Fairbanks: Start
Iditarod racers will start in Fairbanks for the second time in the race’s 43-year history this year. Fairbanks also hosted the Iditarod restart in 2003. The town of Fairbanks is second only to Anchorage in population count.
Nenana: 71 miles from starting line
Nenana will serve as the first checkpoint on the 2015 Iditarod, its second chance to host the race after 2003. Nenana is home to about 400 people.
The city has a long history with mushing and actually served as part of the life-saving serum delivery, by a relay of dog teams, to Nome in 1925.
Manley Hot Springs: 161 miles from starting line
With a population of 117, Manley will serve as the second checkpoint on this year’s Iditarod. The community was settled in large part for its hot springs and was named Baker’s Hot Springs for 50 years, until the 1950’s.
Tanana: 227 miles from starting line
The village now known as Tanana was previously known to Alaska Natives as “Nucklakayette” or “Nuklukayet” — the meeting of the two rivers. Tanana is home to about 230 residents and will be hosting Iditarod mushers for the second time.
Ruby: 346 miles from starting line
Ruby usually serves as the 11th checkpoint on the Iditarod’s northern route, where the route connects with the Yukon. This year, however, with the changes to the route, Ruby will serve as the fourth checkpoint (and the second checkpoint on the Yukon).The Ruby community hall serves as the Iditarod checkpoint.
Galena: 396 miles from starting line
Galena is one of the biggest checkpoints between the start and finish of the 2015 Iditarod. For the past two years, the community has been in a process of rebuilding, after intense flooding during breakup devastated the village in the spring of 2013.
Huslia: 478 mi miles from starting line
Huslia, home to 338 residents, marks the halfway point of the 2015 Iditarod. It stands as the northernmost checkpoint on the Iditarod. This will be Huslia’s first year serving as a checkpoint for the Iditarod.
Koyukuk: 564 miles from starting line
The village has a population of less than 100. This will be Koyukuk’s first year as an Iditarod checkpoint as well. As with Huslia, Koyukuk was added to the checkpoint list to remove the need for an area of back-tracking for mushers.
Nulato: 586 miles from starting line
The distance to Nulato from the previous checkpoint is one of the shortest links of the 2015 Iditarod, at 22 miles. It’s origin is a troubled one — starting out as a Russian trading post in the mid-1800s, the community was burned to the ground on two separate occasions.
Kaltag: 633 miles from starting line
Kaltag’s official checkpoint and gathering spot is at the community hall. Infrastructure arrived in the village as early as 1867. Kaltag was officially established after the food shortage and measles epidemic of 1900 when villagers from three nearby camps moved to the area to regroup.
Unalakleet: 718 miles from starting line
Unalakleet, which means“from the southern side,” is home to two stores and two restaurants, and has long been an important trading hub as the terminus for the Kaltag Portage. House remnants from along the beach have been dated around A.D. 200. From Unalakleet, mushers have 221 miles to Nome.
Shaktoolik: 758 miles from starting line
Shortly after leaving Shaktoolik, population 258, mushers must travel onto the ice of Norton Bay, a treacherous section of trail. Iditarod officials describe trails surrounding Shaktoolik as some of the windiest stretches in the race. Shaktoolik’s checkpoint is located at the armory and is 50 miles from the next stop on the trail.
Koyuk: 808 miles from starting line
The checkpoint of Koyuk marks an important turning point for mushers — the remaining trail travels only on land. The nearby site of lyatayet on Cape Denbigh has traces of human habitation dating back 6,000 to 8,000 years.
Elim: 856 miles from starting line
When racers reach the checkpoint of Elim, they have less than 100 miles to travel. Elim’s checkpoint is located in the fire hall.
White Mountain: 902 miles from starting line
White Mountain is 55 miles from the final checkpoint of Safety. Located on the west bank of the Fish River and near the Niukluk River, the village at one point was the Inupiat fish camp of Nutchirviq.
Safety: 957 miles from starting line
Safety is 22 miles from Nome on the coast of the Bering Sea and is the final checkpoint before the finish line. After Safety mushers mostly race on the beach to their ultimate destination. Nobody lives at the coastal checkpoint.
Nome: 979 miles from starting line (Finish Line)
Nome, located roughly 1,000 trail miles from Fairbanks, tantalizes mushers for days as they ride mile after mile to reach their destination. Those who make it to the end are treated each year to a warm and enthusiastic reception as they cross under the Burled Arch that is the finish line.
