Hi there,
I am a new RV traveler and would like advice. We have a 33'long fifth wheel and are planing to go to Denali National Park from Spokane WA. According to Mapquest it is 2500 miles. It may take 8 days to get there if we travel around 300 miles per day. The problem I am having is finding towns or areas that have RV camps in between the big cities. For example, I have not been able to find any between Muncho Lake and Whitehorse. That is approximately 445 miles! There is no way we can drive that far in one day (maybe my husband can, but I definitely cannot!!!) Does anyone know of places where we could stop? Thank you so much for your help
Hi Kekita
We live 2.5 hrs north of you on the Canadain side and have traveled the same roads you want to travel.
There are campgounds in Watson Lake and in Teslin, your best bet is to get a copy of MILEPOST and use it. You can also contact Tourism B.C. and Tourism Yukon and they will send you all sorts of free literature including campgrounds locations.
Have a great trip and take more time if you can to see Canada on your way up, or back.
Soup
* This post was
edited 05/02/12 07:47pm by SideHillSoup *
2006, Komfort 261FS
2007 Sierra SLE, 2500 HD / 4x4 / Duramax with a 6 speed Allison Transmission
You will very likely find that you cannot drive as far as you might in the states. You will have to slow down in numerous construction areas, in areas where the road is bad, and especially when you encounter frost heaves. Slow down, enjoy the beautiful scenery and have a great trip.
2011 Fleetwood Southwind 32VS
2009 Ford Edge
Retired Law Enforcement
U.S. Army 1965-1973/RVN 1968-'69
I would guess there are about 12 to 15 campgrounds between Munch Lake and Whitehorse. Some are commercial, Liard River Hot Springs is a provincial one, across the highway at the lodge is a commercial one and so forth. Plus many travelers will pull off by some of the creeks and lakes at improvised camping spots and boondock. There is no shortage of places to stop for the night. As Soup mentioned, get a copy of the Milepost and also get a copy of Alaskan Camping by Mike and Terri Church, excellent guide book on campgrounds along the route north.
Three hundred miles a day is not a problem for me to make, on the trip but I am an early riser, 6 AM or so and often by noon I will have made 250 to 300 miles depending on the stretch of road I am on, some of it is better than others. But none of it is too bad, IMHO, if a person just slows down and drives at a speed appropriate to the road conditions. The road is not moving, just your vehicle, so any damage will be dependent on your speed when hitting rough spots. It is too beautiful a trip, to hurry too much in most places.
joe b.
Stuart Florida
Formerly of Colorado and Alaska
Chevy 3500 DRW Dmax CC - Rockwood 8281 SS 5th Whl & 2008 Lance 845 TC www.pajbcooper.com web site
Alaska Trip 2011 posted
Colo-Utah-Ariz 2012 trip posted
"Without challenge, adventure is impossible".
Nearly every gas station (fuel stop) along the Cassiar or Alaska Highway has some sort of RV parking facilities and most have a minimum of hydro and water. The REALLY nice thing about traveling either of those routes is the huge number of boondocking opportunities along the way. During our two month stay in Alaska (including the trip to and from)we spent only about 15 days in organized campgrounds of any kind.
Good luck / Skip
2011 F-150 HD Ecoboost 3.5 V6. 2550 payload, 17,100 GCVWR - 2004 F-150 HD (Traded after 80,000 towing miles) 2007 Rockwood 8314SS 34' travel trailer
US Govt survey shows three out of four people make up 75% of the total population
Watson Lake has several commercial campgrounds.
Teslin has a nice one too.
Toad River has a commercial campground at their lodge.
As does Liard Hot Springs.
Iron Creek too, I believe.
Muncho Lake ... hmmmm ... the Northern Rockies Lodge can be VERY expensive. Careful if you book there. The two provincial park campgrounds are VERY nice.
We usually camp in the provincial or territorial parks ... quieter and private, and cheaper. No wi-fi or hook-up though, but we get along fine without. Our fifth wheel is 25'.
sue t.
Pictures from our manyRV Adventures to Yukon & Alaska
Travelling with either the 25' fifth wheel or the 8' truck camper.
"Muncho Lake ... hmmmm ... the Northern Rockies Lodge can be VERY expensive. Careful if you book there. The two provincial park campgrounds are VERY nice." Sue.T's quote.
We were going to stop there late last Sep't. Thought the lodge might be a nice place to have a supper after cooking our own for most of 6 weeks. They said $50. for a campsite & didn't know if they had water at the site.
We didn't need water but felt they were not that interested, so we continued on & barbecued again.
There are many, many campgrounds or even gorgeous free roadside pull-offs along the way. Don't know how you came up with a 445-mile distance between campgrounds. Definitely get the boook, Alaskan Camping by Mike & Terri Church. It is so much better than the Milepost for camping information. It's $14.77 on Amazon. The Milepost is great for roads/information but not camping. Both books are necessary for an enjoyable trip. You can get the Milepost at Amazon, too.
Also, hope you're not just going to Denali and then turn around!! There is a LOT more to see. Unless you're on a very limited time-frame, 300 miles a day is way too much. There were many days we would do 50-100 miles and explore the area. Take your time. It's a fascinating trip.
Extremely Happy Full-Timers for 16 years
.... now trying to adjust to 3-season traveling - and it isn't easy!
2004 40' Newmar Dutch Star Diesel Pusher
2004 Jeep Liberty
Sounds like you're really concerned about the drive. I don't blame you. There are just some itineraries that we don't feel are RV-worthy, and this is one.
Consider this. Quick math tells me that you'll spend over $2000 on fuel alone for the round-trip. That's fuel alone, and nothing else.
Here's where the flamers will likely chime in.
Did you know you could do a cruisetour (for about $1200 per person, all-inclusive) round trip Seattle, cruising the inside passage, visiting Vancouver, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Seward, Anchorage, cruising Glacier Bay and Prince William Sound, then take the train to Denali, then back to Anchorage, flying back to Seattle.
Remember, about $2400 bucks TOTAL. And, a MUCH more relaxing trip to say the least, and you'll see a lot more with virtually no stress.
We love RVing, but sometimes there are much better options available, and in this case, for a LOT less money.
FWIW, I can speak from personal experience that one can get to Anchorage from Spokane in 72 hours. Add 10 hours to reflect going to Denali and you're looking at 80 hours......oh, wait, that was in a Jeep Cherokee.
As others have stated, there are plenty of campgrounds (of one flavor or the other) between Muncho Lake and Whitehorse.
I would strongly reiterate what others have said: Don't rush this trip. I did the Anchorage-Spokane trip 3 times (RT) during my attendance at GU Law and always pushed it as fast as I could until my return to Alaska after graduation....on that last trip, I didn't camp, but nevertheless the DW and I spent 10 or 12 days going from Spokane to Tok. We went up through Idaho then across and up through BC...some of the most beautiful country anywhere (even comparable to Alaska )....Don't shortchange yourself by rushing through it.
CRL
Displaced Alaskan NO MORE!
My RV is a 1946 PA-12
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There is a LOT more to see. Unless you're on a very limited time-frame, 300 miles a day is way too much. There were many days we would do 50-100 miles and explore the area. Take your time. It's a fascinating trip.
