I hope this does not cause anyone any ill feelings, but is a trip to Alaska really worth it?When my wife and I started RVing in 1989, we got a subscription to Trailer Life, and I would read many comments that an RV trip to Alaska was every RVer's goal.So in 2005, we bought an old 1972 Sells TC and fixed it up for the trip. We did not want to take our silver, 35' Avion on the trip. We ended up pulling a small flatbed with a scooter on it so that we would not have to take off the Sells all the time (hand crank jacks).To make it short, after getting back home, we decided that Alberta and BC had everything that Alaska had (except Danali) without having to go that far and over all those bad roads.You can even enter Alaska at Hyder if you want to enter that state.So when we are asked, we always tell people to stay in Alberta and BC, save time, money and wear-n-tear on their rigs.Anyone else feel this way?

that is why I flew into Fairbanks, rather than make that arduous trip. but yes, other than Denali, didn't really see anything different from the lower 48, cept for an above the ground pipeline.bumpy

The Alaska trip is my dream. Canada is lovely, and we hope to return to see other sites soon, but Alaska is the goal when the grandkids start doing their own thing and we won't be missed for the whole summer.So enjoy what you enjoy and Happy Trails.

The fishing is great enough for the trip. But I would fly in rather than drive. It is a long bunch of nothing and no matter how great the view it just turns into another pile of rocks.

Alaska, the Yukon and norther BC and Alb. is worth the road trip.Places like Laird Hot Springs are a wonder to be seen with the orchids in bloom.Stopping along a river or stream seeing it thick with fish. Not just the salmon in Alaska but some of Canadian rivers with trout below falls.The little towns along the way with things like the Sign Post Park.Wildlife up and down the road can not be seen any where.It is a big trip of a lifetime!

Haven't been, so can't really answer. But in my opinion, I wouldn't go to Alaska just for Alaska. Instead, it would be the entire trip and everything along the way. That is why I'm saving the trip until I retire and can take at least 3 months to make the trip.Since I usually travel back roads, preferring gravel/dirt, I don't think the roads in Alaska would shake my rig any worse. I'm never in a hurry, so always slow down to conditions. Again, the reason I need at least 3 months to make the trip.I do love Yellowstone and Utah, so I've got years to explore those.So is it worth it, depends on the individual. And I have no problems with your opinion, sounds reasonable from your perspective. In my opinion, I don't think Yosimite is worth a visit and almost wish I hadn't visited the first time.

Stirring up a hornet's nest? | Good Sam Community

30 Replies

Photomike
Explorer III
Aug 07, 2013
Great question and some great answers. I have not been, have been thinking it would be nice to do but after reading the posts may just go with a flight to Alaska and some tours and save the gas for around here.
54suds
Explorer
Aug 07, 2013
OP.asked ? Anyone else feel this way?
Reply We've tc'ed to Alaska 3 times , using a different routes each time and we're hoping to make at least several more trips. I still get a thrill just walking out my back door down to the creek, I want see and appreciate as much as the good Lord is willing to let me
ryoung
Explorer
Aug 07, 2013
Another absolutely not. Our Alaska trip in 2007 with another couple and their TC was the joy of a lifetime. I bought the TC just for the trip as I did not want to pull the fiver there and back.

Over 11,000 miles with no time schedule, took nearly 3 months.

Near the end of the trip, we put the TC on the Alaska Marine Ferry ship Columbia in Skagway and got off in Bellingham, WA 5 days later.

Took nearly 4,000 digital photos and still enjoy looking at them now and then. The memory is what makes the trip.

Not really wanting to return as there is still much of the lower 48 that I want to see....in the TC that I bought for Alaska.

ryoung
bighatnohorse
Explorer II
Aug 07, 2013
An Alaskan summer with the extended daylight is otherworldly - like a summer party that never quits.

It requires lots of time. . . simply driving from spot to spot probably isn't worth it.
Flying into Anchorage and drive or take the train to Denali then taking the tour bus into the park at least to Mirror Lake, is worth it.

I've been to the Patagonia ice sheet. . .and so found the Alaskan glaciers sort of wimpy.
Not impressed.

I think Alaska is a fishing and hunting place. . .probably paradise for those folks.

I love Yosemite, unlike a previous poster - so you see that views differ.
Some love it some not so much.
dbbls
Explorer
Aug 07, 2013
It was the trip, not the destination, that I liked the best. Going up I drove through Jasper and Banff then up the Cassiar highway. Came back the Alaska highway all the way, then across Canada to Winnipeg on highway 16. Great trip.
Peg_Leg
Explorer
Aug 07, 2013
I bought a damaged popup TC just for this one trip. 13,000 miles. All the way to the Arctic Circle and came back through Texas, must have made a wrong turn some where. Got back and sold the TC.

The wife never much liked looking at trees while going down the hiway.

Would we do it again? We both agree, "In a heartbeat".

BUT, she wants to go back to Hawaii again first. I told her we could wait in Alaska until the bridge is finished. I get out of the hospital next week.
Bedlam
Moderator
Aug 07, 2013
I have not RV'ed in Alaska for the simple reason of the distance I have to travel and the amount of vacation I have as a full-time working stiff. We have taken a cruise to see the western edge of it to get a sampling. We make two 2500-5000 mile trips annually if we can cover some ground quickly, but we break it up. The idea is that you enjoy the journey with interesting stops along the way. If you're like us with limited time available, put in a couple days of long driving and then stop for a couple days to unwind before you do it again. For us, we don't want our vacation to be work, yet we want see the country in our semi-youth...
spacedoutbob
Explorer
Aug 07, 2013
I've only been to Alaska once, of all the places that I have been to only once, Alaska is the place I want to go back to the most. I could believe all the ponds, streams, creeks, rivers and lakes I saw that I wanted to try fishing at. I love BC and Alberta also, but I've been there at least 6 times each.

Bob in Calif.
BobTowne
Explorer
Aug 07, 2013
I'd do it again in a minute - really awesome country and wildlife; however, my wife doesn't feel the same way - too much of the same thing. We may very well go again, but we have some other trips to take first.
RickW
Explorer III
Aug 07, 2013
If you plan a bit, you can fly to Anchorage, rent an RV for a week or two and see and do whatever is on your list. This is (IMHO) a reasonable alternative when you include the time, fuel cost and vehicle wear to drive there and back from the lower 48.

Unless you just can't cook breakfast in an unfamiliar kitchen or need some braggin' rights and a picture of you and your rig on the Alaskan Highway. :C

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Stirring up a hornet's nest?

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