OTRA
USA
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We are beginning our plans for a trip from Florida to Alaska. We are planning approx. 10 weeks leaving end of May 2009. We will drive a F250 deisel with a pop-up truck camper. The three main questions I have are-
1. Will we need to make reservations for campgrounds?
We enjoy State or National Parks. Hook-ups not an issue-either way. We went 7 weeks mid-April to mid-June to New England and Niagara Falls without any reservations and it was GREAT. We loved the flexibility. I do realize we were ahead of tourist season which allowed us to do that.
2. What is the most important things we need to be aware of (do or not do)?-We've never been to Alaska and barely across the line of Canada so we're not sure about some of the things we've read about the roads, broken windsheilds, etc.?
3. What areas in Canada and/or Alaska should we concentrate on seeing? We would like to plan this trip as if it will be our only trip and it may very well be with fuel prices.
Thank you for the information it helps us so much in planning!
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TenOC
On the road -- Full time
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Joined: 03/08/2004
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1. Only make reservation at Denila.
2. Why "dry camp" at a state park and pay when there are LOTS of pull-off on the side of the road for free?
3. Read the posting here for this year and last year. Everyone wants to see something else. I do not care to drink a drink with someones dead toe in it but someone else may think it is the best they had.
4. Miles and miles of miles and miles. AK is about 1/3 of the size of all the lower 48.
Please give me enough troubles, uncertainty, problems, obstacles and STRESS so that I do not become arrogant, proud, and smug in my own abilities, and enough blessings and good times that I realize that someone else is in charge of my life.
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flaja
anywhere,usa
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Joined: 05/03/2004
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first, get a copy of Milepost. It IS the bible when it comes to Alaska. Do a search thru this site, there is a wealth of info to be found. We found no problems with reservations in most towns, usually called ahead in the AM for where we wanted to stop that night. With your set-up, boondocking is a good way to go & you can do that virtually everywhere. Inside Denali is a different story & reservations should be made in advance. The roads in Alaska are very good for the most part. The Yukon terr. is where you will find some gravel road, but it's getting better every year. With the 6-7 weeks you'll have you should be able to see most everything from Fairbanks to Valdez & the Kenai Penn. We stayed for 3mo.s & would have stayed longer if not for our budget. You are in for a wonderful adventure, don't sweat the small stuff. You'll find access to just about anything you need, the cities & towns are quite civilized!
- Roy & Jacqui
- Retired firefighter & X-ray Tech
- 2003 Fleetwood Revolution
- Fulltimers since 2004
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TenOC
On the road -- Full time
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I found the "Milepost" had too much info 800 (?) pages of paid advertisements.
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sirdrakejr
Las Vegas, Nevada
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Maybe this will help you plan some of the trip. Have a great time.
Frank
North to Alaska
RV.net blog
For those of you looking for expert advice, here ya go!
Frank
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427435
Rochester, Mn
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We're on our way back (in Dawson City right now). We found the Milepost quite helpful. We made no reservations and have had no problem finding a place to park.
Consider including Glacier National park in Montana and the Banff and Jasper areas in Canada----they were as beautiful and interesting as anything along the Alaska Highway or Alaska with the possible exception of Denali. And I'm not too sure about Denali either.
Mark
2000 Itasca Suncruiser 35U on a Ford chassis
2003 Ford Explorer toad with US Gear brakes,
ReadyBrute tow bar, and Demco base plate.
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mybrandsam
Tallahassee
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We left Florida in mid-June and right now we are in Skagway. Read the thread here about people doing this trip. Before we left I only made reservations at Denali. We ran into problems in the first part of our trip in Canada with getting reservations; I'll have to go back and look where that was. Once we got west and north of Edmonton we stayed mostly at provincial parks. They are like state parks and rarely have hook ups but are often in beautiful locations. I will be glad to try and give you more information once our trip is over.
Lori
2008 Dodge 2500 Mega 4x4 Turbo Diesel
Fifth Wheel-Pilgrim 272BH
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Hjudge49
St. Augustine, Fl.
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We are in the third week of our trip and just made it to Alaska Yesterday (first night in Fairbanks). We have made no reservations and have had no problem with getting camping space for a 42" DP. Calgary was a little tight, but the Stampede was on. Ditto on the Milepost..lots of ads, but lots of great info. There are tons of really interesting state and provincal parks that would be perfect for your rig. Have fun.
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timandsusan
San Antonio, Texas
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While we drove from South Texas in 2007, the 15,400 mile trip last year was great! There are so many things to do in Alaska--we stayed about 10 weeks and will stay longer next time. Have a great time. The Alaska Campground Guide by Mike Church is OUTSTANDING! It lists virtually every campground--commercial, state, etc. You can get it from Amazon. Along with the Milepost--you will be set. Also check out Good Sam Trip Journals that travelers have posted on their adventures. Ours is at http://goodsamclub.mytripjournal.com/millingtontravel
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OTRA
USA
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Thank you all for the very helpful advice and information.
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