Best itinerary for Alaska

PA12DRVR wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
Op's burnin daylight here. (Or trying to esplain to his wife why taking their brand new 44' 5ver to AK and back is going to be a pain in the ___!)

Once again, this forum needs a "like" button.

:B

Grit dog wrote:
Op's burnin daylight here. (Or trying to esplain to his wife why taking their brand new 44' 5ver to AK and back is going to be a pain in the ___!)

Once again, this forum needs a "like" button.

Op's burnin daylight here. (Or trying to esplain to his wife why taking their brand new 44' 5ver to AK and back is going to be a pain in the ___!)

Some thoughts:

- the guys that do it for a living haul 40' (and frequent doubles) trailers from Seattle / Montana year round in a matter of days. Don't even attempt to emulate them with your 44' 5th wheel. It will be a slow and steady trip from Banff or wherever.
- Pull-off spots are likely going to be available without problem. Identified CG spots for a 44' trailer, not so much. As Grit suggested, plan on basing in an area for several days and using your truck as the way to get out and see the sights.
- Alaska is expensive to enjoy if you want to do anything other than drive and hike. Incredible fishing, great sights, spectacular flightseeing, but it all takes $$.
- With few exceptions, the RV-tourist stuff is locked up tight by mid-September. You should plan on being well on your way back by then.
- You've hit the high spots for visiting. If you can handle it, meaning dealing with the bumps and the necessarily slow going, considering driving the Denali Highway from Paxson to Cantwell. That stretch, IMNSHO, is in the running for the most scenic road drive in AK.
- I probably am misinterpreting, but I wouldn't plan on going from Banff to Valdez to make Valdez your starting point. Banff - (whitehorse, etc) - Tok- Delta - Fairbanks - Cantwell - Paxson-Glenallen-Anchorage- Seward-Homer-Anchorage-Talkeetna-Wasilla-Palmer-Glenallen-valdez-Tok-Whitehorse etc is sort of how I'd do it if I had 3 months...some backtracking but that's almost a given if you try to see a lot of the road system.
- Expect pretty high fuel prices......

It will be quite the trip.
Can’t recommend where to stay with your rig. But along the way thru Canada and AK, there are generally no lack of pull outs to stop and spend the night at as needed.
And don’t know what you’re into so hard to recommend the sights. But you’ve hit on all the popular spots. Idk about getting reservations for camping, this late and with your requirements.
And not to get off topic, or suggestive, but that is a long trip and thousands of miles of bad roads and slow going with a big 5ver like that. Totally do able. Many haul trailers up and back, but having made the route a couple times and lived up there for a while, I wouldn’t haul our big toyhauler up there (a lot smaller than your 5ver). I would want a much smaller trailer, or another option.
But we prefer out of the way locations and exploring, which is imo, the majority of the adventure to be had when the majority of the territory you’re traveling through is uninhabited.
You’ll want to plan base camps so to speak, to set up for a period of time at and then do whatever you plan to in that particular area.
Just my 2c. Awesome trip either way!

OK - The first thing you need to do is quit thinking about Alaska being a destination and begin thinking about planning a voyage. Milepost is a must. Starting in Arizona, think about things to see and stops to make in the lower 48 as well. For instance, much of the drive will be mountainous so we planned ours by starting in New Mexico and driving the Rockies from there to where you drive out of them 3,000 miles to the north when you hit the Yukon. Used a different route back than the way up so we could see even more of BC and western US national parks etc.

Plan on no more than 250 to 300 miles per day and that leaves some time for stopping along the way since many sites are really take only an hour or two then time to move on. Twelve weeks is a good time frame for this type of journey. We have done it twice, in 2013 and 2019.

Denali starts going into fall coloration the last week in August and you can drive the fall coloration line all the way back to the US. The northern birch trees are just as beautiful as our aspens. Do plan on heading home from Fairbanks by Sept. 1 as many campgrounds that can handle a rig your size are seasonal and start closing down mid September.

Have fun planning and enjoy the trip (voyage).

Pls pls pls buy a Milepost. It’s a soft bound , magazine type book that is the BEST source of info on the drive. You must have it. It’s a Mile by Mile historical, & current record of the road & places on every road you can travel. You won’t be sorry.

In addition to the Milepost, pick up a copy of Mike and Terri Church's Alaska Camping Mike is an Alaska native and Terri moved there after college. They have put together the most comprehensive guide I have ever seen. I read the entire book and put tabs on the pages for quick access. They give you routes and times/miles/stops, etc. Even phone numbers of campgrounds.

They update the guide every few years plus they have the latest info on their website.

My DH could not go over 6,000 feet due to a heart condition and that was never a problem in all of Alaska and Canada.

Dale

From Banff to Valdez is longer drive than you think especially pulling a 44ft 5th wheel in the mountains.
Banff to Jasper alone is 4hrs no stopping in a car, and with all the sites to see you pushing it to make it in 5 days let alone 2 to 3.
Get yourself a MilePost travel magazine which is the size of a large phone book. They have every campsite, points of interest along the route and small maps on pages that show the area your traveling in.
Amazon sells them
If your using Google to give you how long it takes to get from point a to point b, they are never correct in the mountains especially pulling a 44ft 5th wheel.
Banff to Jasper to Dawson Creek to Whitehorse is 5 days pulling my old 23ft 5th wheel.
In my opinion from driving my 5th wheels ( largest was a 35ft) with a diesel truck your looking at least a week Banff to Valdez even that is pushing it with little site seeing in Alberta, BC & Yukon.
You will also need to fill out a ArriveCan Application ( App) fir entry into Canada.
ArriveCAN Info

Hope this helps a bit.
Soup.