To Deali via Fairbanks

[bcgarrison]

Need to make reservations at Denali soon. Traveling in 31' motor home. Not knowing the roads I'm wondering how long it will take to get there from the Jasper area. Is 300 to 400 miles/day reasonable and still not be rushed?

[AKsilvereagle]

The past two Septembers upon returning home to Interior Alaska from Jasper took me 6 days of travel which was practically a direct route, as compared to commuting southbound along different routes or sidetrips would be a venture of 9 to 12 days for me before reaching Banff and Jasper areas in my old camper rig that I will not abuse or tear up.

Since I only was authorized three weeks vacation the last two Septembers and always behind schedule 2 or 3 days before heading back home northbound, I had only 7 days left before returning to work as I made it back home on time the night before both times.

The 6 days from Jasper to home was pushing it for me although it was roughly 300 miles per day, but that was also dealing with road construction zones, stretches of frost heaved roads in between as I drive between 5mph to 25mph thru those rough intermittent stretches, driving by covering more ground during nightfall as well which I don't care for, as it gets much darker during mid August and September.

In between despite the construction zones and road surfaces in some parts of the Alaska Highway, you have potential pilot escorts to deal with as in Central BC there are a lot of gas well equipment being hauled around by semis as they are gearing up for winter too, as well as in a hurry southbound traffic racing to get away from Alaska as they think wintertime will be the end of the world for them and god knows how fast they driven across the bad surfaces with their trailers in tow, and the colder it gets with snowcapped mountains in those areas you have a potential increase of wildlife roaming around to get away from the hills as these other factors could or would slow a driver down as this is why I do not change my driving habits or speed and pay closer attention to other drivers and road surfaces, I am rather driving much longer to gain ground which all depends on how many times I need to slow down for any of these other factors I mentioned along the way.

Upon leaving Parks Canada from Jasper returning home, in 2011 and 2012 was where my layover spots were :

Day 1 - Jasper to Dawson Creek BC - Grande Prairie AB

Day 2 - Dawson Creek BC or Grande Prairie AB to Fort Nelson BC

Day 3 - Fort Nelson BC to Watson Lake YT - Rancheria YT

Day 4 - Watson Lake YT or Rancheria YT to Sue's place between Whitehorse YT and Haines Junction YT

Day 5 - Sue's place to White River YT (55 miles from the Alaska Border) -260 mile stretch here-

Day 6 - White River YT to home which is 330 miles.

Between Destruction Bay and the Alaska Border is a 140 mile stretch of intermittent frost heave road that is pretty bumpy as this stretch can break components of a vehicle and or trailer should a driver want to make time on, there are a few spots between Whitehorse and Haines Junction that have hardcore bumps too so slow down in these bumpy areas if you want to commute damage free.

Just a note upon driving my rig between Destruction Bay and White River is an 80 mile stretch and takes me between 3:30 and 3:50 to drive thru this stretch and that is non stop driving averaging 20 to 23mph in my old camper rig.

Upon this analysis you can reach Denali Nat'l Park in 7 days from Jasper Nat'l Park upon a 300 mile per day stretch on average while driving "safewise" with all the elements in between, while still enjoying one to three hours per day of stops while on the road prior to overnighting.....If you want to take on the more sights in between during the day, then I would say 300 miles per day is not doable by any means.

I would not worry about making reservations for Denali unless it was Labor Day Weekend, and as suggested you could also opt to make a reservation within one day or two from Denali once you are in Alaska.

If for some reason the Denali campgrounds of choice are full upon your arrival, there are other RV places to camp at that are nearby the National Park so no sweating it there either.

Depending on how many road construction projects and repairs are going on, you can make cruising time upon 85% to 90% of the Alaska Highway which is pretty good road surface.

Hope this perspective helps.

[answerswillvary]

Moved to RVing in Alaska

[jandjhawk]

I don't think you will drive 300÷ miles a day and enjoy your trip. We arrived in Tok on Aug 1. We accessed the Alcan via the Cassier Hwy. From blogs and talking with friends we thought the Cassier would be our worst driving, it was not. We drove from Whitehorse to Border City, about 350 miles and it took us over 10 hours. The bad roads and construction were the worst the last several miles. This isn't to discourage but so you will be prepared. Had we realized how slow we would have to drive we would not have attempted the drive in one day! Unfortunately after we got to the borders there was no place to stop. When we got to Border City we should have stopped but the roads were good so we decided we could make it to Tok only to have more construction. We found a nice pullout and spent the night because we were so tired and drove to Tok the next morning.
All that to say, plan on slow going and about 200 miles a day. Don't push it so you can enjoy it!
Thanks for the question about Denali. We will be headed there in a week or so and I was wondering if we would need reservations. Sounds like it is a good time to go!!
Hope you enjoy your trip! We certainly have and learned alot from all these bloggers!

[2gypsies1]

First, you don't need a reservation for Denali at this time of year. We easily got a site in Riley Creek campground without a reservation although we pulled into Denali early morning. By 1:00 the campground was full - but this was in July. You'll find that most folks are leaving Alaska at this time so there will be plenty of room for you.

If you feel better about having a reservation just wait until you can better judge your timing and call about 2 days before arrival. You'll have no problem.

As far as driving many miles a day and staying on a schedule, we wouldn't recommend it. This is probably your first trip to Alaska and there is just so much to see along the way. Why pass them up? Are you going to return multiple times? Also, you can't count on the roads being in excellent condition because they won't be. If you try flying on them at 55-65mph you're going to break something. The key is to travel slow.

Hope you have an enjoyable, 'relaxing' drive to Denali!!!

[Trackrig]

we came down the highway this spring. I wouldn't plan on making 3 -400 miles every day. Depending on your driving experience, you're going to be doing a lot of mountain and narrow road driving that might slow you down. On some of the pavement in the northern parts we were down to 25 - 30 MPH. If you get a breakdown most of the repair places are backed up 7 - 10 days. If you're going to blast through Canada and the rest of Alaska that fast without seeing anything, then why not fly to Anchorage or Fairbanks and then rent a MH go to Denali? It would be a lot cheaper.

Bill

[sue_t]

400 miles a day is do-able if you don't mind abusing your motorhome for some of the days. The highway is rough in spots, with frost heaves here & there. Just enough to keep you driving under the speed limit to preserve your belongings.

In some areas (Destruction Bay to Beaver Creek), 100 miles may take 3-4 hours if you wish to be sure you're not breaking something. I'm hearing that it is wise to allow an hour this year for the Beaver Creek to Alaska border, a stretch of 20 miles.

If you get to Alaska via the Top of the World highway out of Dawson, it will take the day to cross from Dawson to Tok AK. Mostly gravel, narrow in spots. Not worth trying to make time.

Wait until you're closer to Denali before making reservations. Unless you plan to be there on the Labor Day long weekend, a day's notice is all you'd need. Or arrive early in the day without a reservation and you should be fine.

Best advice I can offer is to not try to keep a schedule. Take each day as it comes. Forest fire season is still underway up here so there are occasional road closures. Water remains high and there are still some road washouts taking place after a day or two of rain.

If you tie yourself into a definitive schedule, it will only create stress and anxiety while not getting you there any faster. Potentially a lot slower because if you have a breakdown, it could be numerous days wait for parts to be shipped from Outside.

Over on the 'RVing in Canada & Alaska' forum, there are plenty of folks posting who are making the trip now. Some are already back home in the Lower 48.

[joe_b_]

The miles you make a day are very much tied to you personally. Ask yourself how many miles you normally travel when in the lower 48, 250, 350, 500, etc? You won't find it much more difficult to make the same mileage on the way to Fairbanks, IMHO. I am an early riser, often on the road by 7 AM or earlier and with photo stops or casting a line here and there, I can stop by 5 PM and still make 400 to 500 miles a day when driving.
So 4 or 5 driving days on the highway, plus stops, and a day from Jasper to Dawson Creek would get me to Fairbanks with no problems. Throw in a day for Liard River Hot Springs, three days for Whitehorse, perhaps a day to go to Skagway or a couple to go to Atlin out of Whitehorse.

This late in the season I can't imagine you having any problems getting a site at Denali NP to view Mt. McKinley. But if a reservation seems in order then make one. Some of our forum members like to only drive a few hours a day and set around the campgrounds the rest of it. Age, health, stamina all play a personal role in deciding your comfort level for driving, anywhere, not just on a trip to/from Alaska. I tend to go to Alaska and northern Canada to spend time in those places, not sitting in a campground somewhere along the way. Others differ in how/why they go to the north country. It is a great trip no matter how you do it.

On Edit: Did a quick check and S&Ts shows it to be just about 1,800 miles from Jasper to Fairbanks. Go east out of Jasper to just before Hinton, great KOA campground there, then go north on HWY 40, up through Grande Cache, they have a very good town campground there, then on to Grand Prairie and to Dawson Creek, several campgrounds there. From there just follow the Alaska Highway on to Fairbanks, actually have to use the last part of the Richardson Hwy between Delta and Fairbanks as they now claim that is where the Alaska Hwy ends. It used to be signed that Fairbanks was the end of it.

I have been driving to/from Alaska for the last 51 years and the roads are so much improved over what they used to be, that much of the challenge of the drive has been removed. You will see all types and all sizes of RVs on the trip. I have never found the type or size of the RV I was using to have any real effect on the pleasure I got from the trip.