Race Map
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2024 Race Route Description
The Copper Basin 300 sled dog race begins in downtown Glennallen, in front of the KCAM radio station. From here, the trail parallels the Glenn Highway through Glennallen for ~ 2 miles to it’s junction with the Richardson Highway, then turns left and follows the Richardson Highway north.
The race route parallels the Richardson Highway north for ~ 13 miles, crossing from the west side of the highway to the east side by traversing a short section of the Gulkana River under the highway bridge, then continues northward for ~ 2 miles to the intersection of the Richardson Highway with the Tok Cut-Off Highway.
Adjacent to the Richardson Highway intersection with the Tok Cut-Off Highway, the trail turns northeastward, paralleling the Tok Cut-Off Highway towards the first checkpoint at Chistochina (a total distance of ~ 33 miles). The trail passes through Gakona, crossing the lower reach of the Gakona River here to access the north side of the highway. The trail then gains elevation when following the historic Valdez to Eagle Trail out of Gakona.
At approximately MP 33 of the Tok Cut-Off Hwy, the race trail crosses the road under a high visibility light tower (provided by Alyeska) and is manned by volunteers to ensure safe passage for sled dog teams to the east side of the highway. The first checkpoint is then ~ ½ mile further on across the airfield at the Red Eagle Lodge, where warm shelter is available to race participants, officials and spectators. Total distance from race start in Glennallen to Chistochina checkpoint is 49 miles.
At this point in time, Lodge owners are uncertain whether food items will be available to purchase. However, food and drink are available further up the road and trail at Posty’s Sinona Creek Trading Post.
From the Chistochina checkpoint, the race course follows the paved bicycle path to it’s intersection with Sinona Creek, then along the creek bed under the highway bridge and then further along while paralleling the highway to the Chistochina River trailhead.
The race trail then turns northward again at the Chistochina River trailhead and follows this traditional use trail ever northwestward. The race trail crosses Excelsior Creek approximately 37 miles from the Chistochina checkpoint, then up and over the Hump (elevation 4,085 feet) 41½ miles out of Chisto checkpoint, followed by a crossing of the upper Gakona River ~ 45 miles above the Chistochina checkpoint.
Once across the Gakona River, the trail heads due west until it’s intersection with the Alyeska pipeline corridor. From here, the trail follows the pipeline south for 16 miles until a point where the race course leaves the pipeline to follow an access road west 1½ miles toward the second checkpoint at Meier’s Lake Roadhouse. From the upper Gakona River crossing to Meier’s Lake checkpoint is ~ 22 miles. Total distance from Chistochina checkpoint to the Meier’s Lake checkpoint is ~ 68 miles.
A second manned road crossing just before the Meier’s Lake checkpoint will be highly visible to all oncoming traffic with an established light tower in place provided by Alyeska.
Meier’s Lake Roadhouse offers warm lodging and hot food to race participants, officials, and spectators alike.
From the Meier’s Lake checkpoint, the race course heads westward along the Middle Fork Trail for ~ 7 miles to the first Gulkana River crossing, at which point the race trail turns southward and intersects Twelvemile Creek ~ 8½ miles out of Meier’s Lake checkpoint. The third checkpoint at BLM’s Sourdough Campground is another 24½ miles further on down the trail.
The Sourdough checkpoint is situated at an access point to the Gulkana River, just off the Richardson Highway. The nearby Sourdough Lodge is closed; no food or lodging is available here. However, the checkpoint provides warm shelter for race participants and officials.
From Sourdough, the race trail crosses the Gulkana River again and heads southwestward toward the fourth checkpoint at Lake Louise Lodge, a total cross-country distance of ~ 65 miles. The trail through this section skirts or crosses over numerous lakes including Fish Lake (19 miles out of Sourdough), Crosswind Lake (32 miles out of Sourdough), and Lake Louise (52 miles out of Sourdough).
The Lake Louise checkpoint at Lake Louise Lodge is the fourth checkpoint in the 2024 race. The lodge provides warm lodging and hot food to race participants, spectators, and officials.
From Lake Louise Lodge the trail crosses back over southern edge Lake Louise where it will join the Tolsona trail system before dropping out onto Moose Lake and then Tolsona Lake, - a total distance of 24 miles. Checkpoint #5 is located at the Tolsona Lake Lodge, approximately 48 miles from the race finish. The lodge will be open, warm, and serving food to race participants, spectators, and officials.
From the Tolsona Lake Lodge the race runs back to the north end of Tolsona Lake and joins with the Crosswind Trail headed south toward the Glenn Hwy. The trail turns east and follows the ditch line for 10 miles, then heads north on the Ewan Trail for 10 miles. From this intersection, the race course heads due east on the Cindy Trail until it’s intersection with an Alyeska pipeline road, which then accesses the Richardson Highway again at milepost 126.6. Distance along this leg of the race trail is ~12 miles.
From the race course’s intersection with the Richardson Highway, the trail turns due south again, headed towards the finish line in Glennallen, a distance of ~ 12 miles paralleling the Richardson Highway.
Approximate total distance from the Tolsona Lake Lodge checkpoint to the finish line in Glennallen at Old Paths Baptist Church is ~ 48 miles.
Total race trail distance from start to finish is ~ 290 miles.
2023 Race Route Description
The 2023 CB 300 Sled Dog Race begins in downtown Glennallen, Alaska, at MP 188 of the Glenn Highway on Saturday morning at 10am, January 14th. From the starting line, teams will head east, paralleling the Glenn Highway for approximately two miles, then turn due north at the junction with the Richardson Highway.
Running north while paralleling the Richardson Highway, teams will run ~ 12 miles to the intersection with an Alyeska Pipeline Service road and turn up this to the west. Teams will follow the pipeline road for ~ 5 miles to the pipeline itself. The race trail then proceeds on past the pipe, still heading west for another 7 miles along the Cindy Trail.
At the Cindy Trail junction with the Ewan Lake Trail, teams will head south and onward for ~ 12 miles until its end at the Glenn Highway.
The race trail then turns west and parallels the Glenn Highway for ~ 10 miles to the Tolsona Lake area and the intersection with the East Crosswind Lake Trail. Checkpoint #1 is located at the Tolsona Lake Lodge, approximately 45 miles from the race start. The lodge will be open, warm, and serving food to race participants, spectators, and officials. There will be straw and water available for mushers and there will be a required sign-in at this checkpoint.
The race trail then follows a northwesterly direction towards Lake Louise, first passing by the northern end of Tolsona Lake, then Moose Lake, and eventually hooking up with the Tolsona Trail over a total distance of ~ 24 miles. The Lake Louise checkpoint at Lake Louise Lodge is the second checkpoint in the 2022 race. The lodge provides warm lodging and hot food to race participants, spectators, and officials.
From the Lake Louise checkpoint on the southern edge of the lake, the race trail crosses over Lake Louise itself for a distance of just over 3 miles to the lake’s eastern edge. The trail through this next section skirts or crosses over numerous lakes including Crosswind Lake (32 miles before Sourdough) and Fish Lake (19 miles before Sourdough) in a northeasterly direction before reaching the second checkpoint at Sourdough Campground on the banks of the Gulkana River. Total distance between the second and third checkpoint is ~ 55 miles.
The remote Sourdough checkpoint is situated at a road access point to the Gulkana River, just off the Richardson Highway at MP 148. The nearby Sourdough Lodge is closed; no food or lodging is available here. However, the checkpoint provides limited warm shelter for race participants and officials.
From the Sourdough checkpoint, the race trail heads north towards the fourth checkpoint at Meiers Lake Roadhouse, over a distance of ~ 40 miles. Teams will reach Twelvemile Creek at ~ 31½ miles out of Sourdough, then turn eastward after another 1½ miles of travel when intersecting with the Middle Fork Trail. Once on the Middle Fork Trail, teams will travel ~ 7 miles to reach the Meiers Lake checkpoint. Meier’s Lake Roadhouse offers warm lodging and hot food to race participants, officials, and spectators alike.
The first manned road crossing occurs immediately upon leaving the Meier’s Lake checkpoint and will be highly visible to all oncoming traffic with an established light tower in place (provided by Alyeska) and manned by volunteer flaggers to ensure sled dog team safety.
After crossing the Richardson Highway, the race trail heads overland a total of 68 miles to the fifth checkpoint at Chistochina. The race trail heads east for ~ 1½ miles following an access road to the pipeline, then turns north and parallels the pipeline for ~ 16 miles. At this clearly defined turn in the race trail, teams will leave the pipeline corridor, head east and follow a trail to a crossing of the upper Gakona River, which is ~ 22 miles from the Meiers Lake checkpoint.
Within ~ 3½ miles of the Upper Gakona River crossing, the race trail crosses up and over the Hump (elevation 4,085 feet). The Hump is ~ 41½ miles out of the Chistochina checkpoint. The next notable landmark along the race trail is the crossing of Excelsior Creek, ~ 4½ miles from the Hump and ~ 37 miles out of the Chistochina checkpoint. From Excelsior Creek, the race trail follows the Chistochina River trail ever southeastward until reaching the Chistochina River trailhead just outside of the small community of Chistochina. From here the race trail parallels the Tok Cut-Off Highway to its intersection with Sinona Creek, then along the creek bed and under the highway bridge to the paved bicycle path. From the Sinona Creek bridge and along the bicycle path to the final checkpoint at Red Eagle Lodge is a total distance of ~ 2 miles.
Warm shelter, food, and drink is available both at the checkpoint inside the Red Eagle Lodge (MP 32 Tok Cut-Off Highway) and at Posty’s Sinona Creek Trading Post during regular business hours (MP 35 Tok Cut-Off).
Directly across from the Chistochina checkpoint, the race trail crosses over the second manned road crossing at MP 33 of the Tok Cut-Off Highway. The road crossing is manned by volunteers to ensure safe passage for sled dog teams to the west side of the highway and is marked by a high visibility light tower.
From the road crossing, the race trail parallels the Tok Cut-Off Highway for ~ 30 miles southward toward the small community of Gakona along the historic Valdez to Eagle Trail. Just above Gakona, the race trail drops down off the bluff into the Gakona River valley, losing a quick 360 feet of elevation.
The race trail then closely parallels the highway for ~ 1/2 mile until passing under the Gakona River bridge, then up onto a riverside trail which parallels the Copper River for ~1 mile. The race trail then turns right and climbs uphill toward the highway and then turns left and parallels the road for ~1 mile toward the junction of the Tok Cut-Off Highway and the Richardson Highway. The race trail will pass by five residential side roads before reaching the junction area, then turn sharply left and southward. Here again the race trail will pass over three residential side roads, as it heads to the Gulkana River crossing and the Native Village of Gulkana.
At the Gulkana River, the race trail crosses under the Richardson Highway bridge from east to west, and then out, paralleling the Richardson Highway while heading south towards the finish line in Glennallen. Total distance from the junction of the Tok Cut-Off Highway and Richardson Highway to the finish line in Glennallen at Old Paths Baptist Church is ~ 14 miles