Trip to Alaska

One method is to use commercial tour company itinerary's to get started.
Get your basic route outlined then check it against ratings on TripAdvisor.

Nothing wrong with rv.net, but there are tonnes of information already neatly packaged and easy pickin's on line.

There is a long thread active right now: Roll Call Alaska 2015. Find that and read it. You'll have most of your questions answered.

You can look at the thread referenced above...there will be quite a bit of information therein.

That being said, you have the best part covered already...."...with no return date": If at all possible, stay in Alaska until September or later. I know the RV services kind of diminish after mid-September, but the absence of a time deadline and the fall scenery and ambience add a whole 'nother dimension to Alaska.

You will have no problem finding the mountains, glaciers, bears, eagles, and mile after mile of wilderness. But maybe the most rewarding thing that we did on our last trip was a visit to the musk oxen cooperative near Anchorage, seeing musk oxen up close and personal and going away with a scarf made of fine undercoat hair of musk oxen and woven by an Alaskan native who got a share of the profit.

Get a Copy of the Milepost and read it...It's about all you need.

In addition ANY of the good Guidebooks on Alaska, Moon, LP, Fodors et al will help steer you to the things you are most interested in and supply some good tips on interesting places to eat etc.

In all due respect to the Forum and it's many knowledgeable members, it can be a clunky, hit and miss sort of time consuming way to get sometimes very biased and sometimes very good info.

A good guidebook and the Milepost have all the info you need in one easily useable place.

Go to the very top of this forum and click on the 'Clicky': Helpful ideas for Alaskan Travel. It is, indeed, very helpful. Keep up with the current ongoing posts on 'Roll Call Alaska 2015' for additional questions answered.

For maps and history along your trip, definitely use the 'Milepost'.

For campground information, purchase online Mike & Terry Church's book 'Alaskan Camping'. It includes Canada and the Yukon, also. They lived in Alaska and traveled the route often. It's a much better reference for campgrounds and boondocking spots than the Milepost. Keep in mind that with both publications, things change constantly with closures which you will probably encounter. It's a trip that you'll just have to go with the flow.

I wouldn't recommend you arm yourself with guide books other than the two I just mentioned. They have all the information you might want.

There will also be closures on fuel stations so always drive on the top half of your tank and fill up when you see a spot. This is not a trip that you will be able to search for cheap fuel. Buy it when you see it.

Another thing to purchase online is the 'TourSaver 2/1 Coupon' book. Doing one glacier tour (a must) will pay for the book.

Don't strap yourself with making reservations. It will be a more enjoyable trip. The only reservations we made were for the July 4 weekend (Alaskans like to camp, too) and for the Denali Nat'l Park stay at Teklanika campground - the farthest one you can drive and well worth it. For those we only made them a few weeks out when we could judge our time better. We easily found our overnight spots otherwise without reservations. Plus, there are many gorgeous spots just to pull off the side of the road for a night.

Have a great trip!

Thanks, ordered Milepost & Alaskan Camping yesterday


Bob