Trip from Calgary, AB to Alaska

americanrascal wrote:
Whitehorse visitors center is a must stop when in Whitehorse. Great real time info about road conditions from Haines Junction through Discovery Bay, up to the Alaska Border.

"Destruction Bay" on the shores of Kluane Lake? Destruction Bay is north of Haines Junction and south of Beaver Creek on the Alaska Highway.

davidcc wrote:
We have reservations at the Spring Hill RV Park in Cochran and have tickets to two rodeo days and Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert. I will probably get tickets to another rodeo day and then just walk around the park and take in free events for a couple of days. We were in Calgary last year and parked the RV at Calgary West Campground but did not have a good experience there.

Thanks for all the responses about the roads and things to prepare for. I did not know about the Milepost book but will get one because I was concerned about the road conditions. I really appreciate all the help and any thoughts about things to do and see in Alaska would be appreciated

David

You will enjoy Spring Lake in Cochrane. We have been there a few times and have had good experiences there. I would suggest going from Calgary to Banff then on to Jasper. If you can't get into one of the full service campgrounds there is always the overflows by Lake Louise and Columbia Icefields on your way to Jasper. From there its a toss up as which way to go to Alaska. I have gone both ways (Jasper/Prince George/Dawson Creek)(Jasper/Grande Cache/Grande Prairie). I like the Jasper/PG/DC route because you go through the mountains where as the Jasper/GC/GP route goes around the mountains and not as nice and the road between Hinton and Grande Cache is narrow in spots and a bit rough.

Whitehorse visitors center is a must stop when in Whitehorse. Great real time info about road conditions from Haines Junction through Discovery Bay, up to the Alaska Border. They can give you info on current conditions and driving advice and it alleviated a good bit of our fears. Good tourist info there also.

Whitehorse visitors center is a must stop . Great for info about road conditions from Haines Junction through Discovery Bay, up to the Alaska Border. They can give you info on current conditions and driving advice. Good info there also. Whitehorse Visitors Center

Doing the Columbia Icefields tour (between Lake Louise and Jasper)in the "Ice Explorers" is worth the stop as it is a great experience if you've never encountered a Glacier up close before

There are one or two long hills on the Banff - Jasper highway. The highway is well paved and in good shape. You'll have to gear down on those hills to be safe. There are some good threads about gearing down for hills in this forum by people much more experienced than me. I like to go downhill in a gear that maintains a speed where I feel I have full control of the vehicle and could stop easily if necessary. Brakes should not be used freely - save them to slow down enough to get into a lower gear, or to make an emergency stop.

Keep in mind there is only one small service station between Lake Louise and Jasper, near the Columbia Icefields. It has gas at a premium price, a nice gift shop and restaurant. No garage even for car repairs. Not a good stretch for vehicle trouble, so check tires, oil, etc at Banff and fill up with gas. Several years ago we filled up at Lake Louise at a very high gas price. Then I noticed there was a second gas station, away from the tourist center, with a price not much higher than Banff.

We have reservations at the Spring Hill RV Park in Cochran and have tickets to two rodeo days and Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert. I will probably get tickets to another rodeo day and then just walk around the park and take in free events for a couple of days. We were in Calgary last year and parked the RV at Calgary West Campground but did not have a good experience there.

Thanks for all the responses about the roads and things to prepare for. I did not know about the Milepost book but will get one because I was concerned about the road conditions. I really appreciate all the help and any thoughts about things to do and see in Alaska would be appreciated

David

You can go west to Banff from Calgary and then up the Ice field Highway to Jasper then east to near Hinton and north through Grand Cache onto Grande Prairie and then onto Dawson Creek and the start of the Alaska Highway as others have suggested or head straight west over the Rogers Pass through Revelstoke, Kamloops and north to Valmont through Mt Robson and onto Jasper and then that way. If you go up the Alaska Highway make sure that you come back on the Stewart Cassiar Highway a very beautiful trip also.
The new Milepost is definitely a great travel guide, the trip to Alaska is an unbelievable trip, please enjoy. The roads are not super highways but with patience will be no challenge.

davidcc wrote:
We live in Alabama but going to Calgary for the stampede in July. My wife and I are considering driving to Alaska from Calgary. Being from Alabama we don't drive through many mountains and am concerned about crossing the Rockies. We drive a 1995 American Eagle, 300 HP Cummins and will be towing a car carrier and car. I would appreciate any thoughts on routes, highway conditions and any other thing we should consider or plan on

Thanks

You should enjoy the trip, simply slow down and watch the hight of the frost heaves. some will allow the hitch to drag. Slow down when you see them coming up. and enjoy the trip.

enblethen wrote:
From Casper you will not hit many major areas heading toward Jasper and then toward Dawson Creek and the Alaska Highway. I do not remember any passes that is over 4000 with no steep climbs.

Casper?? Who said that??
From Calgary on, even if you chose to go through banff and jasper ( highly recommended) you will have no troubles - except keeping your eyes off the scenery and on the road ahead!. Assume/hope you have reservations for the Stampede time - RV space and tickets etc. Where will you be staying??

BTW- I'd suggest you get a hard copy of "Milepost" (not sure if the 2015 is out yet) as it is a must have route guide and essential to know the road. Note that its always wise to drive on the top half of your tank as fuel /waystations are many many miles apart. (I almost learned that one the hard way last year).

Fuel can be a bit pricey especially as compared to AL. But its one of the best investments we have made in this lifetime.

I will be a month or so ahead of you. We leave here around May 13
Coming up through Kamloops connecting to Can 16 west of Jasper.
OP:
I would suggest coming up to Jasper along the Ice Fields Hwy. Something you do not want to miss.