Alaska

Alaska's traffic regulations define an "off-highway vehicle" as a vehicle designed or adapted for cross-country operation over unimproved terrain, ice or snow, and which has been declared by its owner at the time of registration and determined by the department to be unsuitable for general highway use, although the vehicle may make incidental use of a highway as provided in the title. The same regulation defines an "all-purpose vehicle" as any self-propelled vehicle designed to travel on wheels or tracks in contact with the ground and commonly used to transport persons for recreational purposes, including vehicles such as four-wheel drive units, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), or utility terrain vehicles (UTVs), and states that the term does not include off-highway vehicles.

13 AAC 40.010(a)(30), (a)(67), checked 2026-10-01. Official text for Alaska, 13 AAC 40.010(a)(30), (a)(67), external site

This rule covers state-owned public domain land only; it does not apply to land withdrawn from the public domain and no longer managed under AS 38, including a state park and land owned by the University of Alaska. On that land, a permit or other written authorization from the department is required for uses and activities not on the regulation's list of generally allowed uses. The list includes using a recreational-type off-road or all-terrain vehicle with a curb weight of up to 1,500 pounds, including a snowmobile and four-wheeler, on or off an established road easement, if use off the road easement does not cause or contribute to water quality degradation, alteration of drainage systems, significant rutting, ground disturbance, or thermal erosion. The list is subject to special use land and public use area requirements; a use for a commercial recreation purpose requires prior registration; the list does not exempt a user from other applicable federal, state, or municipal statutes, ordinances, and regulations; and the use must cease if the department determines that it interferes with public access or other public uses or interests. The user must comply with 11 AAC 96.025: activities employing wheeled or tracked vehicles must be conducted in a manner that minimizes surface damage, and vehicles must use existing roads and trails whenever possible.

11 AAC 96.020(a), (a)(1)(E), (b)(1)-(2), (c), (d); 11 AAC 96.025(1)-(2), checked 2026-10-01. Official text for Alaska, 11 AAC 96.020(a), (a)(1)(E), (b)(1)-(2), (c), (d); 11 AAC 96.025(1)-(2), external site

13 AAC 02.455 is written for a snowmobile or an "off-highway vehicle", defined as a vehicle designed or adapted for cross-country operation over unimproved terrain, ice or snow that its owner has declared at the time of registration and the department has determined to be unsuitable for general highway use. It may be driven on a roadway or shoulder of a highway only: (1) to cross as described below, or to traverse a bridge or culvert at its extreme right-hand edge when that can be completed with safety and without interfering with other traffic; (2) when use of the highway by other motor vehicles is impossible because of snow or ice accumulation or other natural conditions, or the highway is posted or otherwise designated as open to travel by off-highway vehicles; (3) when authorized by an authority having jurisdiction over the highway, under its restrictions; or (4) on the right-of-way of a highway that is not a controlled-access highway, outside the roadway or shoulder and no closer than three feet from the nearest edge of the roadway, with night driving only on the right-hand side in the direction of the nearest lane's traffic. No person may drive one within the area dividing the roadways of a divided highway except to cross. A direct crossing must be made at approximately a right angle where visibility is clear in both directions, only if it can be completed safely and without interfering with other traffic, after a complete stop and with the driver yielding the right-of-way to all traffic on the highway. None may cross or travel on a sidewalk, a location intended for pedestrian or other nonmotorized traffic, an alley, or a vehicular way or area not open to snowmobile or off-highway vehicle operation, except by such a crossing.

13 AAC 02.455(a), (f), (g); 13 AAC 40.010(a)(30), checked 2026-10-01. Official text for Alaska, 13 AAC 02.455(a), (f), (g); 13 AAC 40.010(a)(30), external site