Alaska Summer 2022

[Damion]

Originally Posted by slotown

3 month trip in 2019 with a 40’ 5th wheel. Highlights: Laird Hot Springs, BC. Stay a few days and enjoy the hot springs. (we were there a week before the murders). Dawson City, Yukon. So much to see and do there. Get the Sourtoe, https://www.cbc.ca/shortdocs/feature...d-with-a-human , you only live once. Top of the World Hwy and Chicken, AK. Had many people along the way tell me I shouldn’t do the Top of the World. I did it anyway and it was great. Spend the night in Chicken just to say you did. Hyder, AK around middle of August. Lots of Brown bears because salmon were in stream. You’ll need to stay in Stewart BC to visit Hyder. All the other places were great, Fairbanks, Denali, Kenai, Valdez. The highlights were just unexpected surprises.

Top of the World Hwy was great! 100 miles of dirt road! The Canadian side we set the cruse control at 30 MPH. The US side 20-35 MPH. But worth the trip! Free car wash in Tok if you buy fuel!

[Tee Jay]

Originally Posted by Sunrise Camp

This is a great thread to learn from those who've done the trip to Alaska. Does anyone have a good rule of thumb to use for Average Mile's Per Hour or Miles per Day when traveling the Alaska Highway, Cassair Highway, and any of the other major roads in Alaska? We'll be traveling in a 26 Foot Class-C.

When we travel interstates in the lower 48, I use a 55MPH average for the Class-C (includes typical rest / gas stops) and 45MPH when running on 2-lane roads. When driving a car, with the cruise control on 70, I get a net 60MPH when adding in the stops on a typical trip.

Thanks in advance!
Henry

The speed limit is mostly 62mph (100Kph). Certain sections, such as between Steamboat Mountain and the Liard River will be slower, as well as from the border to Tok and on the Tok Cutoff. You should be able to average 50mph including stops for any reason. The wildlife viewing is better in the early morning, and the traffic is much less. From Western WA to the Central Kenai around Soldotna is 5 days. If memory serves, that is 2,300 miles. Stops are Hinton, AB, Ft St John, BC, Toad River, BC, Teslin, YT, and Tok, AK. We don't stop to sight-see any more.

There are sections of the Cassiar that may be slower, have not been that way in many years.

Most roads are quite good, wide lanes, adequate shoulders, 62 speed limit, and you will get passed at the speed limit. Drive at the speed the road allows, and enjoy the trip.

[twogypsies]

Originally Posted by Sunrise Camp

This is a great thread to learn from those who've done the trip to Alaska. Does anyone have a good rule of thumb to use for Average Mile's Per Hour or Miles per Day when traveling the Alaska Highway, Cassair Highway, and any of the other major roads in Alaska? We'll be traveling in a 26 Foot Class-C.

When we travel interstates in the lower 48, I use a 55MPH average for the Class-C (includes typical rest / gas stops) and 45MPH when running on 2-lane roads. When driving a car, with the cruise control on 70, I get a net 60MPH when adding in the stops on a typical trip.

Thanks in advance!
Henry

..... just wondering why you'd want to be on such a strict schedule of knowing details like this. For most people, it's a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Take it easy and stop when you want. Try to spend 3 months for the trip and you'll have plenty of time for a leisurely trip.

Some days we'd move perhaps 100 or so miles before stopping for the night. It's a trip to sitesee as you travel because distances between things are too great.

You can also count on road construction areas and even fires. One year there was a fire coming along the highway near Liard Hot Springs. We pulled in the campground and enjoyed 3 days at the Springs until the fire was contained.

During construction areas you'll want to drive very slow - even pulling off to the right as far as you can and stopping completely until that semi truck speeding from the opposite direction passes by. That way you won't get blasted by rocks flying!

Have a nice, safe, leisurely trip!

[Norski]

Have been following the thread with interest! Lots of good info and comments. Having family living in Alaska, we’ve been fortunate over the years to have traveled around Alaska. We always wanted to drive from Michigan to Alaska and now being retired have the time. Original plan was essentially leave in June and return in September wanting to spend as much time enjoying Canada as we needed… The Canadian gov website indicates they will allow you to be in Canada a “reasonable” amount of time… Hopefully, by June 22 we won’t be under time restraints!

[VC63]

I everyone,

I am the original poster. I am fowling the post. A lot of great info.

Thanks to all

[Captain55]

I entered Canada on the east side of Glacier park and was the only one there in 2017.

[ByeTheWay]

We boondocked the entire trip in 2012. If you like to fish, get a your fishing gear and a freezer, fill it up with Salmon, Halibut, and razor neck clams. Most of the fishing is done from shore around Soldotna.

[ByeTheWay]

Fishermen are spaced about an arm's length apart. And I've seen a line behind me waiting to take your place when you limit out. You don't cast, you do the Kenai flip. When someone catches a fish, they say Fish On so you can reel in and not get tangled up. You will need a large landing net. Frozen salmon and halibut are good about a year. Razor clams only 3 months or so. You'll also see a few people canning their catch.

[LFOD]

We have been full-timing for a little over a month now, wandering the East Coast and getting used to living on the road. We will officially start heading to AK on April 8th, and will spend 7 weeks slowly making our way across the country to Glacier National Park, then cross into Canada. I was late getting reservations in Banff, so we will head up the east side of the Canadian Rockies, expecting to arrive in Tok in late June.

I wasn't willing to "wing-it" with a 34' 5th wheel, so I have reservations booked all the way north, and for the entire time in AK.

[vseasport]

Originally Posted by LFOD

We have been full-timing for a little over a month now, wandering the East Coast and getting used to living on the road. We will officially start heading to AK on April 8th, and will spend 7 weeks slowly making our way across the country to Glacier National Park, then cross into Canada. I was late getting reservations in Banff, so we will head up the east side of the Canadian Rockies, expecting to arrive in Tok in late June.

I wasn't willing to "wing-it" with a 34' 5th wheel, so I have reservations booked all the way north, and for the entire time in AK.

Interesting, we plan to cross into Canada June 1 from Libby MT and head up 93 to Banff. Hope be in Tok mid-late June. Our plan is to "wing" our entire trip until late August where we have reservations to head south through the inland passage on the ferry from Haines.

[Triangle Drifter]

Originally Posted by LFOD

We have been full-timing for a little over a month now, wandering the East Coast and getting used to living on the road. We will officially start heading to AK on April 8th, and will spend 7 weeks slowly making our way across the country to Glacier National Park, then cross into Canada. I was late getting reservations in Banff, so we will head up the east side of the Canadian Rockies, expecting to arrive in Tok in late June.

I wasn't willing to "wing-it" with a 34' 5th wheel, so I have reservations booked all the way north, and for the entire time in AK.

Some of the best scenery & chances of wildlife viewing is going N from Banff to jasper & then continuing up the Cassiar Highway. Don't rush it. Figure on a month or so easy just in Canada. Dawson City & crossing the Yukon to do the TOW highway to Chicken is also a must. Just be sure that you get to Dawson City after spring breakup, usually 3rd or 4th week of May. Also look at the music festival in Chicken 2nd or 3rd weekend of June. Quirky Alaskan for sure. Not to be missed. Where else can you see chicken peeps dropped from a bush plane?

[Captain55]

Also headed to Alaska this summer , we entered on the east side of Glacier Park in 2017 and was the only one their. I think I'm going to enter there again this summer around June 10th. Going to Banff and Jasper again very nice places. But I don't think I'm going to start the Alcan in Dawson because for a day or so all you see to get there is logging, oil wells etc. going to cut over to British Columbia from Jasper this time to see better scenery. Leaving from Florida and will be spending July and August in Alaska then work my way back..

[Nrbsr]

Originally Posted by LFOD

I wasn't willing to "wing-it" with a 34' 5th wheel, so I have reservations booked all the way north, and for the entire time in AK.

We did a 3 month Alaska trip in '19. Other than Denali we had no reservations.
IMO you don't want to miss the trip driving down from Jasper to Banff. We found it to be by far the most scenic part of our trip. It brought scenery to a whole nother level.
Having no reservations We stayed a couple of days outside of Jasper in their "overflow" lot which was quite large and totally adequate. We then spent a couple days in a provincial campground a couple miles off the main road on route 11. We unhooked and made a couple day trips into Lake Louise and Banff before getting back on the road and heading home.

[Homeby5]

I'm also planning on heading from Florida Keys up to Alaska sometime in May. No reservations and plan on winging it. I am in a 26TT. Would be really cool to hook up with some people here