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Trip from Ketchikan, AK to Diamond Ridge, AK

Compiled and reviewed by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 17, 2026 · Editorial standards

Drive Time

51h 28m

Distance

1060.4 mi

1,707 km

Drive Score

7/10

Good drive

Same Day?

4-day trip

Fuel Cost

$230

one way

EV Charging

Unknown

Best Time to Leave

Save up to 139 min
4 AM
50h 42m ★
6 AM
51h 28m
8 AM
53h 1m
10 AM
52h 1m
12 PM
51h 51m
3 PM
52h 5m
5 PM
52h 56m
8 PM
51h 0m

Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.

city in Alaska, USA

Ketchikan, AK

Wikimedia Commons

census-designated place in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska

Diamond Ridge, AK

Wikimedia Commons

Trip Overview

The drive from Ketchikan, AK to Diamond Ridge, AK covers 1060.4 miles and takes about 51h 28m behind the wheel. It usually feels better as a 4-day road trip than as one long push.

The route leans on Water Street, Tongass Avenue, Ketchikan Ferry Terminal Road for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is long-distance drive. At current regular gas prices, budget about $229.82 one way before food or hotel costs.

Trip Pace

Best split across 4 days

Treat the return leg as its own travel day rather than an afterthought.

Break Rhythm

14 planned breaks

Plan on a short reset every 3 to 4 hours to stay fresh behind the wheel.

Midpoint

530.2 miles from Ketchikan, AK

A natural place for your longest stop of the day , about 25h 44m into the drive .

Who Is This Route For?

Solo Traveler

51h 28m drive, plan rest stops for pacing.

Scenic Drive

Long-distance drive route profile.

Drive Character

At 1060.4 miles and 51h 28m of driving, this is a route where fuel stops, weather, and timing matter more than any single turn. The main roads are Water Street and Tongass Avenue.

Expect a mix of faster highway mileage and slower local approaches near the beginning or end.
There are about 21 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.
Water Street is one of the defining roads on this drive.

How Hard Is This Drive?

At 51h 28m, this is a long-haul route where pacing matters more than any single turn. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention.

Driving Effort 7/10

Focused - busy navigation packed into a short drive

Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.

Navigation is easy, but the length (51h 28m) means fatigue is the real challenge. The route is 0% highway with very few tricky spots, so this is more about pacing than navigation skill.

Where does it get tricky?

This route does not have any notably tricky sections. Most of the drive from Ketchikan, AK to Diamond Ridge, AK is straightforward, with well-signed roads and simple exits.

Main Roads

Road Distance Duration
Water Street
Tongass Avenue
Ketchikan Ferry Terminal Road
Alaska Marine Highway - Ketchikan ↔ Juneau
Alaska Marine Highway - Juneau-Yakutat
Alaska Marine Highway - Whittier-Yakutat
West Camp Road
Portage Glacier Highway

Some road-level metrics are being recalculated.

Longest stretch: Water Street — detailed segment metrics are refreshing.

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

Step-by-step road directions between Ketchikan, AK and Diamond Ridge, AK.

1

Start on the route

0.1 mi · 34 sec · the route
2

At the end of the road, turn right onto Water Street

217 ft · 12 sec · Water Street
3

Continue on Water Street

0.4 mi · 37 sec · Water Street
4

Turn left onto Tongass Avenue

1.6 mi · 3 min · Tongass Avenue
5

Turn left

128 ft · 5 sec
6

Turn right

430 ft · 37 sec
7

Turn left onto Ketchikan Ferry Terminal Road

469 ft · 41 sec · Ketchikan Ferry Terminal Road
8

Turn straight onto Alaska Marine Highway - Ketchikan ↔ Juneau

277 mi · 8 hr · Alaska Marine Highway - Ketchikan ↔ Juneau
9

Turn sharp left onto Alaska Marine Highway - Juneau-Yakutat

263 mi · 17 hr · Alaska Marine Highway - Juneau-Yakutat
10

Turn sharp left onto Alaska Marine Highway - Whittier-Yakutat

334 mi · 22 hr · Alaska Marine Highway - Whittier-Yakutat
11

Continue straight

374 ft · 7 sec
12

At the end of the road, turn right onto West Camp Road

174 ft · 9 sec · West Camp Road
13

Continue on West Camp Road

1.4 mi · 2 min · West Camp Road
14

Continue on Portage Glacier Highway

4.7 mi · 10 min · Portage Glacier Highway
15

Continue on Portage Glacier Road

5.0 mi · 7 min · Portage Glacier Road
16

At the end of the road, turn left onto Seward Highway

41 mi · 47 min · Seward Highway
17

Take the exit slight right

127 mi · 3 hr 1 min
18

Turn left onto Diamond Ridge Road

4.8 mi · 10 min · Diamond Ridge Road
19

At the end of the road, turn left onto Skyline Drive

0.7 mi · 1 min · Skyline Drive
20

Turn slight left onto Autumn Star Street

0.2 mi · 48 sec · Autumn Star Street
21

Arrive at your destination

Trip Plan

Morning Departure

Start early — leave by 6-7 AM to arrive at a reasonable hour.

Evening Departure

This is a long drive — plan for a morning departure or consider splitting it into two days.

This drive is better paced as a 4-day trip.
Plan roughly 14 meaningful breaks for fuel, food, and rest.
The halfway point lands around 530.2 miles from Ketchikan, AK, or about 25h 44m into the drive.

Consider an overnight stop or starting very early.

Departure

Before you leave

Start with fuel, water, and navigation already sorted so the first hour feels easy.

First stop

Around 220 miles or 10h 40m in

Use this first pause for coffee, a restroom break, and a quick traffic check ahead.

Halfway reset

Around 530.2 miles or 25h 44m in

This is the best place for your longest stop, a real meal, and a full fuel check.

Overnight split

Day 1 wrap after about 265.1 miles or 12h 52m

Stop before fatigue turns the last few hours into a grind. You want day two to start fresh, not just resumed.

Final approach

Final hour starts around 48h 33m

Traffic, exits, and arrival timing usually matter more near Diamond Ridge, AK than in the middle of the route.

Before You Leave

+

Open the route before leaving Ketchikan, AK so your first major turns are already loaded.

+

Leave with enough water and a charging cable within reach, not packed away.

+

Check your fuel range against the first long segment, especially if you are starting outside city service areas.

+

Pick one backup stop option before the midpoint in case traffic changes your pacing.

+

Treat this as a 4-day road trip and book the overnight stop before the busiest arrival window.

Day 1

Settle into the route from Ketchikan, AK

Aim for roughly 265 miles and 12.9 hours of wheel time on this day.

Day 2

Keep the middle miles efficient

Aim for roughly 265 miles and 12.9 hours of wheel time on this day.

Day 3

Keep the middle miles efficient

Aim for roughly 265 miles and 12.9 hours of wheel time on this day.

Day 4

Finish the approach into Diamond Ridge, AK

Aim for roughly 265 miles and 12.9 hours of wheel time on this day.

Your first comfortable stop window is around 220 miles from Ketchikan, AK.
This route usually feels better as a 4-day drive than as one long push.
Plan about 14 real breaks rather than only quick fuel stops.

Where to Stop

Rest stops, refuel points, and overnight suggestions along this route.

Halfway Point

Midpoint

About 530.2 mi from Ketchikan, AK · 25h 44m into the drive

Downtown Bear Creek, AK, AK

First major stop

Coffee and fuel

Bear Creek, AK

350 mi into the route

Best for: Coffee, fuel, and an easy first stretch

This is a natural early stop once the first hours of the drive are behind you.

Downtown Kenai, AK, AK

Second major stop

Overnight candidate

Kenai, AK

700 mi into the route

Best for: Hotel check-in, dinner, and a fresh start

This lines up well with a realistic day-end stop if you are breaking the drive into stages.

Find hotels in Kenai, AK

Overnight Options

Night 1

Eagle River, AK

265 mi · about 12.9h in

A practical overnight split lands near Eagle River, AK after about 265 miles or 12.9 hours of driving.

Find hotels

Night 2

Bear Creek, AK

530 mi · about 25.7h in

A practical overnight split lands near Bear Creek, AK after about 530 miles or 25.7 hours of driving.

Find hotels

Night 3

Kenai, AK

795 mi · about 38.6h in

A practical overnight split lands near Kenai, AK after about 795 miles or 38.6 hours of driving.

Find hotels

Pacing Suggestions

Bear Creek, AK

Fuel and coffee

A short stop after about 220 miles helps settle the day before fatigue starts building.

Bear Creek, AK

Meal break

The midpoint is around 530.2 miles from Ketchikan, AK, which is a good place for a longer meal and fuel stop.

Overnight split

Hotel stop

For a steadier pace, wrap day one after about 265 miles or 12.9 hours on the road.

Final-third reset

Rest stop

Plan one more short stretch-and-water break in the final third of the drive so the last arrival window feels easier.

Arriving in Diamond Ridge, AK

The final approach into Diamond Ridge, AK usually feels slower than the middle of the drive, so avoid planning your tightest schedule at the very end.

Try to arrive with enough fuel left to skip an immediate station stop unless you already know the area around Diamond Ridge, AK.

On a multi-day trip, keep the last day a little lighter so you reach Diamond Ridge, AK with some flexibility left in the schedule.

These stop ideas are pacing suggestions — the exact town or exit can change with traffic, hotel plans, and fuel range.

Fuel & Cost

Regular Gas

$229.82 one way

$459.65 round trip

$5.51/gal 25.4 MPG avg 371 kg CO2
Fuel Type $/gal One Way Round Trip
midgrade $5.79 $241.68 $483.36
premium $5.98 $249.65 $499.31
diesel $5.61 $234.12 $468.25

No toll roads detected on this route.

Estimated Trip Cost (one way, 1 person)

Fuel

$230

Hotel (3n)

$240–$420

Meals

$100–$200

Total

$570–$850

Rough estimate based on US averages. Hotel $80–$140/night, meals $25–$50/day.

Estimated CO2 emission: 371 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.

Driving Electric?

About $111 in charging · 3 stops · 67% less CO2

Vehicle Type kWh Stops DC Fast Home Charge
Average EV 318.1 3 $111.34 $50.90
Efficient EV 265.1 3 $92.79 $42.42
EV Truck/SUV 424.2 5 $148.46 $67.87

Gas CO2

371 kg

EV CO2

124 kg (67% less)

Plan for 3 charging stops, roughly every 270 miles. Allow 25-40 minutes per stop at a DC fast charger.

DC fast charging avg $0.35/kWh. Home charging avg $0.16/kWh. US grid CO2: 0.39 kg/kWh.

Travel Intel

Current conditions at both ends of the drive.

Forecast as of Apr 15, 2026

Origin

Ketchikan, AK

Morning in Ketchikan on Friday

Local time

7:26 AM

AKDT

Current temp

49°F

Unavailable

Live forecast

Destination

Diamond Ridge, AK

Morning in Diamond Ridge on Friday

Local time

7:26 AM

AKDT

Current temp

36°F

Unavailable

Live forecast

Seasonal Notes

Summer travel usually means heavier construction, hotter rest stops, and busier weekend traffic around major cities.

Winter travel shortens daylight, so a route that looks manageable on paper can feel much longer after dark.

Holiday weekends tend to make both departure and arrival windows slower than the raw route time suggests.

For long drives, weather on day two can matter just as much as conditions at departure, so check the whole travel window rather than only the first day.

Time zone

Same local time

Origin and destination are on the same clock, so arrival timing is easier to judge at a glance.

Temperature spread

13 degrees cooler at arrival

A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.

Road read

51h 28m on the road

This is long enough that the arrival forecast matters almost as much as departure conditions. Recheck both ends before you roll.

Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.

Frequently Asked Questions

The drive from Ketchikan, AK to Diamond Ridge, AK covers 1060.4 miles and takes about 51h 28m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.

The main roads are Water Street, Tongass Avenue, Ketchikan Ferry Terminal Road. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.

Consider an overnight stop or starting very early.

Yes. This route is usually more comfortable as a 4-day drive. A sensible stopping point is after roughly 265 miles on day one.

The midpoint is about 530.2 miles from Ketchikan, AK. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.

At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $229.82 one way. This estimate uses 25.4 MPG — your actual cost will vary with your vehicle's fuel efficiency and current gas prices.

Start early — leave by 6-7 AM to arrive at a reasonable hour. This is a long drive — plan for a morning departure or consider splitting it into two days.

Plan about 14 meaningful breaks for fuel, food, or rest. Plan on a short reset every 3 to 4 hours to stay fresh behind the wheel.

Navigation is easy, but the length (51h 28m) means fatigue is the real challenge. The route is 0% highway with very few tricky spots, so this is more about pacing than navigation skill.

This route does not have any notably tricky sections. Most of the drive from Ketchikan, AK to Diamond Ridge, AK is straightforward, with well-signed roads and simple exits.

The route from Ketchikan, AK to Diamond Ridge, AK does not surface many named destination signs beyond the main corridor.

How this page is built

Compiled by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy from open government datasets — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for geometry, and EIA for fuel prices. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.

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