Alaska Highway Campgrounds

[roadtrek44]

My wife and I drove to Alaska 3 years ago and are planning a return trip this year. Difference is we have since purchased a Class B RV and of course will be camping along the way this time. Question: How necessary will it be to make reservations ahead of time for campgrounds along the Alaskan Highway?
Thank you for any and all advice.

[Veebyes]

Whoops dupe

[Veebyes]

Good advice from SWPHOTOBUG. I'll just add, be sure to make reservations ASAP for July 4th. Also May 24th if in Canada on that date. All of the Canadians come out of their cabins after winter hibernation & go camping on that date.

[mockturtle]

Last summer the Tok Cutoff road a some pretty serious construction area and also unusually severe frost heaves that weren't that bad when I was there in 2015. And a portion of the Sterling Highway was closed for a while due to dense smoke. Road conditions change year to year and, to be honest, the Alaska DOT isn't usually up to date. Your best bet is to ask fellow travelers. There are only so many roads in Alaska and you're bound to find someone who was recently driving where you will be. But rest assured your rig can make it and it's well worth the trip! 🙂

[CA_Traveler]

PA12's input as usual is spot on with his many years of experience which if I haven't previously thanked him do so now!

So much to see and do. We spent a part of the kids inheritance on our trip, about 1/3 on fuel, 1/3 on CGs and 1/3 on food and entertainment. Even a cruise might have been less cost but entirely different experience. We chuckled at the Prevosts full of cruisers on the way to the crusie ship resorts.

[PA12DRVR]

"Other suggestion I got was to go by ferry, then hire a good 4x4 to drive to the nearest accessible National Park. And on to the next."

So...my $0.03

- I had a fantastic trip in 2018 to GC National Park, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Glacier, and Yellowstone. All told on that trip we hit 12 - 15 sites, either National Parks, National Monuments, or National ____ (forests, scenic rivers, etc). To varying degrees, spent a few days at each one, stayed in a nearby motel, and woke up each morning when the wife and I would decide which part of the park to drive to, which hikes to take, where to have lunch, and where to be at when it was dinner time (either in the park or outside).
- (With some limited exception in Denali), the National Parks in AK ain't like that. Accessing the scenery requires use of something besides your own vehicle: (again, with small exceptions for Denali) either a sponsored bus / coach, a commercial air sightseeing venture, a commercial water sightseeing venture, or a drop-off and go hiking or paddling.
- Recognizing that, and if the drive up to Alaska isn't part of the attraction, I believe the most efficient way to see the NP's in Alaska would be to fly up here from Yosemite, spend some weeks in Alaska, rent a car as needed, fly, boat, hike out to see what's interesting (whether a national park, state park, or just the country), then fly back. Probably pretty expensive but honestly probably a better balance of "seeing stuff / doing stuff" vs. "cost" than many RV trips
- Unless one is strictly wanting to check the box on National Parks, I wouldn't skip the drive up and back. Canada is spectacular in it's own right (Northern BC and the Yukon, particularly Kluane, compete with anything Alaska offers) and if you drive through the mountain west U.S., that's pretty nice as well.

My suggestion would be to figure out what you'd like to see / do in AK without limiting it to National Parks....once that's determined, it may shape how you get up here as well as how long you stay.

[pigman1]

PA12DRVR wrote:
FWIW,

- As noted, lots of pullouts to use along the way.
- - -
- Purely anecdotally, an increasing number of the pullout spots on the road system in Alaska are getting some sort of signage that purportedly bars "overnight" or "camping"....don't know if it's being enforced or not.

We've seen a number of these signs in BC and southern Yukon but when we pass such signed locations in the early morning hours (we start at 3:30 - 5 AM) they are invariably full of overnighters with no sign of law enforcement or citations. There are also a number of unsigned locations. We regularly use these signed locations for overnight stops and have never been approached by LEO's in 9 round trips north.

[DrewE]

You don't need 4x4 to drive to the accessible national parks. As PA12DRVR wrote, there are two of them, three if you ever so slightly stretch the definition of drivable access. All are connected by perfectly passable roads, roads that ordinary cars or trucks or even motorhomes can drive on. I've done it with my mmotorhome, in fact, and had a truly fabulous trip doing so.

It is possible to get not too far from the Gates of the Arctic on the Dalton Highway, which is a more difficult and long and often quite rough and/or muddy road (but still passable by normal vehicles if the weather cooperates; again, I drove it with my motorhome), but you can't actually drive into the park itself. The area is absolutely beautiful, though.

It's not as though Alaska outside of the national parks isn't stunningly beautiful. Some areas are more scenic than others, of course, but there's a whole lot to see besides and between the National Parks.

[Yosemite_Sam1]

PA12DRVR wrote:

Yosemite Sam1 wrote:
Any ideas from the regulars on how to strategize to visit as many National Parks as possible with a travel trailer?

And if you can include the best season or month to do it (read so far that winter is impossible and middle of summer have slushy roads/tundra.

Thinking off the top of my head:
- Limited to the "standard" road system (not counting fly-in parks that have roads, or "boat-in" parks that have roads), I think there's only two (2) national parks that are road accessible: Denali NP and Wrangell-St. Elias NP.
- Certainly do-able with a travel trailer, but it's a rough 60 miles from Chitina to McCarthy (the access point to WSE) to get to WSE NP: then one either hikes or flies to access the scenery
- One can sort of drive to Kenai Fjords National Park as it involves going to Seward and then either doing local hikes (i.e. Exit Glacier) or taking a water cruise to see parts of the Park or getting dropped of for day (or days) trips.

Chugach State Park and Denali State Park are both road accessible, at least to get to trailheads and related facilities.

Thanks a ton!

Other suggestion I got was to go by ferry, then hire a good 4x4 to drive to the nearest accessible National Park. And on to the next.

What do you think?

I appreciate your information.

[PA12DRVR]

..and strictly personal and "far end of the bell curve" opinion, but if one is at all self-contained / reliant, I'd suggest September for visiting both Denali and WSE. Facilities and services tend to abruptly die in early- mid-September, but if one can get by without them for a few days, fall scenery can be spectacular, the bugs are gone, many tourists are gone 🙂 etc.

[PA12DRVR]

Yosemite Sam1 wrote:
Any ideas from the regulars on how to strategize to visit as many National Parks as possible with a travel trailer?

And if you can include the best season or month to do it (read so far that winter is impossible and middle of summer have slushy roads/tundra.

Thinking off the top of my head:
- Limited to the "standard" road system (not counting fly-in parks that have roads, or "boat-in" parks that have roads), I think there's only two (2) national parks that are road accessible: Denali NP and Wrangell-St. Elias NP.
- Certainly do-able with a travel trailer, but it's a rough 60 miles from Chitina to McCarthy (the access point to WSE) to get to WSE NP: then one either hikes or flies to access the scenery
- One can sort of drive to Kenai Fjords National Park as it involves going to Seward and then either doing local hikes (i.e. Exit Glacier) or taking a water cruise to see parts of the Park or getting dropped of for day (or days) trips.

Chugach State Park and Denali State Park are both road accessible, at least to get to trailheads and related facilities.

[Yosemite_Sam1]

Any ideas from the regulars on how to strategize to visit as many National Parks as possible with a travel trailer?

And if you can include the best season or month to do it (read so far that winter is impossible and middle of summer have slushy roads/tundra.

[mockturtle]

Went last summer, made no reservations except for Valdez staying a week, twice. Valdez is very popular. I would also recommend reservations in Seward and Homer. Didn't even book at Denali and stayed at Riley Creek for two nights. It was early in June. Spent quite a few nights in pullouts, by choice, not of necessity. In Canada stayed mostly at Provincial Parks.

[PA12DRVR]

FWIW,

- As noted, lots of pullouts to use along the way.
- Except for a holiday weekend, most "campgrounds" don't get too busy. If there's only one campground with power/ water etc for 200 miles, it might get hit heavy, but most of the power only or "just a spot" CG's aren't heavily used as the norm.
- As MORSNOW indicated, avoid Seward during 4th of July. FWIW, in general, Alaska CG's near to what passes for population centers (Los Anchorage, Squarebanks, Seward, Talkeetna, Kenai) tend to get pretty ugly around Memorial Day, the 4th, and Labor Day (Memorial and Labor days depending somewhat on weather). I think Seward's the worst, but I avoid camping near Talkeetna and Fairbanks over the 4th as well.
- Purely anecdotally, an increasing number of the pullout spots on the road system in Alaska are getting some sort of signage that purportedly bars "overnight" or "camping"....don't know if it's being enforced or not.

[pigman1]

Your choice as to what you need as far as an RV park. We've driven from Delaware to Alaska and back 9 times and have NEVER had a reservation and have NEVER stayed at an RV park. Lots of pullout areas to overnight in.