CG reservations required? ALCAN / Alaska

Reservations are gnerally not needed. The only ones I made on my trip (other than a couple times calling around or ahead on the day itself) were for Lake Louise and Denali Tek. July 4th and Canada Day, as mentioned, probably should be added.

I did camp in overflow areas a couple of times.

If you must have hookups, the options are much more limited.

I know that things are changing up there and that crowds in May are bigger than they were at the peak season years ago but take a look at how big the darn place is and what really are the restrictions on boondocking.

Denali is on every darn tour's list of "if this is Denali, it must be Tuesday". There is always some place to stop and rest or stop and camp. Just because it is a big city, don't skip Anchorage. It's not just another big city, it is Anchorage and there is a lot to do there. Eagle River may be a better base than Ship Creek but there is good stuff in Anchorage.

I don't think there is a better time to visit AK, just different times. They are all fun and exciting.

enblethen wrote:
Denali NP need to have reservations. We did not make them until we got to Fairbanks. They had some open spots.
Along the Alaska Highway, we did not use more then a couple commercial parks in each direction.
We stayed at the no frills campground right at the foot of the Homer spit. Great view. Got a little busy on weekends.
When do you plan on going? getting kind of late for this year as schools out and lots of people taking fast trips. Later part of Aug into Septwould be better for this year.
April-June for next year.

Agreed on all counts.
There's a great little bare bones campground in Tok, which is the first main town after you cross at the ALCAN border. It's called the "Alaskan Stoves Campground", on the left as you enter town. Beside the airfield, so we had some small plane noise once in a while, but not a lot. It was inexpensive and had spots available last week in August/1st week September.
The rest was just first come first served, at various, but we had no problems finding places to stop overnight.
The municipal CG on the Homer Spit was quite an experience. We had to park in the infield, couldn't get a shoreline spot, but we had a view of Katchemak Bay, and the surrounding mountains. It was very restful, in spite of that.
There are some great views of the bay and the mountains on the opposite side, if you drive out East End Rd. for a few miles, from the point where the spit joins to the mainland. It gradually rises until you get some really good views, weather permitting. The little Welcome Center at the top of the hill before entering Homer wasn't finished when we were there, but the parking lot area and walkway had some great views as well, weather permitting. Take a camera.

Ivylog wrote:

MarkTwain wrote:
What is the real advantage of just "winging" RV reservations???????.

I have no idea how many miles I’ll make, what the weather will be,..how hot so need hookups. May decide to stay longer or broke down...just to name a few of the possible changes.

X2. Reservations are "scheduled events". I spent the better part of 50 years dealing with and trying to comply with some schedule or another, and now that I don't have to, I don't wherever possible. Also, and in my prior lifetime of reservations experience, I'm aware that very few reservations, for anything, have a booking $$$ fee is forgiven policy if you are late or don't show up at all. They almost all ding you for a few bucks, sometimes the whole deposit/price, for a no show. Some even add a fee just to make the reservation. It has nothing to do with the campground, it's just an added middle man fee for maintaining a website and a big electronic campground log book.
We've never had a problem finding a place to stay, "winging" it.
YMMV.

Keep in mind that July 1 is Canada Day, and many of the Canadian campgrounds may be full because of the Holiday. Also, same goes for July 4 in Alaska. Might need some reservations on those dates/places and the weekends near those dates.

MarkTwain wrote:
What is the real advantage of just "winging" RV reservations???????.

I have no idea how many miles I’ll make, what the weather will be,..how hot so need hookups. May decide to stay longer or broke down...just to name a few of the possible changes.

We haven't made any reservtions till where we are now in Palmer AK because we were going to be here over the weekend and it being Fathers day. However if your pushing miles it may be a good thing to call ahead. We stop early as we're not in a rush and have alwys found a site. The parks do fillup as the day progresses. Also in some areas your selection of sites may be limited depending on your rig size. We ran into that in '15', sites available but none our 5er would fit. No need to call till the day before unless the area is a destination spot.

What is the real advantage of just "winging" RV reservations???????? Making reservations is not like a marriage where you have to get divorced before you change plans or reservations. Always check about the cancellation policies for each RV park.

We plan to leave in 1 week. Travelling with our kids (schools out). Leaving from las vegas. We are leaving later than i wanted but it is what it is. Any advice?

Denali NP need to have reservations. We did not make them until we got to Fairbanks. They had some open spots.
Along the Alaska Highway, we did not use more then a couple commercial parks in each direction.
We stayed at the no frills campground right at the foot of the Homer spit. Great view. Got a little busy on weekends.
When do you plan on going? getting kind of late for this year as schools out and lots of people taking fast trips. Later part of Aug into Septwould be better for this year.
April-June for next year.