I know that this has been asked before, but I am trying to plan our Alaska trip and want to get this straight in my head.We are leaving from Connecticut on June 6 and have planned our stops up to Jasper with reservations at Whistlers campground. From this point on, I want to be free to come and go as we please and stay an additional day or so in a town if we are enjoying the area. That’s the benefit of finally being retired, no schedule.Here’s the problem. A lot of people say that you don’t need reservations for most of the trip, but you will need them to stay in the campgrounds at Denali National Park. My wife is “encouraging” me to get on with the planning so we can get those reservations. How can I possibly know when we are going to be there? Can you try to make them a couple of weeks before you arrive or should I just guess a date and make some now and hope we can adjust the trip accordingly? What have you folks done in the past? We have a 25 foot motorhome with no toad, so we will fit in most sites.

It has been a few years since our last trip to Alaska/Yukon, but we never made reservations and usually did not have a problem. For busy areas, it might be wise to call a few days ahead and try to book a spot. You have the perfect size RV for flexibility and ease of camping in most spots. Stopping by mid afternoon might also help and give you time to explore the area around the c.g.Good luck - wish I was preparing a trip north right about now!

One of the nice things about AK is all of the place to dry camp. Assuming you have a generator in your Class C I would not worry about reservations or staying in CGs until you know your schedule, IF at all. Granted we are the "NO reservations" types as we are very self contained.

We made the trip for 3 months in 2014. We called 5 days before we went to the Riley Creek Campground in the Denali area with no problems. We were in Whittier when we called. We stayed in Riley Creek campground in Denali Nation Park which is just inside the park. You have to have a reservation. Have a great trip.

We only make reservations for big Holidays. We have one for July 4th at Denali.

We were in Alaska, Yukon Territory and North West Territories in 2016. We made reservations for July 1st long weekend in Whitehorse and July 4th in Valdez Alaska.We also had reservations at Denali, 4 days of fog, so I am convinced the Mountain is photoshopped into all the post cards. Other than that we just went with the flow.We were travelling in a truck camper so were about 25.5 feet overall.No problems fitting in anywhere.Enjoy your trip! Take lots of pictures and carry spare memory cards.

Campground Reservations | Good Sam Community

scrubjaysnest
Explorer
Feb 03, 2017
Graydust wrote:
We made the trip for 3 months in 2014. We called 5 days before we got there with no problems. We were in Whittier when we called. We stayed in Rilley Creek campground in Denali Nation Park which is just inside the park. You have to have a reservation. Have a great trip.

We did similar in 2010. Made reservations for Tek. Once there decided we wanted to stay latter at Riley. Host called in over the radio and a couple hours later gave us our reservation number. Interesting thing that year at Riley; campground full sign was up the whole time we were there even though there empty sites.
Veebyes
Explorer II
Feb 03, 2017
Been to Alaska 3 times. Reservations are generally not needed. Get where you plan to be by mid afternoon & you should be fine. Avoid the full service CGs where the tours flock to & make reservations for the July 4th holiday or get there before the locals do.

Always travel prepared for a few nights of dry camping. JMO but the provincial parks & state parks are the best anyway giving the northern feel. The commercial CGs are much like anywhere else.

For Denali make reservations, especially for the Tek CG, the best one to be in by far.
TenOC
Nomad
Feb 03, 2017
Ivylog wrote:
One of the nice things about AK is all of the place to dry camp. Assuming you have a generator in your Class C I would not worry about reservations or staying in CGs until you know your schedule, IF at all. Granted we are the "NO reservations" types as we are very self contained.

There are 1,000's of pull of the side of the road dry camp place and the views are much better than in a CG. If you need a campground to dump and fill (most are only gravel parking lots any way) you can find one since you are flexable.

Do not over plan.
johnwalkerpa1
Explorer
Feb 03, 2017
My experience is that the Canadian Rockies, Denali and July 4 are the biggest concerns.

However, I've also found that if you are flexible enough, its not an issue..

By flexible, I mostly mean the following:

1. Occasionaly, Be willing to accept a dry site rather than hookups
2. Occasionaly, Be willing to wait a day or two to get in the popular spots
3. Occasionaly, Be willing to boondock which is easier in Alaska than most any other place..

Edit...When I said "the Canadian Rockies" above, I really meant Banff to Jasper...not the Canadian Rockies farther north....
stickdog
Explorer
Feb 03, 2017
We were in Alaska in 2015 for 3 months as you we never knew when we wanted to spend more time in any place. We did call ahead in the morning we were moving to the RV park we planned to stay that night or for several. Only once did we not get a campground we wanted but did find one not that far away. Most pullouts allow overnight parking unless posted otherwise. Most SP's are not much more than large parking lots but are somewhat away from road noise. Then again most RV parks are not much more than large parking lots but often have a spectacular view. Just know how long you can go on your fresh water and how long before you need to dump and plan your paid nights to take care of that.
Yeti_plus
Explorer
Feb 03, 2017
We were in Alaska, Yukon Territory and North West Territories in 2016. We made reservations for July 1st long weekend in Whitehorse and July 4th in Valdez Alaska.We also had reservations at Denali, 4 days of fog, so I am convinced the Mountain is photoshopped into all the post cards. Other than that we just went with the flow.
We were travelling in a truck camper so were about 25.5 feet overall.
No problems fitting in anywhere.
Enjoy your trip! Take lots of pictures and carry spare memory cards.
gemert
Explorer
Feb 02, 2017
We only make reservations for big Holidays. We have one for July 4th at Denali.
Graydust
Explorer
Feb 02, 2017
We made the trip for 3 months in 2014. We called 5 days before we went to the Riley Creek Campground in the Denali area with no problems. We were in Whittier when we called. We stayed in Riley Creek campground in Denali Nation Park which is just inside the park. You have to have a reservation. Have a great trip.
Ivylog
Explorer III
Feb 02, 2017
One of the nice things about AK is all of the place to dry camp. Assuming you have a generator in your Class C I would not worry about reservations or staying in CGs until you know your schedule, IF at all. Granted we are the "NO reservations" types as we are very self contained.
Tripalot
Explorer
Feb 02, 2017
It has been a few years since our last trip to Alaska/Yukon, but we never made reservations and usually did not have a problem. For busy areas, it might be wise to call a few days ahead and try to book a spot. You have the perfect size RV for flexibility and ease of camping in most spots. Stopping by mid afternoon might also help and give you time to explore the area around the c.g.

Good luck - wish I was preparing a trip north right about now!

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