Alaska Highway Campgrounds
My wife and I drove to Alaska 3 years ago and are planning a return trip this year. Difference is we have since purchased a Class B RV and of course will be camping along the way this time. Question: ...
Forum Discussion
"Other suggestion I got was to go by ferry, then hire a good 4x4 to drive to the nearest accessible National Park. And on to the next."
So...my $0.03
- I had a fantastic trip in 2018 to GC National Park, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Glacier, and Yellowstone. All told on that trip we hit 12 - 15 sites, either National Parks, National Monuments, or National ____ (forests, scenic rivers, etc). To varying degrees, spent a few days at each one, stayed in a nearby motel, and woke up each morning when the wife and I would decide which part of the park to drive to, which hikes to take, where to have lunch, and where to be at when it was dinner time (either in the park or outside).
- (With some limited exception in Denali), the National Parks in AK ain't like that. Accessing the scenery requires use of something besides your own vehicle: (again, with small exceptions for Denali) either a sponsored bus / coach, a commercial air sightseeing venture, a commercial water sightseeing venture, or a drop-off and go hiking or paddling.
- Recognizing that, and if the drive up to Alaska isn't part of the attraction, I believe the most efficient way to see the NP's in Alaska would be to fly up here from Yosemite, spend some weeks in Alaska, rent a car as needed, fly, boat, hike out to see what's interesting (whether a national park, state park, or just the country), then fly back. Probably pretty expensive but honestly probably a better balance of "seeing stuff / doing stuff" vs. "cost" than many RV trips
- Unless one is strictly wanting to check the box on National Parks, I wouldn't skip the drive up and back. Canada is spectacular in it's own right (Northern BC and the Yukon, particularly Kluane, compete with anything Alaska offers) and if you drive through the mountain west U.S., that's pretty nice as well.
My suggestion would be to figure out what you'd like to see / do in AK without limiting it to National Parks....once that's determined, it may shape how you get up here as well as how long you stay.
So...my $0.03
- I had a fantastic trip in 2018 to GC National Park, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Glacier, and Yellowstone. All told on that trip we hit 12 - 15 sites, either National Parks, National Monuments, or National ____ (forests, scenic rivers, etc). To varying degrees, spent a few days at each one, stayed in a nearby motel, and woke up each morning when the wife and I would decide which part of the park to drive to, which hikes to take, where to have lunch, and where to be at when it was dinner time (either in the park or outside).
- (With some limited exception in Denali), the National Parks in AK ain't like that. Accessing the scenery requires use of something besides your own vehicle: (again, with small exceptions for Denali) either a sponsored bus / coach, a commercial air sightseeing venture, a commercial water sightseeing venture, or a drop-off and go hiking or paddling.
- Recognizing that, and if the drive up to Alaska isn't part of the attraction, I believe the most efficient way to see the NP's in Alaska would be to fly up here from Yosemite, spend some weeks in Alaska, rent a car as needed, fly, boat, hike out to see what's interesting (whether a national park, state park, or just the country), then fly back. Probably pretty expensive but honestly probably a better balance of "seeing stuff / doing stuff" vs. "cost" than many RV trips
- Unless one is strictly wanting to check the box on National Parks, I wouldn't skip the drive up and back. Canada is spectacular in it's own right (Northern BC and the Yukon, particularly Kluane, compete with anything Alaska offers) and if you drive through the mountain west U.S., that's pretty nice as well.
My suggestion would be to figure out what you'd like to see / do in AK without limiting it to National Parks....once that's determined, it may shape how you get up here as well as how long you stay.
