WELCOME TO TOK! We are pleased that you have chosen to spend some time in our small community. Our residents number 1415 and our elevation is 1635’. We are the trade center for the Athabascan Native villages of Northway, Tetlin, Tanacross, Mentasta, Eagle and Dot Lake. Local Native arts and crafts may be found in many of our gift shops.
 
Tok originated as an Alaska Road Commission camp for the construction of the Alcan and Glenn Highways in the 1940s. To discover how Tok got its name, stop by the Mainstreet Visitors Center. You will be surprised. Tok was designated a Presidential Townsite in 1946, the same year the Alcan was open to civilians, and a roadhouse was opened in the community.

In 1954, the Tok Dog Mushers was founded, and the U.S. Army began construction of the Haines-Fairbanks fuel pipeline, with a pump station located here. It closed down in 1979. In the fall of 1976 the U.S. Coast Guard built the Long Range Aid to Navigation station (LORAN). Four 700’ towers, 6 miles east of the junction, transmit radio navigation signals for air and marine traffic in the Gulf of Alaska. U.S. Customs moved from Tok to its present location in 1971.

Milepost 1324 leads to the Tanacross Indian village and the Tanacross Airport. The village is where the Eagle Trail crossed the Tanana River. Sternwheelers once plied the river. The large paved airstrip was built during WWII to handle aircraft being ferried to Russia. It remains a base for summer fire fighting crews.

The Tok Race of Champions Sled Dog Race, one of the oldest in the state, is held each March. Tok is one of the centers of dog breeding, training and mushing.

Tok is a winter playground for snowmachiners, with many snowmobile activities.