Howard has given us all permission to us this site as a place to share our planning, experience and knowledge for a trip to Alaska in the Summer of 2019.
We are planning our 3+ month trip to begin at the end of May and to wrap-up in early September. We will start and finish the trip from Western Washington (Tacoma).
My research has included - Mileposts, Blogs from fellow RV'ers, and a zillion brochures and magazines sent from a single online inquiry. Thus far I have enjoyed the personal Blogs from fellow RV'ers the most.
Perhaps a good beginning point would be a listing of the best Blogs and YouTube videos to use in our research. What are your favorites?
I'll be trying to find a way to post our itinerary/plan in the next few weeks. (The next week and a half we are busy driving to Mazatlan, Mexico.)
ALASKA or BUST
jrzygrl64 said
05:38 PM Oct 25, 2018
Bill and I went to AK summer of 2016. I blogged about it extensively, including 2 summaries that I’ve been told had helpful info. Take a look and see if you find anything helpful!
Be sure to let me know if you have any questions or comments n
olderthandirt said
05:32 PM Nov 5, 2018
Planning to head north to Alaska through Montana end of May with a new (but tested) 2019 NH 40' Summit. My current thinking is to take the route through Calgary, Banff, Jasper before driving on to Dawson Creek. Then on to Fairbanks. That's as far as my Alaska planning has gone. On the way back in early-mid September, I would like to take the Cassiar Hwy route to Prince George / Cache Creek / Hope, with a crossover east of Vancouver. I have been weighing the pros and cons of a side trip to Haines with a ferry ride to Skagway. At this point I'm not convinced I want to try backing a 40' fiver with an F350 in the confines of a congested ferry. Who knows, maybe by then I'll be used to back-up challenges. I have spent many evenings watching one YouTube video after another on recent trips through Canada and Alaska. Most were very informative and there were some great suggestions on accessories. While the Milepost was a great starting point (and future reference), I have a lot of research (and literature orders) ahead of me regarding Alberta / BC Provincial Parks and favorite pull-out spots. My new fiver will have around 1300w of solar supporting a bank of Lithium batteries which I plan to use to full advantage. I expect that boondocking will be a big part of this trip. Should be interesting since I've never boondocked before. I will continue to post updates as my itinerary continues to evolve and make a final decision on a TV. Thanks to everyone that is and will be posting here and look forward to possibly meeting some of you along the way.
Neil and Connie said
07:21 AM Nov 7, 2018
We were there in 2015, check our blog http://guntherandkara.com for late June through August 2015 for our details.
We went with a caravan...rvadventuretreks.com...which is supposed to be the least regimented caravan company but it was way too structured and as it turns out going on your own is just fine. Do check the various caravan sites for a general itinerary as they pretty much all follow the same route because it’s pretty much the only way to go.
The nice thing about solo other than the lack of required early early morning departures is that you can see what you want to see whereas the caravan has to include something for everybody...gift shops and visitor centers to hikes with the bears...and you might not be interested in some of that.
Skip Hyder...unless the bears are there which is only for a couple weeks during the salmon run there’s nothing to do there really...and it’s off the beaten path even for Alaska.
The trip across the Top of the World Highway to Dawson City is definitely worth it, as is Denali...my personal best moment was the plane trip down to Katmai NP to see the brown bears.
Haines is cool as well...we did not do that ferry but most of the ones up there are pull on and off...no backing needed I believe. The one at Dawson City definitely is.
If you’re heading up the AK highway from DC...take a left at Haines Junction and go down to Haines, it’s a 1 day side trip to get there plus however long you stay there. We also thought Destruction Bay just north of Haines Junction on the AK highway was a great place to stop.
Our trip was 60 days from Dawson to Prince George...we thought 75 would have been better and 90 better still. If you leave Dawson in late June you will miss mosquito season pretty much.
Bill and Linda said
07:42 AM Nov 8, 2018
There are two ways to Alaska, or back, joining at an intersection just inside the Yukon Territory about 15 miles west of Watson Lake, YT. I would suggest going up the Alcan from Dawson Creek and then, coming back, take the turn south off the Alcan onto Highway 37, the Cassiar / Stewart Cassiar Highway. All the same road. Highway 37 will lead you down via Prince George, BC – Highway 97 to ML16 (TCH) - Jasper, BC and the “Ice Fields Highway.” That will likewise take you to Banff, etc. Taking the Alcan the way up and the Cassiar / Ice Fields Highway back offers the best of both worlds in our view. The Ice Fields Highway is spectacular in its own right. The Alcan has its own magic. We’re looking forward to driving it again someday. I agree with Neil’s comments as to time, etc. Just don’t go too early in May. Many times it’s the Montana weather that is the issue. Not just the Canadian and there are mountains. We’ve been up that way and back three times and the very late May – early June worked well as to the entry point into Canada. Remember, the Canadian part of the trip, up the Alaska Range on the Alcan, is an important part of the spectacular trip. Our views, Bill
olderthandirt said
12:24 PM Nov 8, 2018
Sounds like some great ideas from you all. From everything I've read, going across the Montana border at the very end of May is the time to go. That will give me 3 to 3 1/2 months before heading back into Canada. I've seen numerous YouTube videos where the travelers were just racing back down to the lower 48 on their return trip. I plan on taking my time and enjoying the spectacular scenery. After all, that's what I'm going up there for in the first place. I've been to Alaska numerous times on cruises and cruise tours and now it's time to take that bucket list drive, while I still can. I don't plan on making my trip through Alaska all-inclusive, just too many things to see in one drive up there. So maybe I'll be heading up there several more times.
Bill, are you and Linda planning to attend the New Horizons Owners Group Rally in Kerrville this year? That's on my to-do list once I give my Summit a good two week shakedown.
Hans
Neil and Connie said
01:28 PM Nov 8, 2018
olderthandirt wrote:
Bill, are you and Linda planning to attend the New Horizons Owners Group Rally in Kerrville this year? That's on my to-do list once I give my Summit a good two week shakedown.
Hans
They are planning to be there...as are Connie and I. We are both scheduled to arrive Thursday before the rally starts.
Bill and Linda said
02:57 PM Nov 8, 2018
olderthandirt wrote:
Bill, are you and Linda planning to attend the New Horizons Owners Group Rally in Kerrville this year? That's on my to-do list once I give my Summit a good two week shakedown.
Hans
Yep, as Neil said, we'll be there as it now stands. I encourage you to make the NHOG Rally a priority. There are a lot of knowledgeable people going and can give you many NH specific tips.
If it is your plan to go to the rally I really recommend make the campground reservations NOW. This will be a fairly large rally and they could run out of the reduced rate sites. If you need more info send an email to: nhog2019@gmail.com and one of the Rally Masters will get you the info. Plan to get there a few days early and gather more one-on-one info. We'll be there a bit early just for the social aspect and to fiddle with the rigs. You know half the time at the rally is working on rigs don't you. :)
Along with Neil and Connie we will be glad to share our Alaska experiences. I've done an "Alaska 101" presentations at RV-Dreams Rallies and the NH one as well. Not doing that any longer but happy to share the power point if it might be helpful. But conversation is usually just as good.
IMO, an Alaska "cruise" isn't seeing much of Alaska. The Alcan and the "great circle" route is half the adventure. But that's just my take.
Hope to see you there.
BTW, very wise to fully shake down the Summit, or any new RV, prior to Alaska. After all, no matter who builds them "Its an RV."
Bill
olderthandirt said
06:40 PM Nov 8, 2018
Looking forward to meeting you both and Neil & Connie and picking up some valuable tips on Alaska travel.
cejones4210 said
03:49 PM Nov 30, 2018
So any thoughts on the Alaska earthquake and 2019 travel plans? I know it's still 6 months away from when we are planning on leaving but if major roads are damaged what is the possible restrictions on travel in the areas north and south of Anchorage. We probably won't know extent of damage for a while yet. Heard news report that many repairs won't be able to start until spring, which is May in Alaska, right? How devastating for all residents of Alaska!
Alaska residents you are in my thoughts and prayers. Be safe!
Candy
bjoyce said
08:46 AM Dec 1, 2018
They know how to quickly fix roads in Alaska. We saw them tear up a long section of 2 lane highway and it was all new two weeks later.
arcaguy said
09:25 AM Dec 1, 2018
Yep Bill, I've got to agree with you. There are probably going to be parts of the damaged area that will take months to properly repair but I'm betting that the Alcan will be passable very soon, there's way too much counting on it to leave it impassable for long. Anyway, it's just going to be fairly short stretches that will be torn up not the whole length.
LarryW21 said
03:01 PM Dec 1, 2018
With that much solar, olderthandirt, you will only be limited by your fresh water supply. You’ll love solar!
Bill and Linda said
04:17 PM Dec 1, 2018
cejones4210 wrote:
So any thoughts on the Alaska earthquake and 2019 travel plans? I know it's still 6 months away from when we are planning on leaving but if major roads are damaged what is the possible restrictions on travel in the areas north and south of Anchorage. We probably won't know extent of damage for a while yet. Heard news report that many repairs won't be able to start until spring, which is May in Alaska, right? How devastating for all residents of Alaska!
Alaska residents you are in my thoughts and prayers. Be safe!
Candy
Candy:
I certainly agree with BillJ about the repair time of roads in Alaska. From the current road reports the Alcan was not impacted. But the Alcan is just the beginning of the trip in Alaska. (Actually the Alcan just gets one from Dawson Creek, BC, Canada to Delta Junction, AK. From Delta Junction it becomes the Richardson Hiway which goes NW to Fairbanks and South meeting with the Glenn Hiway near Glennallen.)
Here are the current highlights as of the time of my post:
Glenn Highway—Major damage at Eagle River. Highway closed, but detour through Eagle River open.
Parks/Glenn Interchange—Major damage. Off-ramp to Palmer is closed. Use Trunk Road to access Palmer via the Parks Highway.
Parks Highway—Passable to Fairbanks. Bridges and roadways north of Talkeetna have been reviewed and are clear.
Kenai Spur Highway—Passable with care. Damage at MP 19 and MP 35.1 and 35.7. Cracks in roadway. Maintenance crews on-site.
Seward Highway—Closed at MP 112 due to rock slide.
Alaska Highway, Richardson Highway, Parks Highway, Tok Cutoff all clear and passable.
But its a long way till travel season.
We were considering AK again in 2019. We've been up that way three times. While I'd not throw in the towel just yet for sure, once again agreeing with BillJ's comments, I would muse about a backup plan "B" just in case for the 2019 "travel season." Trouble is, to get to the Kenai one must go via Anchorage and that was sort of ground zero for where there is major damage to many things including roads. It's not that one may not be able to get thru, there just maybe significant delays re-building some of the limited access hiway fly-overs, etc. No way of knowing yet for sure. Hence the "Plan B" suggestion.
Trust this all works out for everyone and so thankful no one was killed. Truly a blessing.
Bill
cejones4210 said
02:09 PM Dec 2, 2018
Bill and Bill J, thanks for your thoughts. I am also closely following road reports and will keep reading. I think if necessary our backup plan will be to go as far as Denali and skip Kenai peninsula this time and spend more time along the way in BC and YT. We are traveling with family members who need to be back by mid-August, so 10-12 weeks is likely the time we will have. I've also been following RVing to Alaska 2019 on FB. Locals have been chiming in so I'm sure additional information will be available closer to take off time.😊 We haven't confirmed our route yet so plans are "jello". The benefit of being an RVer.
Alaska residents are in our thoughts and so glad no deaths.
Candy
olderthandirt said
06:32 PM Dec 2, 2018
Larry, Let's hope you are right. I have an old Air Force buddy who lives in Chugiak for most of the year. Right now he's wintering in Las Vegas so he missed the earthquake. He heard that he did not have any structural damage to his house although lots of things were broken. I was planning on visiting his family this summer so here's hoping the roads get fixed in time.
Hans
-- Edited by olderthandirt on Sunday 2nd of December 2018 06:34:22 PM
olderthandirt said
05:57 PM Dec 13, 2018
I'm beginning to firm up my Canada / Alaska itinerary. The second week of June I will be staying for one week at the Jasper / Hinton KOA after a week at the Tunnel Mt Trailer Court, Banff NP. I have to wait until Jan 9th before I can make the Banff reservation but don't anticipate any problems getting in. I am then giving myself until the end of June to get me up to Fairbanks where I will stay at the Riverview RV Park (about 9 miles south of Fairbanks) until July 7th. On that morning I will head down to Denali NP where I have a reservation for 5 nights at Riley Creek. Since my fiver is (will be) just under 40', this may be a challenge to get into one of their 40' sites. For that same reason I chose not to stay at Tek or Savage River, this time around. From that point on I will see how the road repairs are going into the Anchorage area since my objective will be to eventually camp at different parks in the Kenai. Hope to be in Alaska all of July and August before heading south on the Cassiar in early September. I am currently reading up on the good, bad, and ugly of the different RV parks along the Alcan heading north to Fairbanks. Anyone have any first hand experience on these parks that they would like to share? It would be greatly appreciated.
Hans
Neil and Connie said
06:51 AM Dec 14, 2018
For Tunnel Mountain in Banf...make sure you pick out the site you want ahead of time and be online to the reservation page. Refresh the page exactly when the res window opens and book quickly. But 10 minutes later the weekend days will be almost all gone.
We were there almost 2 weeks and Fri/Sat nights there were no empty sites butSunday there were maybe 10 rigs in the park. We ended up with our 3rd or 4th site choice as we weren’t quite fast enough.
bjoyce said
09:03 AM Dec 14, 2018
Some places in the area of Banff are not open until some time in June, so you might want to come back in late summer, early fall to see what you missed. We stayed at Lake Louise with 30AMP electric only both times we were in the area.
Danny and Cheryl said
10:22 AM Dec 14, 2018
jrzygrl64 wrote:
Bill and I went to AK summer of 2016. I blogged about it extensively, including 2 summaries that I’ve been told had helpful info. Take a look and see if you find anything helpful!
Be sure to let me know if you have any questions or comments n
I would like to go to Alaska in 2019 but I would like to know the approximate overall cost. I know that could be a big difference in everyones taste or things you may or may not want to see and do. I have been told to budget at least $1.00 per mile or more to cover total cost. I have read your blogs and it covers lots of cost but I didn't see anything about the total overall cost. thanks
olderthandirt said
12:27 PM Dec 14, 2018
Thanks for the heads up. I called the reservation number and that person told me they open up at 8 A.M. on Jan 9th. I will definitely make myself ready.
Hans
jrzygrl64 said
07:00 PM Dec 15, 2018
Danny and Cheryl,
Reading both posts should give you a good overall view of our costs. We workamped most of the summer, so didn’t have usual amount of campground fees that others have. Everyone travels differently, so we attempted to break down our costs so others (such as yourselves) could use the numbers we gave and apply them to your situation and the way you plan to travel. You may take a different route than we did, for example; you may want to stay in more campgrounds than we did on the way up and down, etc.
Sorry I can’t be more helpful as to an exact figure, but honestly I don’t think it would do you a lot of good. We crossed on May 2 into Canada and back into USA through Montana October 12th’ish - I doubt you will stay that long. You could click the links for other summaries of our friends that are in the second post (especially CampeChronicles) and use their numbers as well to help you.
Good luck and let us know how your trip goes!
-- Edited by jrzygrl64 on Saturday 15th of December 2018 07:04:36 PM
Neil and Connie said
09:29 AM Dec 16, 2018
We were on a caravan so didn’t pay for campgrounds...but I asked at many of them and 30 a night is typical. Gas and diesel are more expensive, we paid a max of about $7 a gallon in 2015 but the average was probably a buck more than down in the US. Groceries were maybe 15 or 20 percent more.
dianneandsteve said
12:21 PM Dec 24, 2018
We went from Vancouver to Alaska returning via the Cassiar hwy in 2013 taking 3 months and could have used 4. We had side trips to Dawson City (Had a Sour Toe ****tail)and Hyder (Bears and Salmon Glacier) If interested check out our blog. Other than the Milepost book another favourite is Alaskan Camping. Another must have if you want to save some $ is the Alaska Tour Saver Coupon Book.
Not to put a damper on anyone's plans but from our experience we would never take our 38' 5th wheel "home" on that trip again. We had over $2000 damage to our suspension when the center hanger connecting the leaf springs bent inward ruining 2 fairly new tires. We now have squeaks in our floor and squeaks somewhere in the dash of our truck. We would love to go again but if we do, we would look for either a lightly used truck and camper or preferably a Class C and sell it on our return.
Summary of our Alaska Trip not including tours and dining out as everyone's experiences would be different.
Have fun planning and safe travels to all!
-- Edited by dianneandsteve on Monday 24th of December 2018 12:26:35 PM
Russ Ranger said
12:51 PM Dec 24, 2018
Boondocking vs. Commercial Campgrounds ?
This is my biggest question as I do my planning for our Alaska trip. Here is a question for the experienced folks - is it difficult to find boondocking spots as we travel through B.C., the Yukon and Alaska. How did you locate your overnight stops?
I've done a plan using only commercial campgrounds using RVParky. We would prefer to mix in a majority of boondocking spots as we travel.
Thanks for any advice you can give on boondocking.
jrzygrl64 said
04:25 PM Dec 24, 2018
Russ, check out my blog (links above) as I am pretty specific about where we stayed on the way up and also on the way out. If, after reading, you need more details, I can have Bill look back and send them to you!
cejones4210 said
10:34 PM Dec 24, 2018
Still quite a bit of time left before we leave but already excited! We made our reservations at Denali for three nights at Teklanika campground. We will be there July 1-4. We also ordered our 2019 Alaska toursaver books and received them today. We purchased on their website for $20 off the normal price. Looking forward to browsing for ideas. We have talked to a few different couples, who have traveled to Alaska in the last few years and they all recommended planning for a budget of at least $10,000. Of course, that depends on how many campgrounds we would use, trips or activities we scheduled etc. We're hoping to save a bit by boondocking and eating out very little. With the toursaver coupons, we're also hoping to save on any activities.
I have a general idea of our trip up and other than stopping for a few days at Banff and a couple more at Jasper after we cross the border, about first week or so in June, (we don't know the exact departure date yet) but we are planning on long travel days (3) from Iowa to Sweetgrass, MT and after that taking our time.
We are hoping to boondock part of the time along the way and stop at campgrounds when we need to dump and take on more water and do laundry. I will be following with interest any recommendations for boondocking spots along the way up. Bill and Kelly, I plan on rereading your blog posts for your stops. We are planning on the Icefields highway and then connecting with the Alcan on the way up and taking the Cassiar route on the way back down. Any thoughts on this plan?
Hope we can meet up with some other RV-Dreamers along the way.
Candy
Russ Ranger said
02:23 PM Dec 25, 2018
Thank you Kelly, I am rereading your blog for the third time. I continue to learn something new each time.
Here's a clearer question (questions) that may bring me better answers from everyone.
1. How did you find or pick your boondocking spots?
2. Were any of the locations scenic enough for a two day stay.
3. How available were Regional Parks or low cost city parks?
4. Did you just stop and find a wide spot or did you preplan special locations?
We will be taking a full month to travel to Anchorage. So our pace will be more like "drive one day/take the next day off". A that pace we would love to find scenic locations and not just an overnight sleeping place.
Thanks for any and all replies.
Neil and Connie said
07:55 AM Dec 26, 2018
Haven't been keeping up with this thread…but from our trip in '15 thought I would toss in a few must do and not worth it items.
Following are highly recommended.
Plane trip from Fairbanks to Anaktuvik Pass and Gateway to the Arctic National Park.
Plane trip down to Katmai Island from Homer to see the brown bears…for me this was the highlight of the entire trip. You land on the beach in a 6 passenger (including pilot) plane and have to take off again before high tide. Hike around the park with no people around for maybe 2 or 3 miles total on flat but swampy ground. We saw probably a dozen bears there feeding and living…including one that walked by our group inside of 10 feet…close enough to see the striations in his teeth. He ignored us since he was fishing.
Denali NP…take the bus trip…the one out to the visitor center is 5 or 6 hours, there is a longer one we didn't take but I don't know if the extra $$ and double the time is worth it.
If you take the glacier tour from Valdez…take the Lulu. It's a little more money but much nicer boat, great tour owner/tour guide.
Marle Brown lives at Fort Nelson…not Liard Hot Springs like I said before…in BC on the way up…he's this cool old guy with a bunch of still running 20s and 30s cars and a bicycle that both wheels steer on.
Top of the World Highway across to Dawson City and Dawson City…this is about a 100 mile dirt road that is fine for RVs over to Dawson City where they film the gold shows. Don't miss the Sour Toe ****tail if you go there. Passes through Chicken AK.
Homer was really cool as were Talkeetna and Haines.
White Pass railroad from Carcross down to Skagway…great views and a lot of the famous photos of old time trains rounding curves in the pass with drop-off down to the valley floor below.
The only thing I would really skip is the side trip over to Hyder…it's pretty much a dump and not worth the 2 days over and 2 days back unless you 100% know the salmon run will be on so the black bears will be at the viewpoint/boardwalk. The drive down the river the last 30 miles to get there is beautiful but it's off the beaten path even for Alaska.
If you leave Dawson Creek around the end of June you'll miss all the mosquitos.
If rolling your own tour…check the various caravan web sites and pretty much reproduce their itinerary for the places you want to go…they almost all take pretty much identical routes as it's the only itinerary that makes sense given geography and roads…but IMO paying the extra $$ for the caravan isn't worth it as long as you can change an RV tire if you need to and have spare bulbs, fan belts and such.
The roads aren't nearly as bad as you might have heard…sure, there's some dirt/gravel ones, probably 500 miles of it for us…but they're well maintained and keeping to 35-40 isn't much trouble.
Get Milepost magazine…that's really about the only reference guide you need…it's got everything you want to know in it.
If anybody's interested…you can read our blogs about it at https://guntherandkara.com from June to August 2015. Any questions…feel free to post them here for me, DM me here, or email me at neil at Laubenthal dot net.
-- Edited by Neil and Connie on Wednesday 26th of December 2018 09:13:58 PM
jrzygrl64 said
06:56 PM Dec 26, 2018
Russ,
1) most of the spots we found were from my friend (who we were traveling with) having read other blogs
2) the only places we stayed more than 2 nights were Munch Lake, between Fort Nelson and Watson Lake. For larger rigs choose McDonald - sites are right on the lake - GORGEOUS! If we had gotten lake view sites at Congdon Creek we would have stayed longer there. We also stayed a while in Haines AK - amazing!
3) we went up in May left out late September and did not have trouble getting spots. Not sure if we would have been in high season.
4) we knew where we were planning to stop but remained flexible in case we got tired early or were able to keep going. For our side trips - we had reservations
Hope this helps!
Can’t wait to hear about your trip!
Hogladyrider said
08:55 AM Dec 28, 2018
Best purchase I made for my interior trip to Alaska was a very inexpensive mosquito head net. Still have it today. Lifesaver.
Following this thread and already working on our prep for our 2020 road trip to Alaska with our Cyclone.
Susan
Neil and Connie said
03:50 PM Dec 28, 2018
>>
very inexpensive mosquito head net
<<
We bought those too in anticipation of the bugs but never actually used them. Still carry them in our hiking backpacks and actually needed the, once up in MO The next year.
olderthandirt said
06:18 PM Jan 17, 2019
cejones4210 wrote:
Still quite a bit of time left before we leave but already excited! We made our reservations at Denali for three nights at Teklanika campground. We will be there July 1-4. We also ordered our 2019 Alaska toursaver books and received them today. We purchased on their website for $20 off the normal price. Looking forward to browsing for ideas. We have talked to a few different couples, who have traveled to Alaska in the last few years and they all recommended planning for a budget of at least $10,000. Of course, that depends on how many campgrounds we would use, trips or activities we scheduled etc. We're hoping to save a bit by boondocking and eating out very little. With the toursaver coupons, we're also hoping to save on any activities. I have a general idea of our trip up and other than stopping for a few days at Banff and a couple more at Jasper after we cross the border, about first week or so in June, (we don't know the exact departure date yet) but we are planning on long travel days (3) from Iowa to Sweetgrass, MT and after that taking our time. We are hoping to boondock part of the time along the way and stop at campgrounds when we need to dump and take on more water and do laundry. I will be following with interest any recommendations for boondocking spots along the way up. Bill and Kelly, I plan on rereading your blog posts for your stops. We are planning on the Icefields highway and then connecting with the Alcan on the way up and taking the Cassiar route on the way back down. Any thoughts on this plan? Hope we can meet up with some other RV-Dreamers along the way. Candy
I will be staying at the Banff Tunnel Mtn. Trailer Court starting June 3rd and leaving the 11th, at site #823. If anyone will be in the area during that time, stop by for a visit.
Hans
cejones4210 said
05:46 PM Jan 21, 2019
I will be staying at the Banff Tunnel Mtn. Trailer Court starting June 3rd and leaving the 11th, at site #823. If anyone will be in the area during that time, stop by for a visit.
Hans
Hans, our tentative dates for Banff and Jasper are 11-17 June, but it all depends on our traveling companions (she's a teacher). We may actually be able to arrive 4-5,days earlier. We have only made a one night reservation in case we need to cancel. We are hoping to stay at Lake Louise which is a first come/first served until June 20.
We also have reservations at the Jasper KOA, but again may change the dates depending on when we can leave; we should know for sure in April, which will give us time to cancel/change our dates without a penalty (we hope)!😏
Candy
olderthandirt said
10:22 AM Jan 22, 2019
cejones4210 wrote:
I will be staying at the Banff Tunnel Mtn. Trailer Court starting June 3rd and leaving the 11th, at site #823. If anyone will be in the area during that time, stop by for a visit.
Hans
Hans, our tentative dates for Banff and Jasper are 11-17 June, but it all depends on our traveling companions (she's a teacher). We may actually be able to arrive 4-5,days earlier. We have only made a one night reservation in case we need to cancel. We are hoping to stay at Lake Louise which is a first come/first served until June 20.
We also have reservations at the Jasper KOA, but again may change the dates depending on when we can leave; we should know for sure in April, which will give us time to cancel/change our dates without a penalty (we hope)!😏
Candy
Candy, I also have reservations at the Jasper KOA from June 11th to June 18 when I leave for Dawson Creek. Maybe we'll have a chance to visit in Banff.
Hans
olderthandirt said
10:44 AM Jan 22, 2019
olderthandirt wrote:
cejones4210 wrote:
Still quite a bit of time left before we leave but already excited! We made our reservations at Denali for three nights at Teklanika campground. We will be there July 1-4. We also ordered our 2019 Alaska toursaver books and received them today. We purchased on their website for $20 off the normal price. Looking forward to browsing for ideas. We have talked to a few different couples, who have traveled to Alaska in the last few years and they all recommended planning for a budget of at least $10,000. Of course, that depends on how many campgrounds we would use, trips or activities we scheduled etc. We're hoping to save a bit by boondocking and eating out very little. With the toursaver coupons, we're also hoping to save on any activities. I have a general idea of our trip up and other than stopping for a few days at Banff and a couple more at Jasper after we cross the border, about first week or so in June, (we don't know the exact departure date yet) but we are planning on long travel days (3) from Iowa to Sweetgrass, MT and after that taking our time. We are hoping to boondock part of the time along the way and stop at campgrounds when we need to dump and take on more water and do laundry. I will be following with interest any recommendations for boondocking spots along the way up. Bill and Kelly, I plan on rereading your blog posts for your stops. We are planning on the Icefields highway and then connecting with the Alcan on the way up and taking the Cassiar route on the way back down. Any thoughts on this plan? Hope we can meet up with some other RV-Dreamers along the way. Candy
I will be staying at the Banff Tunnel Mtn. Trailer Court starting June 3rd and leaving the 11th, at site #823. If anyone will be in the area during that time, stop by for a visit.
Hans
Looks like our itineraries are similar, separated by a few days. From Dawson Creek north, I hope to stay a few nights at the MacDonald campground on Muncho Lake, and use it as my base for visiting the Liard Hot Springs. My plans are to arrive at Riverview RV Park near Fairbanks on June 30th and leave for Denali on July 7th. I will be staying in the Riley campground there for 5 nights. From there my tentative plans are to stay in the Chugach area to visit an old Air Force buddy, then Seward, Kenai/Soldotna, Ninilchik, and Homer areas for the remainder of July and August. I'll be heading back through Canada on the Cassiar Hwy early to mid September.
Hans
cejones4210 said
09:41 AM Jan 23, 2019
Yes it does seem like some of us may be in the same areas about the same time. It would be fun for fellow RV-Dreamers to meet up along the way and in Alaska for a meal or campfire together.
I have used RV-Parky for our routing up, around the Kenai peninsula, and back out again. I cannot remember who originally mentioned this website, but thanks a lot because I find it much easier to use then a couple previous mapping sites I had been using.
Here are a few of the "tentative" dates where we are aiming to be, but everything is flexible except for Denali. We could actually be in Banff by the 6th, depending on traveling companion's school schedule. Hoping for no more snow days!
Banff - 11-15 June
Jasper - 15-18 June
Muncho Lake - 20 June
Denali area - 29-4 July
Talkeenta - 4-8 July
Kenai peninsula 10-25 July
Heading out to Cassiar and Hyder - 26-4 August
Reaching Iowa by 12 August
Fun times ahead and more planning to do!
Candy
Russ Ranger said
11:24 AM Jan 23, 2019
We are planning on being on the Kenai Peninsula the whole month of July. Let's plan a get together.
If anyone has experience on a good mid point meeting place, please suggest.
Howard said
10:35 PM Jan 28, 2019
Current loose plan (subject to massive changes):
Inside Passage (southeast Alaska) by ferry with the RV starting from Prince Rupert around the first of May. Staying a few nights in several port towns camping, hiking, fishing, excursions/tours, etc. Will end up in Haines, and leave there around the middle of June connecting to the Alaska Hwy.
Then heading to McCarthy (Wrangell - St. Elias National Park) and Valdez (Prince William Sound) for the rest of June.
Kenai Peninsula (especially Seward & Homer and places in between) for most of July, with side trips to Kodiak Island, Katmai National Park, and Lake Clark National Park.
Denali for a week or so around the end of July/first of August.
Fairbanks area for middle of August and possible Arctic tours (if any money left).
Heading back via Cassiar Hwy end of August.
Jasper & Banff early September and back in the U.S. by mid-September.
The Inside Passage by ferry has been by far the biggest logistical challenge. Not bad if you are just using it to cut off days and miles to get to Haines or Skagway to connect to the road system, but requires a lot of coordination if exiting the ferry for a night or two or three in towns along the way.
Milepost 2019 will be arriving in March. Also, ordered the Alaska Toursaver coupon book and it should be arriving next week.
Once we leave Haines, we'll be boondocking mostly (roadside stops and campgrounds without hook-ups) with the occasional splurge at an RV park.
Looks like an RV-Dreams party in July somewhere in the Kenai peninsula. :)
olderthandirt said
04:52 PM Jan 29, 2019
Sounds like a plan, Howard!
Hans
cejones4210 said
10:29 PM Jan 29, 2019
Sounds great to meet up somewhere on the Kenai peninsula!
Due to cold temps in the Midwest, -14, with wind chill -42 as I write this, our start isn't going to be as early as we hoped. 4 more snow/cold dates added to our travel companion 's school schedule. Our dates will be pushed out further except for Denali; we have to be there by the 29th of June. So our drive up may not be as slow as we would like. That's ok, we will just need to plan another trip to cover what we didn't have time to do this trip. 😉
Candy
olderthandirt said
11:04 AM Jan 30, 2019
Mid-July at the Seward Waterfront RV Park, anyone??
Hans
A-S Travelers said
12:55 PM Jan 31, 2019
Here is some information and our experiences about travel from Oregon to AK & Back. The info is based on: 1) Our experience from our 2016 Alaska Trip. 2) Reading Alaska Blogs for the last 10 or more years. Our experiences are mostly dry camping and boondocking, only 2 nights in a RV Park.
Also some of the info has to do with trying to negate some of the “Oh no don’t ever do that. Such as that road is too rough or dangerous, or you will get snowed in if you go before June 1st”. Yes, some of the routes and areas are not an easy drive on a nice wide 2 or 4 lane hwy, but driving at an appropriate speed and not trying to meet some sort of schedule, the roads are not that bad. Examples are the Denali Hwy, McCarthy Rd and Steeze Hwy.
Our experiences cover more of the outdoors than the tourist attractions. Also some of the places the average tourist doesn’t see.
Lots of folks visit Banff and Jasper. I recommend skipping these. There is so much to see and do in BC, YT & AK that stopping there would limit your time for more distant locations. Besides Banff & Jasper are just a days drive north of the USA border.
When to go! I strongly suggest you cross into Canada the last few days in April or the first few days of May.
– This is one of those suggestions which “common knowledge” says you don’t do. I believe mostly from folks who have not gone early or have not read enjoyable travels from folks going early. – We had good weather going early. Yes we had some cold rain (45-50 degrees) for a few days, but generally decent weather. Others have detailed in their blogs mention good weather in April and May. (I am not suggesting going in April. To much of a chance of very cold weather). – Some folks who live in Alaska say the best weather is in April & May. – Weather. Weather happensmost any time. Two examples I detailed in our blog entry: http://downtheroadaroundthebend.blogspot.com/2016/11/start-of-2016-alaska-trip-hillsboro-or.htmlBoth are down near the bottom of the blog entry. Near Chetwynd, roads washed out and floods in mid June. An RV’er got stuck in the snow on May 28th. The one with the snow storm would have been much better off if they had just pulled off the road and waited out the storm for a day or two. However they had reservations they didn’t want to miss. Got stuck and missed the reservation anyways. – No or few bugs until mid June – Lack of crowds early in the season – Many of the “tourist” sites don’t open until Victoria Day in the last part of May. Many campgrounds don’t open until then either. But the boondocking sites are always available. Also the scenic areas are still there. Seeing ice on some of the lakes is interesting.
Denali Hwy:
We didn’t drive this in 2016, but we took a rented Class C in 1999. Nice views of the various mountains along the hwy. I don’t know of a reason to avoid the route. By the same token there is no reason to go out of your way to take the hwy.
Denali NP:
– Plan on 2 weeks in the park. 5-7 days in the front country and 5-7 days at Teklanika. You should have a good chance of have clear weather for seeing Mt Denali some time during the 10-14 days. We have been to Denali twice and had clear weather both times. First week in June in 1999 and then June 6-17, 2016 which is detailed in our blog. Yes, luck did play a lot in our experience, so I really can’t say for sure there will good weather the first half of June. – Plan on arriving about June 1-7. I believe you will have the best chance of seeing Mt Denali in the first 2 weeks of June. Also smaller crowds, few to no bugs. – Be sure to check with the park about when the road to the interior opens. The road has to dry out enough to support the buses. This usually happens in early to mid June. – About staying at Teklanika. Be sure to get the Tek Pass. I have quite a bit of info about Teklanika CG and the Tek Pass in our blog: http://downtheroadaroundthebend.blogspot.com/2016/07/denali-national-park-part-1-june-6-13.html
– Campgounds:
-- Riley Creek. Tight and crowded CG. However it does have a cell signal. – Savage River. Nice open CG, many of the campsites are well spaced apart. On good days you can see Mt Denali. NO Verizon signal in 2016. – Teklanika. Nice CG. Best part is the Tek pass for the bus.
– Be sure to take a Ranger lead back country (tundra) hike. The hike is limited to 11 people plus the ranger. You have to sign up 1 or 2 days before the hike at one of the visitor centers. When I signed up for the hike I was at the office when it opened. Details of the hike I took in our blog. – I detailed two great hikes I took in our blog. Savage Alpine trail (best hike in the park except for tundra hiking). At Eielson visitor center, the Alpine Trail if the weather is clear. Fantastic views.
North of Fairbanks
– If you boondock and don’t mind driving on a good gravel/dirt road take your RV up the Steese Hwy as far as the Eagle Summit Rest Area. Great views. At the Summer Solstice you can see the sun not setting at midnight from Eagle Summit Rest Area IF the weather is clear. More info in our blog.
McCarthy, Kennecott Copper mine and a hike on Root Glacier.
– First, all the talk on the blogs about the road to McCarthy being so horrible, are blow way out of proportion. I believe by people who have not driven the road, or drove it at too high a speed. Keep in mind that 50-100 people live and work in McCarthy for the summer every year. They drive the road back and forth. Some may drive the road several times each summer in all sorts of vehicles. Info in our blog. – If you have any interest in a hike on a glacier, either guided or on your own, Root Glacier is an easy access hike. This is the only easily accessible glacier I know of in Canada & AK. Rent “clamp-ons” at Kennecott mine. It is a 2 mile mostly level one way hike to the glacier and then easy access to walking on the glacier. You can walk for a long ways on the glacier. I didn’t realize I could rent clamp-ons so I just took a short walk on the glacier in my boots with lug soles. More details in our blog. – Also info In McQ’s blog about road conditions to McCarthy here: http://ramcquade.com/?p=8430
Top of the World Hwy, Dawson City and Tombstone Territorial Park.
– We enjoyed our trip across the TOW Hwy. However we really enjoy travel in lonely places. If you go try to go in good weather. Views are great. Details in our blog. You can skip the town of Chicken. Very touristy & expensive for what you get. – Dawson City was interesting. Lots of history – Now the highlight of the area: Tombstone Territorial Park.
I wrote in our blog. “Tombstone, in my opinion, rivals Denali NP, just w/o the crowds.” Details in our blog: http://downtheroadaroundthebend.blogspot.com/2016/09/tombstone-territorial-park-yt-august-11.html The Dempster Hwy to Tombstone is about 45 miles of gravel road. We had some minor pot holes, but nothing deep. Tombstone Park reminds me of what our national parks were like back in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Not a lot of people and w/o all the “thou shall not do’s”. Very laid back.
Boondocking:
We boondocked or dry camped for all but two of our 139 days on our trip. We basically had two sources for finding places to boondock. The first is a listing of free or low cost sites from the Escapees RV Club (must be members to order): https://daysenddirectory.com/If you do lots of boondocking or dry camping this list is almost worth the $39 cost of membership in Escapees: https://www.escapees.com/ . Many of the listing have detailed driving directions and/or GPS coordinates to the parking place. The second was watching for places, such as gravel pits and pulloffs or finding places while taking day trips in our truck. I also make extensive use of the satellite view in Google Maps, Bling Maps and Google Earth. In addition to the satellite views, many of the roads and highways have the option of a 360 degree ground level photo view of the road in the above websites.
Another source may be https://www.campendium.com/ Also a search for “free campsites” will bring up several websites.
Russ Ranger said
02:19 PM Jan 31, 2019
Al and Sharon,
Thank you for taking the time to share so much information. It will take me days to study all the links, but this is exactly what I was hoping for.
We have only a few days until we leave behind sunny Mazatlan and head for Buckeye, Arizona to monitor the building of our new home base. We'll be hanging out around that area for several months doing some desert boondocking until construction is complete. We'll be attending RV-Dream boondocking gathering at the end of March and look forward to meeting more Dreamers there.
Life is good..... looking forward to a great Summer in the wild North.
jrzygrl64 said
10:57 PM Jan 31, 2019
cejones4210, sorry I didn’t see your direct question to me sooner!
We, sadly, did not get to the areas you asked about (Banff, Icefields Parkway, or Cassier), but friends of ours did and blogged about it - their links are in my final blog post
Thank you for taking the time to share so much information. It will take me days to study all the links, but this is exactly what I was hoping for.
We have only a few days until we leave behind sunny Mazatlan and head for Buckeye, Arizona to monitor the building of our new home base. We'll be hanging out around that area for several months doing some desert boondocking until construction is complete. We'll be attending RV-Dream boondocking gathering at the end of March and look forward to meeting more Dreamers there.
Life is good..... looking forward to a great Summer in the wild North.
You're welcome. The Alaska trip, including the travel though BC & YT is really great for wanders and boondockers. Of course it is a good trip for those staying at RV Parks, just that many RV Parks are gravel parking lots w/o hookups or elect only and sometimes no dumpstation.
Russ Ranger said
05:44 PM May 16, 2019
Sometimes plans have to change. We should be on our way to spend a summer in Alaska. Unfortunately we have hit a bump in the road. This Monday I was diagnosed with Leukemia (CLL).
I am already planning next years trip. This summer we will be spending our time in Arizona taking care business.
If anyone were to ask me, "When should we begin our RV adventure?" my quick answer would be TODAY.
NWescapee said
11:31 AM May 17, 2019
Russ - wishing you the best and hoping your doctors figure out the right treatment plan that is effective. So sorry to hear this news.
arcaguy said
03:30 PM May 17, 2019
Russ, Hopefully they caught the CLL early and it won't require aggressive treatment immediately. When my dad had it his doctor told him not to worry about it that is was so slow to progress, and that he would probably die from something else first. He did. So keep your chin up, this probably isn't the end of your RVing adventures.
-- Edited by arcaguy on Friday 17th of May 2019 03:31:27 PM
Howard has given us all permission to us this site as a place to share our planning, experience and knowledge for a trip to Alaska in the Summer of 2019.
We are planning our 3+ month trip to begin at the end of May and to wrap-up in early September. We will start and finish the trip from Western Washington (Tacoma).
My research has included - Mileposts, Blogs from fellow RV'ers, and a zillion brochures and magazines sent from a single online inquiry. Thus far I have enjoyed the personal Blogs from fellow RV'ers the most.
Perhaps a good beginning point would be a listing of the best Blogs and YouTube videos to use in our research. What are your favorites?
I'll be trying to find a way to post our itinerary/plan in the next few weeks. (The next week and a half we are busy driving to Mazatlan, Mexico.)
ALASKA or BUST
bkamericanodyssey.com/2016/06/05/getting-to-alaska/
bkamericanodyssey.com/2016/10/15/recap-alaska/
Be sure to let me know if you have any questions or comments n
We were there in 2015, check our blog http://guntherandkara.com for late June through August 2015 for our details.
We went with a caravan...rvadventuretreks.com...which is supposed to be the least regimented caravan company but it was way too structured and as it turns out going on your own is just fine. Do check the various caravan sites for a general itinerary as they pretty much all follow the same route because it’s pretty much the only way to go.
The nice thing about solo other than the lack of required early early morning departures is that you can see what you want to see whereas the caravan has to include something for everybody...gift shops and visitor centers to hikes with the bears...and you might not be interested in some of that.
Skip Hyder...unless the bears are there which is only for a couple weeks during the salmon run there’s nothing to do there really...and it’s off the beaten path even for Alaska.
The trip across the Top of the World Highway to Dawson City is definitely worth it, as is Denali...my personal best moment was the plane trip down to Katmai NP to see the brown bears.
Haines is cool as well...we did not do that ferry but most of the ones up there are pull on and off...no backing needed I believe. The one at Dawson City definitely is.
If you’re heading up the AK highway from DC...take a left at Haines Junction and go down to Haines, it’s a 1 day side trip to get there plus however long you stay there. We also thought Destruction Bay just north of Haines Junction on the AK highway was a great place to stop.
Our trip was 60 days from Dawson to Prince George...we thought 75 would have been better and 90 better still. If you leave Dawson in late June you will miss mosquito season pretty much.
There are two ways to Alaska, or back, joining at an intersection just inside the Yukon Territory about 15 miles west of Watson Lake, YT. I would suggest going up the Alcan from Dawson Creek and then, coming back, take the turn south off the Alcan onto Highway 37, the Cassiar / Stewart Cassiar Highway. All the same road. Highway 37 will lead you down via Prince George, BC – Highway 97 to ML16 (TCH) - Jasper, BC and the “Ice Fields Highway.” That will likewise take you to Banff, etc.
Taking the Alcan the way up and the Cassiar / Ice Fields Highway back offers the best of both worlds in our view. The Ice Fields Highway is spectacular in its own right. The Alcan has its own magic. We’re looking forward to driving it again someday.
I agree with Neil’s comments as to time, etc. Just don’t go too early in May. Many times it’s the Montana weather that is the issue. Not just the Canadian and there are mountains. We’ve been up that way and back three times and the very late May – early June worked well as to the entry point into Canada. Remember, the Canadian part of the trip, up the Alaska Range on the Alcan, is an important part of the spectacular trip.
Our views,
Bill
Bill, are you and Linda planning to attend the New Horizons Owners Group Rally in Kerrville this year? That's on my to-do list once I give my Summit a good two week shakedown.
Hans
They are planning to be there...as are Connie and I. We are both scheduled to arrive Thursday before the rally starts.
Yep, as Neil said, we'll be there as it now stands. I encourage you to make the NHOG Rally a priority. There are a lot of knowledgeable people going and can give you many NH specific tips.
If it is your plan to go to the rally I really recommend make the campground reservations NOW. This will be a fairly large rally and they could run out of the reduced rate sites. If you need more info send an email to: nhog2019@gmail.com and one of the Rally Masters will get you the info. Plan to get there a few days early and gather more one-on-one info. We'll be there a bit early just for the social aspect and to fiddle with the rigs. You know half the time at the rally is working on rigs don't you. :)
Along with Neil and Connie we will be glad to share our Alaska experiences. I've done an "Alaska 101" presentations at RV-Dreams Rallies and the NH one as well. Not doing that any longer but happy to share the power point if it might be helpful. But conversation is usually just as good.
IMO, an Alaska "cruise" isn't seeing much of Alaska. The Alcan and the "great circle" route is half the adventure. But that's just my take.
Hope to see you there.
BTW, very wise to fully shake down the Summit, or any new RV, prior to Alaska. After all, no matter who builds them "Its an RV."
Bill
Looking forward to meeting you both and Neil & Connie and picking up some valuable tips on Alaska travel.
Alaska residents you are in my thoughts and prayers. Be safe!
Candy
Candy:
I certainly agree with BillJ about the repair time of roads in Alaska. From the current road reports the Alcan was not impacted. But the Alcan is just the beginning of the trip in Alaska. (Actually the Alcan just gets one from Dawson Creek, BC, Canada to Delta Junction, AK. From Delta Junction it becomes the Richardson Hiway which goes NW to Fairbanks and South meeting with the Glenn Hiway near Glennallen.)
Here are a couple of links for info:
http://dot.alaska.gov/earthquake2018/
http://511.alaska.gov/alaska511/mappingcomponent/index?searchclick=Anchorage
Here are the current highlights as of the time of my post:
But its a long way till travel season.
We were considering AK again in 2019. We've been up that way three times. While I'd not throw in the towel just yet for sure, once again agreeing with BillJ's comments, I would muse about a backup plan "B" just in case for the 2019 "travel season." Trouble is, to get to the Kenai one must go via Anchorage and that was sort of ground zero for where there is major damage to many things including roads. It's not that one may not be able to get thru, there just maybe significant delays re-building some of the limited access hiway fly-overs, etc. No way of knowing yet for sure. Hence the "Plan B" suggestion.
Trust this all works out for everyone and so thankful no one was killed. Truly a blessing.
Bill
Alaska residents are in our thoughts and so glad no deaths.
Candy
Larry, Let's hope you are right. I have an old Air Force buddy who lives in Chugiak for most of the year. Right now he's wintering in Las Vegas so he missed the earthquake. He heard that he did not have any structural damage to his house although lots of things were broken. I was planning on visiting his family this summer so here's hoping the roads get fixed in time.
Hans
-- Edited by olderthandirt on Sunday 2nd of December 2018 06:34:22 PM
Hans
For Tunnel Mountain in Banf...make sure you pick out the site you want ahead of time and be online to the reservation page. Refresh the page exactly when the res window opens and book quickly. But 10 minutes later the weekend days will be almost all gone.
We were there almost 2 weeks and Fri/Sat nights there were no empty sites butSunday there were maybe 10 rigs in the park. We ended up with our 3rd or 4th site choice as we weren’t quite fast enough.
I would like to go to Alaska in 2019 but I would like to know the approximate overall cost. I know that could be a big difference in everyones taste or things you may or may not want to see and do. I have been told to budget at least $1.00 per mile or more to cover total cost. I have read your blogs and it covers lots of cost but I didn't see anything about the total overall cost. thanks
Thanks for the heads up. I called the reservation number and that person told me they open up at 8 A.M. on Jan 9th. I will definitely make myself ready.
Hans
Danny and Cheryl,
Reading both posts should give you a good overall view of our costs. We workamped most of the summer, so didn’t have usual amount of campground fees that others have. Everyone travels differently, so we attempted to break down our costs so others (such as yourselves) could use the numbers we gave and apply them to your situation and the way you plan to travel. You may take a different route than we did, for example; you may want to stay in more campgrounds than we did on the way up and down, etc.
Sorry I can’t be more helpful as to an exact figure, but honestly I don’t think it would do you a lot of good. We crossed on May 2 into Canada and back into USA through Montana October 12th’ish - I doubt you will stay that long. You could click the links for other summaries of our friends that are in the second post (especially CampeChronicles) and use their numbers as well to help you.
Good luck and let us know how your trip goes!
-- Edited by jrzygrl64 on Saturday 15th of December 2018 07:04:36 PM
We were on a caravan so didn’t pay for campgrounds...but I asked at many of them and 30 a night is typical. Gas and diesel are more expensive, we paid a max of about $7 a gallon in 2015 but the average was probably a buck more than down in the US. Groceries were maybe 15 or 20 percent more.
We went from Vancouver to Alaska returning via the Cassiar hwy in 2013 taking 3 months and could have used 4. We had side trips to Dawson City (Had a Sour Toe ****tail)and Hyder (Bears and Salmon Glacier) If interested check out our blog. Other than the Milepost book another favourite is Alaskan Camping. Another must have if you want to save some $ is the Alaska Tour Saver Coupon Book.
Not to put a damper on anyone's plans but from our experience we would never take our 38' 5th wheel "home" on that trip again. We had over $2000 damage to our suspension when the center hanger connecting the leaf springs bent inward ruining 2 fairly new tires. We now have squeaks in our floor and squeaks somewhere in the dash of our truck. We would love to go again but if we do, we would look for either a lightly used truck and camper or preferably a Class C and sell it on our return.
Summary of our Alaska Trip not including tours and dining out as everyone's experiences would be different.
Have fun planning and safe travels to all!
-- Edited by dianneandsteve on Monday 24th of December 2018 12:26:35 PM
Boondocking vs. Commercial Campgrounds ?
This is my biggest question as I do my planning for our Alaska trip. Here is a question for the experienced folks - is it difficult to find boondocking spots as we travel through B.C., the Yukon and Alaska. How did you locate your overnight stops?
I've done a plan using only commercial campgrounds using RVParky. We would prefer to mix in a majority of boondocking spots as we travel.
Thanks for any advice you can give on boondocking.
I have a general idea of our trip up and other than stopping for a few days at Banff and a couple more at Jasper after we cross the border, about first week or so in June, (we don't know the exact departure date yet) but we are planning on long travel days (3) from Iowa to Sweetgrass, MT and after that taking our time.
We are hoping to boondock part of the time along the way and stop at campgrounds when we need to dump and take on more water and do laundry. I will be following with interest any recommendations for boondocking spots along the way up. Bill and Kelly, I plan on rereading your blog posts for your stops. We are planning on the Icefields highway and then connecting with the Alcan on the way up and taking the Cassiar route on the way back down. Any thoughts on this plan?
Hope we can meet up with some other RV-Dreamers along the way.
Candy
Thank you Kelly, I am rereading your blog for the third time. I continue to learn something new each time.
Here's a clearer question (questions) that may bring me better answers from everyone.
1. How did you find or pick your boondocking spots?
2. Were any of the locations scenic enough for a two day stay.
3. How available were Regional Parks or low cost city parks?
4. Did you just stop and find a wide spot or did you preplan special locations?
We will be taking a full month to travel to Anchorage. So our pace will be more like "drive one day/take the next day off". A that pace we would love to find scenic locations and not just an overnight sleeping place.
Thanks for any and all replies.
Haven't been keeping up with this thread…but from our trip in '15 thought I would toss in a few must do and not worth it items.
Following are highly recommended.
Plane trip from Fairbanks to Anaktuvik Pass and Gateway to the Arctic National Park.
Plane trip down to Katmai Island from Homer to see the brown bears…for me this was the highlight of the entire trip. You land on the beach in a 6 passenger (including pilot) plane and have to take off again before high tide. Hike around the park with no people around for maybe 2 or 3 miles total on flat but swampy ground. We saw probably a dozen bears there feeding and living…including one that walked by our group inside of 10 feet…close enough to see the striations in his teeth. He ignored us since he was fishing.
Denali NP…take the bus trip…the one out to the visitor center is 5 or 6 hours, there is a longer one we didn't take but I don't know if the extra $$ and double the time is worth it.
If you take the glacier tour from Valdez…take the Lulu. It's a little more money but much nicer boat, great tour owner/tour guide.
Marle Brown lives at Fort Nelson…not Liard Hot Springs like I said before…in BC on the way up…he's this cool old guy with a bunch of still running 20s and 30s cars and a bicycle that both wheels steer on.
Top of the World Highway across to Dawson City and Dawson City…this is about a 100 mile dirt road that is fine for RVs over to Dawson City where they film the gold shows. Don't miss the Sour Toe ****tail if you go there. Passes through Chicken AK.
Homer was really cool as were Talkeetna and Haines.
White Pass railroad from Carcross down to Skagway…great views and a lot of the famous photos of old time trains rounding curves in the pass with drop-off down to the valley floor below.
The only thing I would really skip is the side trip over to Hyder…it's pretty much a dump and not worth the 2 days over and 2 days back unless you 100% know the salmon run will be on so the black bears will be at the viewpoint/boardwalk. The drive down the river the last 30 miles to get there is beautiful but it's off the beaten path even for Alaska.
If you leave Dawson Creek around the end of June you'll miss all the mosquitos.
If rolling your own tour…check the various caravan web sites and pretty much reproduce their itinerary for the places you want to go…they almost all take pretty much identical routes as it's the only itinerary that makes sense given geography and roads…but IMO paying the extra $$ for the caravan isn't worth it as long as you can change an RV tire if you need to and have spare bulbs, fan belts and such.
The roads aren't nearly as bad as you might have heard…sure, there's some dirt/gravel ones, probably 500 miles of it for us…but they're well maintained and keeping to 35-40 isn't much trouble.
Get Milepost magazine…that's really about the only reference guide you need…it's got everything you want to know in it.
If anybody's interested…you can read our blogs about it at https://guntherandkara.com from June to August 2015. Any questions…feel free to post them here for me, DM me here, or email me at neil at Laubenthal dot net.
-- Edited by Neil and Connie on Wednesday 26th of December 2018 09:13:58 PM
1) most of the spots we found were from my friend (who we were traveling with) having read other blogs
2) the only places we stayed more than 2 nights were Munch Lake, between Fort Nelson and Watson Lake. For larger rigs choose McDonald - sites are right on the lake - GORGEOUS! If we had gotten lake view sites at Congdon Creek we would have stayed longer there. We also stayed a while in Haines AK - amazing!
3) we went up in May left out late September and did not have trouble getting spots. Not sure if we would have been in high season.
4) we knew where we were planning to stop but remained flexible in case we got tired early or were able to keep going. For our side trips - we had reservations
Hope this helps!
Can’t wait to hear about your trip!
Following this thread and already working on our prep for our 2020 road trip to Alaska with our Cyclone.
Susan
>>
very inexpensive mosquito head net
<<
We bought those too in anticipation of the bugs but never actually used them. Still carry them in our hiking backpacks and actually needed the, once up in MO The next year.
I will be staying at the Banff Tunnel Mtn. Trailer Court starting June 3rd and leaving the 11th, at site #823. If anyone will be in the area during that time, stop by for a visit.
Hans
Hans
Hans, our tentative dates for Banff and Jasper are 11-17 June, but it all depends on our traveling companions (she's a teacher). We may actually be able to arrive 4-5,days earlier. We have only made a one night reservation in case we need to cancel. We are hoping to stay at Lake Louise which is a first come/first served until June 20.
We also have reservations at the Jasper KOA, but again may change the dates depending on when we can leave; we should know for sure in April, which will give us time to cancel/change our dates without a penalty (we hope)!😏
Candy
Candy, I also have reservations at the Jasper KOA from June 11th to June 18 when I leave for Dawson Creek. Maybe we'll have a chance to visit in Banff.
Hans
I have used RV-Parky for our routing up, around the Kenai peninsula, and back out again. I cannot remember who originally mentioned this website, but thanks a lot because I find it much easier to use then a couple previous mapping sites I had been using.
Here are a few of the "tentative" dates where we are aiming to be, but everything is flexible except for Denali. We could actually be in Banff by the 6th, depending on traveling companion's school schedule. Hoping for no more snow days!
Banff - 11-15 June
Jasper - 15-18 June
Muncho Lake - 20 June
Denali area - 29-4 July
Talkeenta - 4-8 July
Kenai peninsula 10-25 July
Heading out to Cassiar and Hyder - 26-4 August
Reaching Iowa by 12 August
Fun times ahead and more planning to do!
Candy
We are planning on being on the Kenai Peninsula the whole month of July. Let's plan a get together.
If anyone has experience on a good mid point meeting place, please suggest.
Current loose plan (subject to massive changes):
The Inside Passage by ferry has been by far the biggest logistical challenge. Not bad if you are just using it to cut off days and miles to get to Haines or Skagway to connect to the road system, but requires a lot of coordination if exiting the ferry for a night or two or three in towns along the way.
Milepost 2019 will be arriving in March. Also, ordered the Alaska Toursaver coupon book and it should be arriving next week.
Once we leave Haines, we'll be boondocking mostly (roadside stops and campgrounds without hook-ups) with the occasional splurge at an RV park.
Looks like an RV-Dreams party in July somewhere in the Kenai peninsula. :)
Sounds like a plan, Howard!
Hans
Due to cold temps in the Midwest, -14, with wind chill -42 as I write this, our start isn't going to be as early as we hoped. 4 more snow/cold dates added to our travel companion 's school schedule. Our dates will be pushed out further except for Denali; we have to be there by the 29th of June. So our drive up may not be as slow as we would like. That's ok, we will just need to plan another trip to cover what we didn't have time to do this trip. 😉
Candy
Hans
Here is some information and our experiences about travel from Oregon to AK & Back. The info is based on: 1) Our experience from our 2016 Alaska Trip. 2) Reading Alaska Blogs for the last 10 or more years. Our experiences are mostly dry camping and boondocking, only 2 nights in a RV Park.
Also some of the info has to do with trying to negate some of the “Oh no don’t ever do that. Such as that road is too rough or dangerous, or you will get snowed in if you go before June 1st”. Yes, some of the routes and areas are not an easy drive on a nice wide 2 or 4 lane hwy, but driving at an appropriate speed and not trying to meet some sort of schedule, the roads are not that bad. Examples are the Denali Hwy, McCarthy Rd and Steeze Hwy.
Our experiences cover more of the outdoors than the tourist attractions. Also some of the places the average tourist doesn’t see.
Lots of folks visit Banff and Jasper. I recommend skipping these. There is so much to see and do in BC, YT & AK that stopping there would limit your time for more distant locations. Besides Banff & Jasper are just a days drive north of the USA border.
First, the blogs:
When to go!
I strongly suggest you cross into Canada the last few days in April or the first few days of May.
Denali Hwy:
Denali NP:
North of Fairbanks
McCarthy, Kennecott Copper mine and a hike on Root Glacier.
Top of the World Hwy, Dawson City and Tombstone Territorial Park.
Boondocking:
We boondocked or dry camped for all but two of our 139 days on our trip. We basically had two sources for finding places to boondock. The first is a listing of free or low cost sites from the Escapees RV Club (must be members to order): https://daysenddirectory.com/ If you do lots of boondocking or dry camping this list is almost worth the $39 cost of membership in Escapees: https://www.escapees.com/ . Many of the listing have detailed driving directions and/or GPS coordinates to the parking place. The second was watching for places, such as gravel pits and pulloffs or finding places while taking day trips in our truck. I also make extensive use of the satellite view in Google Maps, Bling Maps and Google Earth. In addition to the satellite views, many of the roads and highways have the option of a 360 degree ground level photo view of the road in the above websites.
Another source may be https://www.campendium.com/ Also a search for “free campsites” will bring up several websites.
Al and Sharon,
Thank you for taking the time to share so much information. It will take me days to study all the links, but this is exactly what I was hoping for.
We have only a few days until we leave behind sunny Mazatlan and head for Buckeye, Arizona to monitor the building of our new home base. We'll be hanging out around that area for several months doing some desert boondocking until construction is complete. We'll be attending RV-Dream boondocking gathering at the end of March and look forward to meeting more Dreamers there.
Life is good..... looking forward to a great Summer in the wild North.
We, sadly, did not get to the areas you asked about (Banff, Icefields Parkway, or Cassier), but friends of ours did and blogged about it - their links are in my final blog post
bkamericanodyssey.com/2016/10/15/recap-alaska/
Hope you find this helpful!
You're welcome. The Alaska trip, including the travel though BC & YT is really great for wanders and boondockers. Of course it is a good trip for those staying at RV Parks, just that many RV Parks are gravel parking lots w/o hookups or elect only and sometimes no dumpstation.
Sometimes plans have to change. We should be on our way to spend a summer in Alaska. Unfortunately we have hit a bump in the road. This Monday I was diagnosed with Leukemia (CLL).
I am already planning next years trip. This summer we will be spending our time in Arizona taking care business.
If anyone were to ask me, "When should we begin our RV adventure?" my quick answer would be TODAY.
Russ, Hopefully they caught the CLL early and it won't require aggressive treatment immediately. When my dad had it his doctor told him not to worry about it that is was so slow to progress, and that he would probably die from something else first. He did. So keep your chin up, this probably isn't the end of your RVing adventures.
-- Edited by arcaguy on Friday 17th of May 2019 03:31:27 PM