If you own an RV or are considering buying one, a road trip to Alaska and the Yukon might just land high on your bucket list.
My wife Becky and I tackled this journey when we spent three summers exploring our 49th state and parts of Canada.
Getting you and your RV to Alaska from the Lower 48 starts with one question — by land or by sea?
Ferry Good Alaska Trip
If you have been on an Alaska cruise, the same route is used by the Alaska Marine Highway, a ferry system through the islands of southeast Alaska. Boarding is either in Bellingham, Washington, or British Columbia. One year, we drove our 42-foot motorhome on and off the ferry 12 times — visiting Ketchikan, Petersburg, Juneau, Sitka, Haines, and Skagway — staying in RV parks in each location.
Alaska Highway in British Columbia. Photo: Alexis Mette.
Road to the Frontier
By road, there are several options. We went through Great Falls, Montana, which is still more than 2,000 miles from Alaska — so be prepared to buy some Canadian fuel — though it’s a lot cheaper now than in 2011-2013. Take advantage of currency values.
Instead of heading north out of Calgary, we went northwest to Lake Louise to drive the Icefields Parkway to Jasper National Park. It is a three-hour drive that National Geographic calls the most scenic in the world.
Navigating the Alaska Highway
“Up the road” in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, you find the start of the famous Alaska Highway or “Alcan,” built during World War II to service military outposts in Alaska.
Don’t miss the Mile 0 Park in town, which chronicles the struggles to build the highway. This roadway was an incredible feat of engineering and perseverance — hampered by frigid winters, mud-bogged springs, and mosquito-ridden summer.
The town of Whitehorse on the Yukon River. Photo: Getty Images
Awesome Yukon
An overnight in Watson Lake — the first town in the Yukon — is a must. Be sure to visit the Sign Post Forest, where tourists have been nailing up signs from their hometowns since an Army private started the practice in 1942. There also is a Northern Lights Museum and a historic airport that was a vital link in World War II.
On to Whitehorse — the capital of the Yukon — and well worth a stop. Caribou RV Park, just east of town, is a friendly place to stay. While in Whitehorse, be sure to check out the full-size DC-3 weather vane, the Riverwalk and trolley, and the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Center, which is focused on the area’s wildlife. Take a 20-minute drive to Takhini Hot Springs, where relaxation is the name of the game.
From Whitehorse, it is almost 400 miles, a very long one-day drive to Alaska. Make it easy for yourself and plan an overnight stop along the way at one of several RV parks that line the route. While the Alaska Highway is not quite as rough as it once was, it’s still best to take it easy because it is NOT an interstate highway. Go slow and enjoy the scenery and maybe see some wildlife.
The Burnt Paw in Tok. Photo: Mark Wilson
Getting Into Alaska
Tok is the first town (unincorporated) in Alaska where family-built and operated Tok RV Village has big sites, a car and RV wash, and a laundry.
From Tok, the journey west can take you north and west (counterclockwise) or south and west (clockwise). We’re going counterclockwise and continue on the Alaska Highway until it ends at Delta Junction.
Still traveling counterclockwise, the road goes through North Pole, Alaska, and on to Fairbanks — where there is much to see and do. You may not to want to drive any further north than Fairbanks because the Dalton Highway to Deadhorse is 400 miles of dirt and gravel originally used by ice road truckers. There are, however, flight and/or guided bus tours available to the Arctic Circle.
Kayaking near Tok RV Village Campgrounds and Cabins. Photo courtesy of Tok RV Village.
Fairbanks Fun
Rivers Edge RV Park in Fairbanks is just what it says. Rest on the banks of the Chena River, kayak in its waters, or take a memorable cruise on the Riverboat Discovery.
Even if cars are not your thing, the vintage ones at the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum in Fairbanks are among the best in the world. And almost every vintage car is paired with mannequins in matching vintage dress. Back at the RV park, try dinner at Chena’s Alaskan Grill.
Each June, the locals play a midnight sun baseball game to mark the summer solstice. It starts about 10:30 and goes into the next day.
Denali National Park & Preserve looms on the horizon. Photo: Dillon Groves
Denali Dazzles
With eight national parks in Alaska, there is plenty to see and do. Getting there sometimes is the hardest part.
But Denali National Park & Preserve is an easy drive from Fairbanks, continuing your counterclockwise route. Most of the RV parks there offer dog-walking services because a trip to the interior of Denali involves all-day bus rides, as private vehicles can only drive the first 15 miles into the park. The bus rides help guests get closer to areas where grizzlies, moose, and caribou can be spotted — sometimes at a distance and sometimes just outside the bus window.
A float plane takes off. Photo: Ymblanter
Charter Flights
One early summer, we chartered a small float plane from Homer to Lake Clark National Park to watch herds of brown bears munching on sedge grass. Our guide, a former police officer, was appropriately armed. The bears move to the rivers when the salmon run. To see the bears catching salmon upstream at Brooks Falls in Katmai Fjords National Park, take another small plane ride.
We did charter one other flight, a twin-engine plane, to circle the peak of Denali. We needed oxygen masks because of the altitude.
Don’t skip nearby Talkeetna; it’s the hub for many of those sight-seeing flights and is said to be the model for the once-popular TV series Northern Exposure. An easy place to stay — just at the cutoff to Talkeetna — is Three Bears Trapper Creek Inn and RV Park.
Between Trapper Creek and Anchorage, Riverside RV Park offers 56 sites, a creek, and easy access to areas just north of Anchorage.
The Anchorage skyline shimmers in the sunset. Photo: Frank K.
Anchorage: Alaska’s Largest Town
Anchorage is the big city in Alaska, and the most likely place to park your RV is Anchorage Ship Creek RV πark.
From either Ship Creek or Riverside, be sure to drive to nearby Palmer and see giant Alaskan vegetables, the Matanuska Glacier, and the Musk Ox Farm – all an easy day trip.
We strapped on crampons and opted for a guided walk on the Matanuska Glacier — pretty awesome to trek over billion-year-old ice. Our guide chipped off some ice for us to bag and take home to chill our evening cocktail.
Cool Kenai
No visit to Alaska would be complete without a tour through the Kenai Peninsula and the region’s world-class fishing. The drive south from Anchorage is beautiful, and there are many towns and RV parks worth visiting. In Soldotna, The Klondike RV Park & Cottage offers sites and cabins.
Fly fishing in the Kenai Peninsula. Photo: Austin Neill
Further down the peninsula, Ninilchik is a deep-sea fishing destination. The tides are so extreme the fishing boats are launched by tractors that can follow the tides. While staying at Alaskan Angler RV Park in Ninilchik, we booked a fishing trip on a drift boat on the Kasilof River. Becky hooked a big king salmon and, forty minutes later, with the aid of an expert guide, she landed a 35-pounder.
Homer is the southernmost town on the Kenai. In Homer, stay at Ocean Shores or Heritage RV parks. Numerous Halibut fishing charters leave from Homer.
From Homer, it’s 223 miles back to Anchorage. From there, the drive continues 180 miles east to Glenallen and another 120 down the Richardson Highway to Valdez. In Glennallen, break the trip at Northern Nights RV Park, eat out, and buy some groceries.
Hauling in Sockeye Salmon
The Richardson highway goes past the Copper River — famed for its Sockeye salmon. One year, on the Klutina River (part of the Copper’s watershed), we caught our limit before midnight on the day of the Summer Solstice. But at midnight, it was a new day, and it was still light, so we caught some more salmon and went to bed early in the morning, exhausted but happy.
The drive on to Valdez is breathtaking — even if overcast. Glacier after glacier, waterfall after waterfall.
The setting for Valdez is spectacular. However, the town had to be rebuilt completely after the 1964 earthquake. It’s also the terminus of the Alaska pipeline, so freighters ply the bay — along with hordes of pink salmon returning to spawn.
While salmon is the draw, deep-sea fishing is still available, as are halibut. On one trip, I snagged a 60-pounder — still not “barn-door” size, but definitely good eating.
Valdez also is home to Stan Stephens Glacier and Wildlife Cruises — offering must-take trips out through Prince William Sound to nearby glaciers.
Mountains tower over Prince William Sound in Valdez. Photo: JP Popham.
CRAAACK! The sound comes seemingly out of nowhere, followed by a loud splash as part of the glacier hits the water. The boat had stopped in close view of the glacier just before it began to calve. The seals lounging on the ice flows pay no attention.
The ice is anything but silent. Even if not calving, the glacier whispers, groans, snaps, and sighs. Completely unexpected.
The puffins, orcas, and whales add to the day, as do the strange shapes of the ice floes floating by.
The Road Home
Driving out of Alaska takes you back to Tok, on through the Yukon to Haines Junction. A southern turn takes you back through a bit of British Columbia and on to Haines, where Haines Hitch-Up RV Park can accommodate the biggest rigs.
In late summer, grizzly moms and their cubs can be easily spotted fishing for salmon on and in the Chilkoot River. Caution advised.
If heading home by land, you can backtrack to Haines Junction, continue east almost to Whitehorse, and travel south on the Stewart-Cassiar Highway to British Columbia.
If traveling by sea, hop on a Marine Highway Ferry (reservations required) from Haines and make your way through southeast Alaska to home. Stops in Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan are highly recommended.
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