Advice from experienced RV trqvelers in Canada/YT/Alaska

A great itinerary. We've been up 6 times since 2006 and love the place. Hope you're planning on the whole summer. We're still seeing new things and will be back again in '15, Good Lord willin'. A few suggestions: Don't miss a visitor center or little town museum. Some of the best info and displays are in one or two room places. The Raptor Center in Haines is super. White pass and Yukon RR in Skagway is a great ride, especially if you can get a steam engine. Definitely plan on Valdez and take the Stan Stevens Glacier tour from the harbor. On the way down, a side trip to Kendicott with a tour company is great. THey drive you in a van over the old RR roadbed and they get the flat tires from the old RR spikes instead of you. Tours start at the Hub in Glennallen. The City museum and earthquake diorama (2 places) in Valdez are great, as well as the Whitman Museum. We love Valdez and spend about 6 weeks there fishing shrimp, pink and silver salmon. On the way south on the Seward Highway, a side trip to Whittier through the RR tunnel under the glacier is unique. You drive the same tunnel the trains use. Clam Gulch, Ninilchik boat launch and Anchor Point are unique as to how they launch fishing boats. They use huge articulated tractors because of the beach slope and tides. A part day at least on the Homer Spit is great entertainment for the bars, restaurants and shops. We love the Top of the World Hwy in late August as the tundra has already turned and the colors are just breathtaking. We've also been to China Hot springs and up the Dalton Hwy. You can drive the Dalton all the way to Prudhoe Bay or fly up and have a van take you to Fairbanks. THey also run it backward and includes overnights at Prudhoe and Coldfoot. Also you can go as far as the Arctic Circle and take pixs. The dance halls and such in Dawson City are fun too.

You get the idea. We love the place. We don't get reservations anywhere except Seward on July 4th or the beach at Homer on the 4th. We also watch for local festivals and such because the locals DO NOT stay home when fun is about.

Good luck. You'll have a ball.

The Campbell Highway is a difficult highway to travel. It is in very poor shape, not that it was ever in good shape.

The locals in Ross River are having problems travelling it between Ross River & Faro, doing damage to their vehicles. Ross River to Watson Lake is a tougher drive as it is all gravel and narrow.

We've enjoyed pulling our 25' fifth wheel while in 4-wheel drive to get through some of the mud pits. Mud to the hubs at one spot, literally.

So unless you enjoy slow drives, mud in every crevice of your vehicle, and unpredictable conditions, the Campbell Hwy isn't the route you want to take.

Also, Ross River sometimes doesn't have fuel. And we've learned the pay-at-the-pump at Faro can also be unpredictable. Faro has the only campground with services. Between Faro and Watson Lake there is nothing but gov't campgrounds. And you'll need to overnight at least once on that stretch. Impossible to do it safely in a day.

See some images here http://suethomas.ca/CampbellHwy.html

Oh, and to correct your first few legs...

- West Access Route to Prince George, then west on Hwy 16 (Yellowhead Hwy) to Prince Rupert
- Backtrack to the Cassiar Hwy junction and north on the Cassiar with a sidetrip to Stewart/Hyder

Some comments based on our experience and comments by others on this forum over the years.....

Here is our proposed 2014 Alaska route:
West Access Route to Alaska Hwy (Seattle to Prince George) Avoid the Peace Arch. In Bellingham take Guide Meridian east to Sumas to cross the border, shorter lines and only about 3 miles to the Trans Canada.
Cassiar hwy to Watson Lake (side trips to Prince Rupert and Stewart/Hyder) The bears will likely be along the road, but the Stewart/Hyder bears are really out for salmon season later in August.
Alaska hwy to Whitehorse
Klondike hwy to Skagway (ferry to Haines)
Haines hwy to Haines Junction
Alaska hwy to Tok
Tok cutoff to Glennallen (side trip to Valdez and back to Glennallen – unless someone talks out of going to Valdez) Check the weather in Valdez. If it is rainy cloudy you may want to take a chance and push Valdez to the end on your return. Also has better fishing later.
Glenn hwy to Anchorage
Seward hwy to Seward
Seward hwy to Sterling hwy to Homer
Back through Anchorage to Tok May be a bit spendy, but consider the ferry from Whittier to Valdez.
Taylor hwy and Top of the World hwys to Dawson City
Klondike hwy to Whitehorse
OR would the Campbell hwy be an interesting way to get off the Klondike hwy at Carmacks and take it to Watson Lake and then on the Klondike hwy to Whitehorse?
Alaska hwy to Dawson Creek See earlier comment on the bears at Hyder
West Access Route back to Seattle and home to Danville For a few extra days to the trip, leave Dawson Creek headed for Grand Prairie, then south to Grande Cache and Hinton, then over to Jasper and south on the Icefelds Parkway to Banff and Lake Louise, then 93 south to Radium Hot springs and south to Montanato meet I-90 at Missoula. If you do the Cassiar at the end of the trip, go thru Prince George to Jasper and then south.

Fuel: There is very limited fuel on the Cassiar. Top off where you can find it no matter the price. For the Alaska Hwy, fill at Ft St John, Ft Nelson, Contact Creek, Teslin Yukon Motel, Otter Falls Cutoff and Tok. Other places also have fuel but these have proven to be a bit less costly.

You might consider the Alaskan Hwy going up and returning via the Cassier so see the bear activity in Hyder in August.

Our planned route and timing are very similar to yours except on the return trip we have added two extra weeks to pass through Banff and Lake Louise, as TeeJay suggests. We will be leaving from Seattle in Mid-May but we move really slow so you may catch us. Maybe we will see you on the road.Enjoy the trip!

I would recommend that a first timer make the complete tourist circle, to get a taste of the different parts of Alaska. From Tok, we check the weather and decide whether to go to Fairbanks first or head south and run the circle counter clockwise. Fairbanks is not a tourist town, even though it does have lots for tourists to do, but you have to look for these. Ride the River boat Discovery, view and photograph the TransAlaska oil pipeline, go up to Chena Hot Springs, visit the gold mine, (also operated by the same family that runs the Riverboat Discovery) Fairbanks is the Alaska of Jack London, the land of the extreme temperatures, the land that goes on forever, etc., very seldom crowded and has a higher percentage of permanent residents per capital, than does most of the Anchorage Bowl area. (the Banana Belt) Some folks love Fairbanks and other not so much. I feel we see more and more of the crowd of tourists, I call the Disney people. OK, we are here, now entertain us. This doesn't work as well in Fairbanks as in other places in Alaska.

Then from Fairbanks, if that was the first choice, start working your way south down the Parks Highway, check out Denali NP and Mount McKinley for a few days, then on south to the lower Mat Su area of Wasilla/Palmer, on south to resupply in Anchorage and head for the Kenai to spend a week or two with the multitudes of visitors from Anchorage and out of state. Then head back to Anchorage, if the ferry wasn't taken from Whittier to Valdez, and head toward Glennallen on the Glenn Hwy. There in Glennallen a person has to decide whether to go south to Valdez, a great place to visit as it is far enough off the beaten path not to get the large crowds of people. Then head on up the Tok Cutoff (part of the Glenn Hwy) or head up the Richardson Hwy to Delta and pick up the Alaska Hwy. The Richardson is our favorite is time is not a factor as we like to camp and do some fishing on the Denali Hwy, just west of Paxson, are the Tangle Lakes with a free of charge BLM campground. (sometimes a bit buggy but O' what stories you will have to tell when you get home) Has the best grayling fishing that I know of in Alaska. Actually any of the lakes and clear water streams are good in that area. Much of the land between Paxson and Glennallen is privately owned by the Aetna Corporation but they do allow fishing with a paid permit. (very reasonable the last one I got)

Lots of good advice given above, but keep in mind that Alaska and northern Canada are so large, that one lifetime isn't enough to see it all. Decide what you want to see and do, then plan your trip around those goals. Even though I have now been driving the Alaska Hwy for almost 52 years, I still plan, before I go, what I want to see, to photograph, things to do. Don't think I will ever get my bucket list finished but it is fun to try.

I agree with Two Gypsies to route your trip up on the Alaska Highway and return via the Cassier. The side trip to Stewart and Hyder I think is better in August for the bear viewing. Also, unless you are pressed for time, on the return you have the option of including Prince Rupert. KSAN native heritage center and campground near New Hazelton we considered a must stop.

We are also planning a similar trip. We have pulled our Spree through the lower 48 with our 1500 Suburban and not had difficulty towing up or down, but concerned about the highway grades at Fort Nelson, Watson Lake has anyone done this before. Milepost list one of the as 8 to 10 percent! Also we cannot leave CA until the 1st of July. sand plan to return mid september When should we be concerned over the weather changing for the route home. Thank you for any/all help!

Not sure what a Spree is, but the highest point on the Alaska Hwy is just over 4,000 ft. So grades are like mentioned but are short and you may slow down a bit when pulling them. All sorts of vehicles run the highway from Dawson Creek to Fairbanks, 18 wheelers down to bicycles, with all sorts of RVs in between. There are no passes like you will find in Colorado, for example that get up over the 10,000 ft level. Often times there will be mountains on both sides of the highway but the roads stay in the valleys. Normally gets to be winter time in the Interior of Alaska about the first of October with sticking snows, etc. Mid September is a good time to be there for the changes into fall colors and the crisper air with less bugs and tourists.