, visitors from around the world are drawn to the wildlife
and fishing, mountains and meadows, grandeur and adventure
of the highway. The two-lane road winds and rolls across the
vast, varied and breathtaking wilderness of two countries
-- the United States and Canada. It's enjoyed by everyone
from bicyclists to RVers with expensive Class A rigs, according
to MILEPOST Editor Kris Valencia. These days, surfacing on the
highway ranges from fair to excellent; there are relatively
few steep grades; and services are found an average of every
20 to 50 miles.
 The
highway was originally built to create an overland link between
Alaska and the Lower 48 states during World War II because
Alaska was considered vulnerable to Japanese invasion. The
road is now a major attraction for those who want to experience
the Last Frontier.
The first edition of The MILEPOST® was a mere 72 pages,
a 5 1/4" x
8 1/4" saddle-stitched booklet containing
"helpful information for motorists" and logs of
the Alaska Highway and seven other highways. At that time,
there were about 1,000 miles of connected road within Alaska.
Today, The MILEPOST® is a large format, full-color, perfect-bound
book of 800 pages and includes logs of attractions,
activities and services along 88 scenic highways and roads
in Alaska, Yukon Territory and other parts of Western Canada.
Public road mileage in Alaska today-including all city streets-is
about 14,400 miles. The MILEPOST® logs all major highways
and most secondary roads, from the 1,488-mile Alaska Highway
(the longest road logged) to the 1.6 mile Anchor River Road
(the shortest road logged).
 Today's MILEPOST also has an extensive Inside Passage section
for cruiseship and ferry travelers; detailed coverage of air
access, cities and major attractions such as Denali and Glacier
Bay national parks; and a general information section on everything
from Alaska's three types of bears (where to see them and
how to avoid them), to when to go and what to wear.
The first edition of The MILEPOST® weighed less than
4 ounces and was sold primarily through the mail and at Northern
newsstands. The current edition weighs in at close to three
pounds is sold throughout the world by bookstores, travel
clubs, warehouse clubs, outdoor stores and other outlets,
as well as by direct mail and via the Internet. It's the world's
best-selling guide to Alaska, according to statistics gathered
by Publishers Weekly, and has become almost as famous as the
highway, with endorsements by everyone from The Associated
Press and the New York Times to National Geographic Traveler
and Alaska magazine.
 The handful of black-and-white photos and maps in the early editions
have been replaced by more than 500 color photos; 56 city,
vicinity and park maps; and 42 detailed highway strip maps.
A popular feature of The MILEPOST® since it began has
been the fold-out Plan-A-Trip Map bound into the book.
Field editors who live in Alaska and Canada drive the roads
and visit the Inside Passage every year to provide up-to-date,
comprehensive information to travelers. When you want to know
where you'll find turnouts, gas, food, lodgings or restrooms;
where you're likely to see wildlife; what day trips are available
from Anchorage; what shore-excursion-length experiences can
be found near Juneau; what Alaska glaciers are easy to reach
by road; how to visit a Native fish camp; when salmon run
on the Kenai River; or what the Talkeetna Moose Dropping Festival
is, The MILEPOST® tells you.
Click here
to view sample pages from The MILEPOST®.
Click here to order online.
To order by phone:
Call 1-800-726-4707 for U.S. orders and
1-800-663-5714 for Canadian orders.
(All prices are in U.S. funds)
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