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Montana to Watson Lake - Info Sharing

Smitty77
Explorer
Explorer
Hi All - Hope all are traveling, or planning their travels well!

Sorry this is formatted so poorly, and yeah - a bit long. I updated quick notes in a Word Document, waiting for coverage to post. Info sharing on what we have encountered so far, maybe of help to others coming along the same routes.

? Left Helena, MT Costco parking lot on 4/30. I-15 N -> 287 N/W (few miles of new construction dirt and gravel) -> 89N (lovely narrow twisty wrap around the East edge of the Rockies) to the Canadian Border.
? Crossed over Piegan Border Crossing after pleasant 3 mins of conversation and papers looking. Then into Canada we went.
? Stopped Lee Creek Campground at very close to the border Cardston, AB. Not officially opened until 5/1 โ€“ but they let us in and we had electricity, sewer and water turned on the second day. We did a day trip to Waterton Lake National Park. Also not yet completely opened โ€“ but just a Mother Nature gem of a place.
? 5/2 Headed to Red Deer, AB to sit out a few days of snow storms. Stayed a Westerner RV just off route 2. All season park, with a mix of residents and travelers. The Westerner is a major event area with the park getting steady business event visitors. We had two nice day hikes between the storms, at Kerry Wood Nature Preserve โ€“ a nice big safe park with great hiking, within the Red Deer area.
? 5/6 short drive to Devon, AB to the Devon Lions RV Park. Right on the river, and though more people were here, this park too had not yet turned the water on. We had two nights of light snow flurries, but very pleasant. One day run off to LARGE West Edmonton Mall. Shopping never looked so big. Indoor beach with wave machine, and stores, stores, stores. Lucky for me, the DW was pretty well stocked up!! A new heavier jacket for Smitty, and a few long sleeve shirts for us both.
? 5/8 onto Sherkโ€™s RV Park by Valley View, AB. Just also getting opened, with site water off. But very long hose made available for those that were staying in the campground. (Some seasonal road workers, as a large stretch is still being expanded as you head North out of Valley View.) A nice campground, friendly staff โ€“ the major cleaning of the laundry room must have just been completed to start the year, as the DW said the place even smelled clean!!
? 5/9 onto Northern Lights RV Park, in Dawson Creek โ€“ Mile Zero. Northern Lights still has new looking, and very well maintained laundry room and showers (though we just looked into the showers). Mike & Annette own and run this park. Making improvements every year. Itโ€™s on a good rise above Dawson Creek, close to all. I had heard that Mike and Annette did their best to welcome all. Mike really came thru on helping us with a small sewer connection problem (Smitty caused!). Then as we were in town and doing the Mile Post Zero picture. Mike pulls up in his car while running an errand, jumps out to take our picture for us. Both are real neat people, with pride of ownership โ€“ and itโ€™s genuine, not an act, these are good people. Warning, do not start playing ball with their dog Gizmo โ€“ you could lose days!

Note: Dawson Creek has road construction going on in the heart of town, so if you donโ€™t need to go into the main drag with your rig for some reason, try to take the Hazardous Truck route around the town. Still lets you into Northern Lights RV Park, or Tubbyโ€™s or Lions RV Parks โ€“ and hooks back up The ALCAN. Do take the time to visit the Information Center in Dawson Creek, as they have great info on current things taking place on The ALCAN.
? 5/11 Headed North on The ALCAN stopping at the Sikanni River Campground. The road conditions both South and North of Pink Mountain are a bit rough. All of the Oil Trucks have done some damage. Though 100KM is posted, we found that we rattled more then we liked at 70-75KM. We also had our first โ€˜impatientโ€™ (polite wording for road jerk) Oil Worker blow past us while doing the stop/go lights of Fort St John. He flew by us over two double yellow lines, cutting in quickly to โ€˜pepperโ€™ us with some nice half inch stones. One silver dollar and another nickel windshield chips. (Could have happened anywhere in the lower 48. And we know from experience you will read about next, that the people of Fort St John are just as nice as anywhere else. This region is inundated with thousands of guest Oil Workers. Small โ€˜townโ€™ Work Camps with Crew Rates signs have popped up thru this region.)

Sikanni River Campground? Great location, our first bites from Big Blood Suckers too. The campground is a bit run down, with new owners, so hope that will change. Tightly spaced (Pass the Grey Poupon please.) spots with 30A available and a few pull thruโ€™s by the river with great views and 15A or 20A service.

We ended our Motherโ€™s Day with how it started, a bit of bad luck. The manager of the park told me that theyโ€™d had an incident with their primary generator, it had been fried, but the backup was up and running. We stayed in the shoe horn spot he put us in for about 90 mins, plugged into the 30A. One of the parks staff was working in the generator shed, and must have hit the wrong switches, as we had a loud โ€˜popโ€™ sound from our cabinets with Autoformer and TRC Surge Guard. Microwave stayed on, so did not think much about it, figuring our protection equipment had protected us. We moved shortly later, to a pull thru right next to the river, not bothering to hook back up to the 15A service.

Next AM, we noted an error code on the Norcold 1200. Service Manual indicated bad Control Board. After checking all of the Control Boards fuses, all looking good, decided that Fort St John would have more facilities than Fort Nelson, so headed South.

When we got to Fort Nelson, the local Fort Ford (& Trailer) Dealer worked us in to do a quick diagnostic to see if a Control Board needed to be ordered. Short time later Technician Clint, had our Control Board โ€˜hard resetโ€™ and all checked out OK. Told him about the power surge and we both concluded enough had slipped by to force the Control Board into protection mode. We also determined that our Hughes Autoformer had bit been fried during the power surge. I rewired our TRC Surge Guard, which was in line after the Hughes, to be the front line of defense. Called to ask the Sikanni RV Park to review what had happened, and see if they could help me on the damage. Suggested they pay for parts, and I would cover labor. The owners are not in town for a few weeks, so I suspect this will be a few weeks to sort out. Give it a 50/50 chance that they'll help on the damage. Part of the risks we take. And please note, if I had known they were going to work on the generator, I would have unplugged. The site manager said the guy that drives a truck for the place, went in on his own accord - and frankly the manager did not think the guy knew what he was doing. (And udner statement:)!)

More South instead of North! During the total 90 mins from when we pulled into the Fort Ford Dealer until I paid the bill โ€“ we called around to glass shops in Fort St John. Two days out was the earliest available schedule. I called Speedy Glass that we had passed on the main drag of Dawson Creek, and they said they would work us in whenever we got to them. We headed South, and they had us out within 40 mins repairing the two chips (one may not hold, weโ€™ll see).

We made it back up to Fort St John, and spent the night at the Wallmart.

>5/13 we headed North, again, to Fort Nelson staying at Triple G Hideaway. Friendly staff and still cleaning up the park getting ready for the season ahead. Walked to the next door Museum, feeding the Blood Suckers on the way, and noted the newer Fort Nelson Visitor Information Center just across the roadway.

We called Muncho Provisional Park phone number, reaching a gent that was not in the area, but assured us that the staff was on site and would have the park open. Had also called and talked to the Fort Nelson Visitor Information Center, and they too understood the park was open, and getting ready for the season. We were strategizing on where to hunker down for the Victoria Days Long Weekend, to stay as much out of the way of our local Canadian Hosts as possible. Most parks Provincial Parks in these regions open between 5/15 thru the end May, depending upon location and weather.

? 5/14 we headed North to Mucho Lakes Strawberry Flats. At the recommendation of the Provincial Park gent we talked to, we and topped off fuel at Toad River, as fuel prices are substantially higher at the few locations along Muncho Lake and on up into Liard Hot Springs area.

While we did not stay at Toad River, we did do a day trip back in out Toad for brunch and WiFi. The park has both newer looking cabins and electric and water in many of the RV sites. It would be a nice place to stop and spend the night, or two, on the way North. Nice beaver damn and home, and supposedly very good moose sightings too โ€“ just off RV campground area. And, besides good food โ€“ the people are very nice too.

We stayed for 5 great nights at Strawberry Flats on the South end of Muncho Lake, enjoying day drives and hikes. Space #15 was great, and though the lake was still frozen over, the beauty of this area is just fantastic. Two Thumbs Up from Smitty!

5/19 A short ride into Liard Hot Springs. Nice site with #25, on the edge of the curve and far as you can get from the ALCAN. The campground staff get a salute and a thanks. This was a very busy weekend for them, with overflow area being used to handle the Victoria Long Weekend crowds. As the mass exodus of Monday AM took place, the battle tested staff cleaned sites and had the trash out of bins multiple times during the AM.

We enjoyed the springs, spending some time with some Down Under Caravan gang (40 brand new Class Cโ€™s from Seattle to Fairbanks, all having a blast!) About 15 rigs pulled into spend a few hours at Liard, then to press onwards to Watson Lake to make the evening Wagon Master meeting at 7:00PM. A fun crowd they were.)

5/20 on into Watson Lake. Cell coverage! WiFi at the rig (get close to the office for in rig coverage), and our own little mud pit! The area could use more gravel, but again many areas are still just getting up and running. Though the owner said he'd been open for four weeks now.

Road Perceptions and a few Fuel Comments:

Itโ€™s still early in the season, many of the towns and cities we drove thru, were just starting to clean the winter gravel/sand put down for winter.

We found the Alberta roadways to be well maintained, with good warnings of rough roads and bumps.

The British Columbia roads did not seem to us to be as well maintained, and we found many sections where no warnings of rough roads and bumps/heaves existed. Theyโ€™re not all easy to see, and we found that 65-75KPH was about as fast as we wanted to travel, regardless of the 100KPH speed limits. Smaller rigs and trucks may not have any problems going the posted speeds. And many times we were passed by other Class Aโ€™s too. I suspect that heavier weight/longer coaches like ours, will probably drive below the posted speeds. With the exception of area around Pink Mountain area. The Oil Trucks have roughed this up quite a bit, and very few Rough Road warning or Heaves Red Warnings for what this area warrants. Suggest all rigs, but especially heavy and longer DPโ€™s, keep it down to 75 in this region. And do watch out for the trucks, as they are going to do what they are going to do!

Yukon roads? A bit rough as you first come into the area, but found good roads as you get into Watson Lake area. We know from other posts, that we have more fun ahead, and weโ€™ll go as fast as we feel road conditions allow, regardless of posted speeds.

One nice thing for us so far, as weโ€™re still a bit ahead of the major crowds. Very little traffic, so easy for us to pull over and let people pass when safe, or to see the animals along the way too.

Fuel Tips โ€“ From Fort Nelson to Watson, best fuel prices remain Toad River and Contact Creek. We would have needed to sale blood to purchase fuel along Muncho Lake, and Liard Springs as not much better.

Dumps? The stretch between Fort Nelson and Watson are few. Toad River will allow a dump without staying. (Not validated, but was cautioned that they have very hard water, so perhaps skip filling the water tank if you can.)

Great Northern Lodge RV park will only allow dumping for guests.

The Mucho Lake RV Park was still not open, so I donโ€™t know if they will allow fee to dump here or not.

Liard Hot Springs Lodge and RV Parks. This Lodge is under new owners. They also had a new manager, and things seemed to be in flux. We were told we could fill with water for $10. But no to dumping. (This is different than Churchโ€™s book updates, that you can dump here without staying. We understand, as the Liard Hot Springs have no dump stations. And these places need to pay to be emptied at quite an expense.) Still early in the season, and with new owners and manager maybe things will change on this. It also could have just been a Victoria Long Weekend decision.)

I donโ€™t recall if Contact Creek had a dump or not, used to be an RV park, so it could. But my bet is no here tooโ€ฆ

This sounds almost like a blog update, sorry! Main intent was to share the road and camp conditions so far. Fuel and dumping experiences. All changes quickly as the season moves on, so donโ€™t be surprised if you find our experienced conditions to have changed.

Having fun, such great country, very friendly people.

Best to all, travel safe, and have fun,
Smitty
(In Watson Lake โ€“ Going to hang our sign in the rain today!)
8 REPLIES 8

sue_t
Explorer
Explorer
The owner of the Downtown RV Park is a good guy. After we finished a very muddy trip along the Campbell Highway, he encouraged hubby to wash the truck and fifth wheel at his facility, and even lent us a good brush. Four hours later, the truck and trailer were free of mud.

He was up front that you need to park close to the office or be in laundry room to get wi-fi. I asked for the farthest away, most private site because we were travelling with two large dogs and not everyone appreciates them the way we do. The laundry machines were good, and so was the internet reception in the laundry room.

The RV park is also close to the grocery store there, so made that easy to do as well.
sue t.
Pictures from our many RV Adventures to Yukon & Alaska from Vancouver Island. Now we live in Yukon!

Smitty77
Explorer
Explorer
fanrgs wrote:
We used Wye Lake to dump after spending time at beautiful Boya Lake Provincial Park on the Cassiar Highway. Very convenient as I dropped my wife off at the grocery store as we went into town and picked her up after dumping.

We took one look at Downtown RV Park and skipped it after asking for a rate. We also visited the Watson Lake Campground (Yukon govt.) and it had lots of trees and privacy. But, since we had spent a couple of nights dry camping on the Cassiar, we decided to stay at Junction 37 RV Park.

Although not well-maintained, we ended up at Junction 37 both going to Alaska and coming home. We even did laundry there on the way home, although only half the washers and dryers were operable. Uncrowded, good rates, treed, pull-thru sites with full hookups and some privacy, and a laundry--what more could you want? Especially after some of the campgrounds we stayed in in Alaska, it seemed better than average despite some poor reviews from others.


After 6 days of no sewer, power or internet - the DW considered the Downtown RV Park to be our own private resort:)! (Many days of rain before showed up, so the gravel parking lot had more mud and puddles then usual. We had OK WiFi, being close to the office and with the WiFiRanger Boaster. Wife liked the laundry area well. The owner is very straight forward about his park. While he did not say it, I felt he understood that this was a 'stopping place vs destination'. Showers were reported to be clean, by a few of the campers we talked with. The owner was also nice enough to let me 'steal vs borrow' his extension ladder for the Signpost ritual (We now be hung!).

Junction 37 we slowed down and looked over as we drove by. Thanks for the info, we'll probably stop on our way back to pick up 37 South...

Best to all,
Smitty

fanrgs
Explorer
Explorer
We used Wye Lake to dump after spending time at beautiful Boya Lake Provincial Park on the Cassiar Highway. Very convenient as I dropped my wife off at the grocery store as we went into town and picked her up after dumping.

We took one look at Downtown RV Park and skipped it after asking for a rate. We also visited the Watson Lake Campground (Yukon govt.) and it had lots of trees and privacy. But, since we had spent a couple of nights dry camping on the Cassiar, we decided to stay at Junction 37 RV Park.

Although not well-maintained, we ended up at Junction 37 both going to Alaska and coming home. We even did laundry there on the way home, although only half the washers and dryers were operable. Uncrowded, good rates, treed, pull-thru sites with full hookups and some privacy, and a laundry--what more could you want? Especially after some of the campgrounds we stayed in in Alaska, it seemed better than average despite some poor reviews from others.
"Retirement is the best job I ever had!"
2015 RAM 2500 4x4 crewcab 6.7L CTD; 2016 Rockwood Signature UltraLite 5th wheel

daily_double
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Explorer
Smitty, thanks for the info it is greatly appreciated!

fanrgs
Explorer
Explorer
I put similar info about Sikanni River RV Park on the Roll Call Alaska 2014 thread, although I think I called it the Sikanni Chief RV Park. We didn't have nearly as bad an experience last August as you had, but I would not recommend it as even an overnight stop to anyone. When we were there, all the best spots (back-ins) were filled with oil/gas field workers and we were given one of those overpriced, muddy pull-thus near the river with 15A power.
"Retirement is the best job I ever had!"
2015 RAM 2500 4x4 crewcab 6.7L CTD; 2016 Rockwood Signature UltraLite 5th wheel

Smitty77
Explorer
Explorer
Sue - Thanks for the confirmation on no dumping in Contact Creek - and yes the coffee was on...

Bob - Travel safe and have fun.

On the exciting subject of dumps, we did confirm that a nice place to stop for lunch, and then for a free fill of drinking water and dumping. Wye Park is just off the Alcan in Watson Lake. Look for the signs for Downtown RV Park. Go past the right corner grocery (as good as place as any to stock up), and past the Downtown RV Park off to the left. Maybe an 1/8th of a mile down the road turn right into Wye Park. Right on the lake, picnic tables, good walking routes, and the drinking water and dump station.

If just moving thru Watson Lake to one of the Yukon Parks, this is a gem of a setup to get ready:)!

Best to all,
Smitty

PghBob
Explorer
Explorer
Thanks Smitty77.

We will be heading out in a couple of weeks. Your info is very helpful.

Bob

sue_t
Explorer
Explorer
Contact Creek has no dump station. One of the reasons they are a gas station only now is because their septic system does not meet present day standards. So they had a choice of closing or limiting their facilities (same option caused Swift River to close a couple of years ago). Thus, Contact Creek will give you a free coffee with your fill-up (good price on fuel!) and sell a souvenir or two, but no meals or other tourist services.

BTW, sunny here west of Whitehorse this morning! Beautiful day thus far!
sue t.
Pictures from our many RV Adventures to Yukon & Alaska from Vancouver Island. Now we live in Yukon!