Driving to Alaska–General Information

   Snow is dusting the mountain tops and we have to run our furnace much more than we like so it’s time for us to head south but first some general information of anyone who is planning a trip to Alaska. Most people from the lower forty eight states will never get to go to Alaska but for those who do get the chance it’s an unforgettable experience. However it is a long drive and one that you may only do  once so give yourself as much time as possible –at least a couple of months. Don’t rush through Canada.There are many interesting and beautiful places along the way. The scenery along the highways is magnificent – a new view around every bend in the road. So much of Canada and Alaska is wilderness and inaccessible to all but the most fit so stop at all of the little attractions and scenic views. You’ll be driving for many hours and little breaks are very welcome.

  Crossing the Border

   So far we have crossed the border between the US and Canada and visa versa seven times without any problems. Have your passport in hand for either country’s border guards to check and be ready to answer the standard questions – any alcohol,tobacco,guns ;citizenship;length and purpose of visit;value of items purchased; etc.  Canadian border guards like precise answers so even if you’re not sure of where you’re staying for the night or how long you’ll be in Canada give them a definite answer. One guard was pretty perturbed with us when we said that we planned to drive until we got tired. The Canadian guards didn’t seem to be concerned about food but at one US crossing we were asked about avocados and mangos , at another our oranges were confiscated.

               

   Roads Conditions

  Almost all of the roads are paved so bringing multiple spare tires is no longer necessary and cracked windshields are less common. Most of the roads are in such good condition that it’s easy to forget that you’ll often be miles away from the next gas station. We have a habit of topping off our tank at each station when we are out in the less populated areas. One major problem on the roads is frost heaves. They can be really hard on frames and hitches so slow down and watch for the little red flags marking the worse sections. Since road work can be done  only during the summer you’ll most likely run into some construction and accompanying miles of dusty gravel. Again slow down especially when passing cars approaching from the opposite direction.

 

 

  Weather and Best Time to Travel

   This is our third trip to Alaska. On our first visit we spent so much time in Canada that it was late August before we finally entered Alaska. We were lucky- it stayed fairly warm even though it rained a lot and we only left in mid October because everything was closing. The next time we started up through Canada in early June. Piles of snow lined the roads, some things were closed and the rivers were icy but we had 70 degree weather in Alaska in July.  This year we left  the US in early July, trying to avoid the extremely wet spring weather. It never really got dry or warm. High temperatures averaged between 55 and 60. So be prepared for any type of weather. The coastal cities are almost always wet and cool. The interior can actually get hot. The height of tourist season is July through August.  If you travel later in the season (mid August on) the roads and campgrounds are almost empty. Some campgrounds and attractions open late and close early in the season. We prefer a later start because it avoids the spring rush.

Campgrounds

   We don’t stay in many commercial campgrounds. I’ve seen on other blogs that sometimes people have a hard time getting a space at the height of the season. We noticed that most of the campgrounds were pretty empty when we drove by later in the year. The state , provincial parks and other public parks where we stayed always had plenty of spaces and some of them were almost empty. Public campgrounds rarely have any type of hookups and most have pit toilets which seems to cut down on their popularity.

Boondocking

    Along the Cassiar highway in northern British Columbia it’s easy to find good places along the road to pull off and spend the night. Along the British Columbian section of the Alaska Highway boondockng opportunities are scarce because there’s a lot of oil and gas exploration and many of the dirt roads off of the highway are busy with trucks or marked as having dangerous gasses. Once you’re in the Yukon and Alaska boondocking spots are easy to find except around cities or tourist areas where there will be “no camping or overnight parking” signs at every pullout. It usually not possible to get very far away from the highway but we look for large pull offs with trees to shield us from traffic. Most of the time traffic dies down at night and it’s pretty quiet. Dry camping in store parking lots (Walmart of Fred Meyers) is possible in most cities with the exception of Anchorage which doesn’t allow it anywhere.

  Wildlife

     We spotted numerous black bear, moose,foxes,marmots,caribou,deer,buffalo,bald eagles,swans and lots of small animals and birds. All of the wildlife we saw were along the roads but there are plenty of opportunities to take tours if you want to see more. I’m not sure about the accessibility of the different types of tours.

  Accessibility

    Both Canada and Alaska have accessibility problems , mostly because of the harsh weather conditions , but there are many places where a simple short ramp would have been a big improvement. The main different between the two countries is toilet facilities in the campgrounds. Small Canadian parks rarely have accessible toilets,although the rest areas do.  Alaskan parks always have accessible toilets and most of the time have picnic tables with an overhang.

  Services

    Big cities have all the services but most things are a good bit more expensive than in the lower states. Smaller cities have a limited selection and a slightly “edge of the frontier” look with potholed,gravel parking lots and very utilitarian building construction. The tiniest towns are just a combination of  gas station,lodge,campground,store and restaurant. Depending on a short tourist season to make a living is hard and the small places often go out of business. Keep this in mind and get gas often when you’re traveling in less populated areas.

            

Phone and Internet

  We have AT&T for both our phone and internet service.  For a small fee AT&T will allow access to the Canadian phone system (Rodgers) but be aware that there is still a high per minute charge.  WiFi is available at many of the visitor centers. We also got on line at Staples and Safeway.  AT&T phone service in Alaska is good in the cities , non existence along the rural roads. At times we could get very slow internet service where we didn’t have phone service by using our Wilson antenna so an antenna adapter for our phone probably would have improved the signal for it too.

Other Questions?

  If anyone has a question about anything else please leave a comment and I’ll try to answer it.

Yukon Quest

  The Yukon Quest is a  1,600 km ( over 1,000 miles) dog sled race between Whitehorse ,Yukon and Fairbanks , Alaska. The start and finish lines switch between the two cities every year. Visitors to the offices in Whitehorse can pick up literature about the race and purchase stickers, badges and posters.

  Our reason for stopping in was for a short visit with a new RVing friend , Sue  of Sue's RV Adventures.  She grew up in the Yukon and has recently , along with her husband , moved back to the area.  They’ve taken many RV trips through British Columbia , the Yukon and Alaska. Sue has a great website with wonderful photographs and detailed descriptions of the sights along the major highways. Check out her website if you’re planning a visit or if you just want to see the beautiful scenery.

Chicken Creek RV Park Dry Camping

   If you fill your tank at Gold Panner Gift Shop you can stay for free in the dry camping area which is just a rough dirt lot where some old equipment is stored. Our main reason for staying was the free WiFi which is relatively fast if you park in the right spot.

  Chicken is an old gold mining town founded in the late 1800s.  There are still small mining operations along the Chicken Creek but the old buildings can only be seen by taking a guided tour. The new Chicken consists of a small clump  of RV parks, gas stations, restaurants, hotels and gift shops.  Camping
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Worthington Glacier State Recreation Site

   Another roadside glacier – this one has an accessible paved loop trail with interpretive signs and viewpoints along the way.  A little rock scrambling will take you to the glacier edge.

  The parking lot has long RV spaces. Glacier
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Remembering Old Valdez Exhibit

   This is part of the Valdez museum but it is located in a separate building a few blocks away. Both museums are included in the admission price. Old Valdez takes a look at the town before the earthquake. Most of the floor space is dedicated to display cases with models of all of the old town buildings and other structures.  There’s also a movie about Valdez that concentrates on the earthquake and the aftermath.

   The entrance to the museum has a ramp without a landing and a door that opens outward so entering is awkward. Most wheelchair users with need some help. The exhibits and movie are accessible but the town display cases are at eye level for people in wheelchairs so it’s impossible to view everything.

   A large lot with long RV spaces is located across the street. Good curb cuts to the museum.  Old Valdez
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Valdez Museum

  The exhibits in this small museum cover the history of the Valdez area from the first humans, through the gold rush, the 1964 earthquake and the continuing research into the affects of the oil spill.

  The museum is fairly accessible although the entrance door is a bit heavy and threshold is a little high.

  The parking lot is large enough for most RVs but if you’re towing parking on the street would probably be easier.   Museum
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Matanuska Glacier Viewpoint

   There isn’t any public access to the glacier but the viewpoint has a large parking lot with long RV spaces, a paved overlook with railings, interpretive signs, and  accessible vault toilets.

   There’s also a mile long trail along a moraine (not accessible because of steep slopes and loose gravel) and a tent only campground.   Viewpoint
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Potter Marsh Boardwalk

   Potter Marsh is an accidental wetlands created when the railroad embankment caused a partial damming of three creeks. It’s supposedly a very good birding area. We didn’t see much wildlife but we’re not birders so we probably missed a lot. It’s a beautiful area but a little noisy because of the traffic along Seward Highway.

   The boardwalk is in good condition-all accessible. Do not take the ramp  leading to a gravel path that goes back to the parking lot. It has steps at the end without a ramp. The entire boardwalk out and back is about a mile long.

    The parking lot has long RV spaces.  Marsh
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Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center

   Most of the center is taken up by classes and labs for school groups but there’s also a very interesting section that tells the story of the  Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge– what it was like when the native people were the only human inhabitants, how it changed when the Russian fur traders arrived, the damage caused by WWII and the ongoing work to bring it back to it’s original state.

  The center is all accessible. The trail that goes to the slough and beach is not accessible due to loose gravel and a poorly maintained boardwalk.

 Update - this is in the comments but I copied it here so that everyone will see it. Thanks Marianne!

  Thank you for your review of Islands & Ocean and our trail. As I write this a contractor is replacing the failed sections of the trail with metal grating that will be sturdier and provide an accessible experience along the slough.

Marianne Aplin
Alaska Islands & Ocean Visitor Center
Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge

  The parking lot has long RV spaces.   Center
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Pratt Museum

     There are three floors of exhibits in this small museum. The ground floor focuses on  local history with exhibits combining story boards, artifacts, artwork, recordings, and films. One floor down is devoted to sea life with aquariums and stuffed birds. The basement contains more artwork, films and a display about the Valdez oil spill. There are also exhibits outside –a small garden, a homesteader’s cabin, and a forest trail.

  Most of the museum is accessible but some of the exhibits have booklets which are attached to the tops of display cases and can not be removed for easy viewing. There are no ramps or elevators inside the museum. Each floor can be seen by exiting the building and entering through a different door which must be unlocked by the museum personnel. We didn’t have time to see the outside exhibits.

  RV parking is available in the back of the museum parking lot.  Museum
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Homer Spit Trail

   The trail starts at the northern end of the spit and follows the east side of the roadway as far as the Fishing Hole City Campground. There are plans  to extend it to the end of the spit.

    It’s four miles one way, wide and very smooth with some long gentle dips.  Trail
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Castaway RV Park

   This is one of the tiniest RV parks that we’ve seen. There are about ten sites. A 30’ RV might fit but it’d be tight maneuvering into place. We would have stayed at the city camping areas but since the sun hasn’t been out much for our solar panels and we haven’t been driving very long distances to help charge the house batteries we decided we should give our poor batteries a good charging. The price is good – right across the street it’s over $70.00! (they’re closed for the season so we couldn’t have stayed there even if we had wanted too) The last time that we had electrical hookups was in the middle of May.

  The office doesn't have a ramp. The ground is hard packed sandy dirt with some muddy potholes. There may not be enough room between the sites to deploy a wheelchair lift.

  The park doesn’t have a website. The picture below is part of one of the city camping areas.  City Camping
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Seward Library–1964 Earthquake Movie

   The library shows this short documentary during the summer once a day at 2:00. It’s shown in the basement where they also have a very large selection of used books for sale.

  The handicapped entrance is in the back of the building accessed by a ramp. If you are with someone have them go down and open the door from the inside. The librarian was busy and forgot that we were waiting for her to open the door.  There’s plenty of room for wheelchairs both in the movie room and the book sale aisles.

  A new library with a museum is in the plans so this information will most likely be outdated in a year or two.  Movie
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Seward City Waterfront Park Camping

 Most of the shoreline along the east side of Sewart is parking lot/campground – large gravel lots filled with RVs. The section pictured has electricity plus it’s right on the water and the bike path so it’s very popular. The north end of this lot is a good place to camp if you don’t want electricity and if your RV is short. It’s quiet because no one is running a generator and the sites run parallel to the water for a good view. The tent only areas are pretty nice with grass, trees, tables and fire rings.

The bike path which is wide and smooth goes from the marina north of town down to the aquarium at the south end –about  1 1/4  miles. 

A few of the sites in the middle lot have blue painted stripes probably because they’re next to the bike path and close to town. Not all of the sites have tables. None of the tables I saw have a overhang.  Campgrounds
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Exit Glacier - Kenia Fjords National Park

   This view point is midway along a one mile accessible loop. If you’re able to do some rock scrambling the trail continues for another half of a mile to a point closer to the glacier toe.

   The trail starts out paved. Follow the arrows on the sign posts for the accessible trail which is made of hard packed crushed rock. The trail leads through the forest and then along the melt stream with good views of the glacier. It continues past the view point and rejoins the paved trail to finish the loop.

  The parking lot has a section for RVs.   Trail
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Byron Glacier Trail

   This is a fairly short trail, .8 miles one way, that  leads to large banks of avalanche snow and good views of the glacier.

    It’s not accessible due to a few steep sections and loose gravel but with an energetic helper it’s possible to take this trail. The trail is wide with a slight uphill grade so the return trip is easier. There are no major obstacles and the two stream crossings have wide bridges. Trail
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Begich,Boggs Visitor Center

     The toe of Portage Glacier is no longer visible from the visitor center ,having retreated behind a bend in the mountains,but the view is still magnificent. A commercial boat tour goes to the base where you may be lucky enough to see pieces fall off of the glacier. A few icebergs are usually floating near the visitor center. The visitor center has a movie and exhibits about the natural and human history of the area.

   Everything is accessible but if you go out the double doors at the end of the exhibits you’ll be stuck outside with only a very rutted path to get back to the parking lot. The ranger told us that the doors were for emergencies but they are not marked as such and are not alarmed.

The parking lot has a section for RVs.  Center
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Trail of Blue Ice

    We did just a short portion of this trail but that section was excellent. The boardwalk is well made and smooth. The ground level parts are covered with crushed rock and fairly easy to push along. The trail is five miles one way and goes past the campgrounds, fish viewing station and to the front door of the Boggs Visitor Center.  Trail
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Williwaw Campground

    Many of the sites in this campground have a good view of  Middle Glacier. The parking pads are paved and level. There’s  a lot of room and shrubbery between the sites making them very private. Some sites are pull through –large enough for any RV. A very nice campground.

  None of the sites have a handicapped designation on their number posts but some are marked as handicapped on the map at the pay station. I could not see any difference between the marked and unmarked sites except for the distance to the toilets.  All  of the sites are good – level paving , crushed packed stone around the table and fire ring, and room to pull a wheelchair up to the table. The tables have the bench cut out on one side. They also have a long overhang on one end. The vault toilets are accessible with good paved paths leading to them.  Campground
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