Inlet Tower - Official Anchorage Hotel
Our official race headquarters in Anchorage.


Inlet Tower is our official Anchorage hotel and they give you discounts!
Inlet Tower Hotel & Suites
1200 L Street - Anchorage, Alaska 99501
Toll Free: 800-544-0786
907-276-0110 FAX: 907-258-4914
info@inlettower.com

Sheep Mountain Lodge
Race Start Headquarters
$135 for 2 in a cabin.
HC 03 Box 8490
Palmer, Alaska 99645
(Located Mile 113.5 Glenn Hwy.)
1-877-645-5121
info@sheepmountain.com

 

Majestic Valley Wilderness Lodge
Mile 114.9 on the Glenn Highway (race starts mile 113.5)
$115 to $135 double occupancy
HC03 Box 8514-I
Palmer, AK 99645
Phone: (907) 746-2930
Fax: (907) 746-2931
Email: info@majesticvalleylodge.com

	Luxury Accommodations - NEW in 2007 King beds with Private baths Overlooks Matanuska Glacier On 100-mile Lake on the Glenn Highway 34301 West Glenn Highway Only 4 suites. $400 or $450 a night. http://www.matanuskalodge.com/ Brenda or Rodney 907-746-0378 nuska1@mac.com

Grand View Lodge Cafe & RV Park

RV Park
22518 West Glenn Hwy
Milepost 109.5 Glenn Hwy, 4 miles toward Anchorage from the race start
Glacier View, AK 99674
(907) 746- 4480, http://www.grandviewrv.com/facilities-and-rates.htm
19 RV sites. Clean coin operated showers & laundry on premise.
Full 30 (30 Amp electric with water and sewer) $25.50
Full 50 (50 Amp electric with water and sewer) $27.50
Water & 30 Amp electric $23.00
Economy (No Hook Ups) $14.00
Tent Sites $14.00
Price for economy and Tent Sites have access to 24 hr restrooms and $ showers

Tundra Rose Guest Cottages
22518 West Glenn Highway
Milepost 109.5 Glenn Highway, 4 miles toward Anchorage from the race start
Glacier View, Alaska 99674
(907) 745-5865 or (800) 315-5865 in Alaska
http://www.tundrarosebnb.com/tundra-rose-cottages.html#rates
$125 Per Cottage ~ 2 persons
$15 per additional guest
5% Borough Bed Tax added to room rate
10% Active Military Discount

Caribou Hotel
http://www.caribouhotel.com
76 miles from the Fireweed start.
Full service Alaska hotel, B &B, cabins and guide-concierge service for
alaska fishing and alaska hunting beside Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Glennallen, the junction of the Glenn and Richardson Highways
Voice 907-822-3302, FAX 907-822-3711, info@caribouhotel.com

 

2007 Fireweed Jersey $79 Here racers and non-racers - see below.



with mesh back & zip off sleeves!
Only available at FREE SPIRIT
Home of the most popular jerseys & jackets in Alaska!

 

Awards Ceremony
Monday, July 14, 2008. 5:30 to 9:30 PM, Beartooth Theatre Pub in Anchorage
Awards, Prizes, Race Movie - see yourself on the BIG screen.
Free Admission. Please buy a full meal to sit at your table and enjoy!
Excellent food, pizza, beverages, and bar available.

BEAR TOOTH --http://www.beartooththeatre.net/index2.html

Alaskan Links

Arctic Bicycle Club, http://www.arcticbike.org/abc_home_java.html
Our sponsoring bike club! The Road Racing Division is http://www.abc-cycling.com/

Sheep Mountain Lodge, http://www.sheepmountain.net/
Fireweed400 race start. Lodge can only accommodate 40 people. Make reservations early.

Airport Weather Sheep Mountain, http://weather.noaa.gov/weather/current/PASP.html
Weather at the race start 24 x 7 x 365 from the dirt airstrip 2 miles away.

Majestic Valley Wilderness Lodge, http://www.majesticvalleylodge.com/index.html
One mile up the road from the start. Accommodates 60 people. Make reservations early.

NOVA River Rafters and Glacier Hikes, http://www.novalaska.com/
Raft trip starts 6 miles from Sheep Mountain Lodge. Great for race spectators.

MICA Glacier Guides, http://www.micaguides.com/glacier.html
Glacier tours start 10 miles from Sheep Mountain Lodge.

South-central Alaska web site, http://www.alaska.com/akcom/southcentral/
Location of The Fireweed400 and Anchorage.

Anchorage Daily News, newspaper in Anchorage, http://www.adn.com/
Find out what is happening in Anchorage. Searchable for Alaskan locations.

The Milepost, http://www.themilepost.com/
AAA for Alaskan roads with mile by mile commentary on the entire race route.

 

The Race Course Itself

The Fireweed 400 will start on the Glenn Highway at Sheep Mountain Lodge, roughly 100 miles northeast of Anchorage, and run to Valdez and back a total distance of approximately 392 miles. The National Scenic Byway states "The Glenn Highway is a place where geology, culture, and scenery come together to create the majestic and rugged landscape that can only be seen in Alaska." The Glenn Highway was completed in 1944 linking the Alaska-Canada Highway to Anchorage. Before its completion there was no road access to Anchorage from the Lower 48.

In the first 15 miles of the route, racers will find couple of steep climbs. At approximately 15 miles from the start, riders will reach Eureka Summit (3,322), the highest point of the Glenn Highway. In the next sixty miles to Glennallen, the route descends gradually to an elevation of approximately 1000 feet.

Traveling east to Glennallen, bikers will have views of Mount Sanford (elev. 16,237 feet), Mount Drum (elev. 12,010 feet), Mount Wrangell (elev. 14,163 feet), and Mount Blackburn(elev. 16,390 feet). These Wrangell Mountains, along with St. Elias Mountains contain the most spectacular array of glaciers and ice fields outside the polar regions. The Wrangell Mountains are part of the Wrangell-St Elias National Park and Preserve, the nationÕs largest national park. Together with the adjacent Kluane National Park of Canada, the park has been designated a World Heritage site by the United Nations. In addition to the Wrangells, the riders will be surrounded for most of the race on the Glenn and Richardson highways by the Talkeetna Range and the Chugach Mountains.

Wildflowers growing along the roadside in July, include fireweed, sweet pea, lupine, cinquefoil, Jacob's ladder, and milk-vetch.

 

Attractions along the Glenn Highway

Gunsight Mountain - The notch of the Gunsight is plain if one looks closely.

Eureka Lodge - This is first lodge built on the Glenn Highway, opening in 1937.

The unincorporated community of Mendeltna - It was originally a stop used by Natives traveling from Lake Tyone to Tazlina Lake. Gold brought prospectors into the area of Mendeltna in the 1800s.

View of Tazlina Glacier to the south.- During the last ice age, this glacier and others spilled out of the Chugach Range and covered the whole Copper River Valley.

Glennallen - Glennallen is the hub of the Copper River Valley. The name Glennallen is derived from the combined last names of Capt. Edwin F. Glenn and Lt. Henry T. Allen, both leaders in the early exploration of the Copper River Valley region.

Mile 75.5 of the race route, just beyond Glennallen, riders will turn right onto the Richardson Highway. The trip from Glennallen down and into Valdez is one of the most beautiful highways in Alaska. With its alpine tundra filled with miniature flowers and fireweed it has long been called the Switzerland of Alaska. Before the riders descend to sea level at Valdez, they will need to climb a series of rolling hills that take them to the top of Thompson Pass, an elevation of 3000 feet. The climb, however, will seem gradual compared to the "Prime Climb" out of Valdez to the top of Thompson Pass on the way back to Sheep Mountain Lodge.

The Richardson Highway connects Fairbanks, the capital of the interior of Alaska, with the seaport of Valdez. At the turn of century, thousands of gold seekers, starting at Valdez, traversed the trails over the glaciers and mountains by wagon and sled into the interior of Alaska. In 1920, the wagon route to Fairbanks was upgraded for vehicular use, and in 1957 this route was paved.

 

Attractions along the Richardson Highway

Copper Center - Founded in 1896, Copper Center, founded as a governmental agricultural experiment station, was the first white settlement in this area. Gold Miners poured into the area at the turn of the century. A post office was established here in 1901, the same year as the telegraph station.

Trans-Alaska Pipeline - The pipeline parallels the highway in numerous spots.

Edgerton Highway Junction - The Edgerton provides access to the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.

Mid-point of the Richardson - The route climbs to tundra meadows dotted with numerous lakes and river crossings.

The Worthington Glacier - This is the closest one can get by road to a glacier in the state.

Thompson Pass - Record snow falls are recorded here.

Keystone Canyon - The route winds along the Lowe River in the canyon. The canyon walls contain countless waterfalls and interesting rock formations.

Valdez - Valdez is located on an estuary of the Valdez Arm in Prince William Sound. Valdez developed due to its excellent ice-free port as the major debarkation point in Alaska for those seeking a route to the Klondike and to the interior of Alaska. Tsunamis generated by Valdez 1964 earthquake destroyed the original city of Valdez, and the community was rebuilt afterwards in a more sheltered area.