North Slope Caribou Hunt Jet Boat Rental

Hunt caribou on your own terms. We rent inflatable jet boats with trailers and camp gear out of Deadhorse, at the north end of the Dalton Highway, for the North Slope season (Jul 31 – Sep 3). Rentals run in fixed blocks with a boat included, so your boat is staged and ready when you arrive — no hauling a boat up the haul road yourself.

Know the rules

Inside the Dalton Highway Corridor Management Area (5 miles each side of the road) big-game hunting is bow-only and off-road vehicles aren't allowed — a boat is how most DIY hunters reach caribou beyond the corridor. Seasons, bag limits and permits for Unit 26B change, so check the current ADF&G regulations and any Board of Game actions before you book.

Getting there

Deadhorse is about 500 miles north of Fairbanks on the Dalton Highway, much of it gravel. The trailer comes with the boat, so you'll need a truck with a 2" ball to tow it — drive up in your own, or fly into Deadhorse and rent ours. We're a rental company: we rent the boat, trailer, camp gear and truck; we don't guide, and we don't transport you or your gear to your hunting area.

The Central Arctic caribou herd is below its management goal and the Board of Game reviews harvest rules in March 2027. The 5-mile rifle corridor off the Dalton is hard tundra walking — plan and pack for a multi-day backpack hunt.

Where to stay & what to bring

You'll want a bed and a hot meal on both ends of your trip, so book a room in Deadhorse for the night before your block and the night after. The place we point renters to is Brooks Camp: rooms with meals, right by the general store, and they'll set up your ride from the airport. It's booked by phone with the camp manager, not online — 907-659-6233 (brookscampak.com). You deal with them directly. Deadhorse is an oilfield camp, not a town: there's one general store in Prudhoe Bay with basics at oilfield prices, and no alcohol is sold anywhere up there. Shop in Fairbanks or Anchorage before you head north, and check your lodging's rules before you pack any alcohol.

Our North Slope Borough permit — what it means for you

We rent on the North Slope under a North Slope Borough Commercial Recreation Permit, and we filed an emergency plan and a waste plan with the Borough to get it. Here's what those plans mean for your group: • Trip plan before pickup: your route, where you'll put in and take out, your return day and time, how many are in your party, your vehicle, and an emergency contact back home. Add it on your booking in your account. • A satellite messenger with two-way texting and SOS (an inReach or similar) is required, and we check that it's on and working at pickup. There's no cell service out there. In a real emergency, press SOS first, then message us. • If you're not back on time, we start by trying your phone and messenger, then your emergency contact. If we've heard nothing 6 hours after your return time, we report your party overdue to North Slope Borough dispatch. Please message us if you're running late. • We go over the safety gear, cold water, weather and bears with you at pickup. Polar bears and grizzlies both live along the coast, so keep food and meat secured in camp. If the weather isn't safe, we hold the boats, and groups already out should sit tight rather than run in bad conditions. • Pack out everything, including human waste. Bring waste bags (WAG-bag type) for solid waste and sealed containers for liquid waste. Nothing gets buried, burned or left on the tundra. • Field-dress and leave game remains out in the field, following ADF&G rules, well away from camps. Don't bring remains back to the pickup site. Meat goes straight to your vehicle or your shipping, because we can't store it at the pad. • In Deadhorse, use the restrooms at Brooks Camp or the general store, never the pickup pad. • At return we check the boat for trash and ask where you actually went, including any bear encounters. We report renter locations to the Borough at the end of each season.