Alaska 2025

[Donna D.]

I finally have dependable WIFI!!! So, time to start this thread.

I've been talking to individuals about going to Alaska the summer of 2025. It's time to start planning. We have about 10 months before we would need to start making reservations which everyone would do individually.

So far, I've got two couples and two solos interested. Anyone else?

I've ordered the magazine Milepost and it will be here next Monday and I've joined the Facebook group "RVing to Alaska - the Original." There are several Alaska-focused Facebook groups. I'm hoping we can cover all or most of the groups because the more information the better!

Let's start the discussion....

[RangerMan]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

I finally have dependable WIFI!!! So, time to start this thread.

I've been talking to individuals about going to Alaska the summer of 2025. It's time to start planning. We have about 10 months before we would need to start making reservations which everyone would do individually.

So far, I've got two couples and two solos interested. Anyone else?

I've ordered the magazine Milepost and it will be here next Monday and I've joined the Facebook group "RVing to Alaska - the Original." There are several Alaska-focused Facebook groups. I'm hoping we can cover all or most of the groups because the more information the better!

Let's start the discussion....

Do you have a convoy sort of thing in mind?

[Vermilye]

Check out Church's guide; although last published in 2014 so it probably is bit dated, I preferred it to Milepost.

If you are starting at Dawson Creek the visitor center has (or at least did have) a great handout that listed up-to-date campgrounds & fuel stops along the Alaskan Highway.

Unless things have changed, you can dry camp anywhere along the highway unless there are signs saying you can't. We made the trip in 2015 with no reservations except for the Teklanika Campground in Denali National Park, and stayed in campgrounds. I suspect that if you want to stay in campgrounds it might be a bit more difficult without reservations today.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by RangerMan

Do you have a convoy sort of thing in mind?

Sorta, kinda. I've found people like to be a bit loose when traveling. Some people like to leave at 6am and stop someplace for breakfast (even if they pull over and fix it themselves). Others sleep until 7am and want breakfast right away. Others sleep in until 8am and don't eat until lunchtime! What's difficult is fuel stops. IF we have a bunch of trailers caravanning, it would take hours to get everyone fueled and ready to leave a fuel station. I would prefer groups of three trailers where we travel at our own pace, but the whole group meets up at the end of the day at the campground or that pre-decided wide spot in the road!

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

Check out Church's guide; although last published in 2014 so it probably is bit dated, I preferred it to Milepost.

If you are starting at Dawson Creek the visitor center has (or at least did have) a great handout that listed up-to-date campgrounds & fuel stops along the Alaskan Highway.

Unless things have changed, you can dry camp anywhere along the highway unless there are signs saying you can't. We made the trip in 2015 with no reservations except for the Teklanika Campground in Denali National Park, and stayed in campgrounds. I suspect that if you want to stay in campgrounds it might be a bit more difficult without reservations today.

Thanks Jon, this is helpful. I expect we'll stay in some campgrounds along with some boondocking. I'm not interested in spending a bunch of money on a campground just to spend the night. We'll see what others think....

I'll check out the Church's Guide I wonder if I can get it at the county library. Hummmmm.

[Mike Lewis]

At the Quartzsite rally in February I spoke to a woman from California who gave me advice on caravanning (if that's a word):

- go in groups of two or three as larger groups will be broken up going through towns due to traffic lights, etc.
- if there are more RVs in the caravan they should be in clusters of 3-2-2 for example
- carry walkie-talkies

The woman had traveled in caravans to Mexico and Alaska, and said she wanted to return to Alaska sometime.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Mike Lewis

- go in groups of two or three as larger groups will be broken up going through towns due to traffic lights, etc.
- if there are more RVs in the caravan they should be in clusters of 3-2-2 for example

Three is actually a good number. I'm a hot rodder and we've been all over the USA driving OLD trucks. It's always in groups of three mainly as a security issue. IF someone breaks down (or has an accident) and it can't be fixed... right there. That allows one vehicle to leave and find a tow truck and one vehicle to stay with the person who broke down. No one stays alone, ever. As I said, for security.

I'll be at Quartzsite this next year. I'll be talking up the Alaska 2025 trip while I'm there. Maybe we'll get some more interest.

Someone asked via PM what kind of timeline I was thinking about. My plan is to leave Portland, Oregon on June 1, 2025 and return home on August 31, 2025. The trip may be a bit shorter, but it will not be any longer... for me.

I can actually cross the border at Blaine, Washington and be in Canada at the end of the first day....

[Rockhead]

Hey Donna put us down as very strongly interested please Ty

David n Vicki

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Rockhead

Hey Donna put us down as very strongly interested please Ty

David n Vicki

Okay, but your interest level is determined by the amount of activity you put into the discussion . I mean, I COULD plan the entire trip and just invite people to join ME, but I'd rather others have a vested interest in the route, campground, tours, etc. As I've said, information is valuable....

[Rockhead]

We’ve been thinking about an Alaskan trip for 3 yrs now been doing research on what we might want to see but there is so much to see lol. We love taking pics n admiring scenery. We will contribute as much as we can Donna. One does not go on a trip as this lightly as the time n cost involved along with being away from home.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Rockhead

We’ve been thinking about an Alaskan trip for 3 yrs now been doing research on what we might want to see but there is so much to see lol. We love taking pics n admiring scenery. We will contribute as much as we can Donna. One does not go on a trip as this lightly as the time n cost involved along with being away from home.

Exactly, but if not now... when? I'm not waiting any longer. Life is getting shorter at the other end now.

I'm budgeting $10,000 for the trip and would love to bring a big chunk home! But I know I must budget. We're nearly two years out for lift off and the commercial campgrounds (and maybe the tours too) will already be paid for. So that's like $5,000 a year for me. That's doable with planning. Others costs may be different depending on food and MPG for tow vehicle. For instance, others may not want to take any tours. I'm only taking this trip once, I want it to be a memory maker without being foolish about how I spend my money.

[brroberts]

We probably wouldn’t caravan to Alaska, but we did live there for 25 years. There are lots of great places and the guidebooks will tell you about them. I have not been on the Cassiar or AlCan since 2011. At that point, they were mostly good paved highways. My favorite two places that are still must see again are first Miles and Childs glaciers outside of Cordova. You can drive to Valdez, ferry to Cordova, and drive out to the glaciers and camp in the NF on what can be a good to marginal gravel road depending on what the Copper river has done to it lately. Childs glacier is directly across the Copper river from you and is constantly cut by the river causing amazing calving. Currently, at mile 36.5 of the 48 mile road, you have to take a shuttle due to a bridge washout. There is supposed to be a Cordova highway master plan in place by Dec ‘23 for repairs. However, who knows about funding to make this viable by ‘25? I’d go and use the shuttle anyway. It’s an amazing glacier.

Second takes cut throat reservation making and a bit of luck in timing. Katmai NP Brooks Falls when the salmon are running. If the fish are running, typically early to mid July, it’s literally like walking into a National Geographic movie. Seeing all the bears, and them fishing at the falls is unbelievable.

I will find a way to do both of those things again. There also happens to be more beautiful country around these areas for a 1000 miles or so….

Nice stop, especially for kayaking or dinghy sailing, is Boya Lake Provencial park near the northern junction of the AlCan and Cassiar. I always think Boya, but it’s been renamed Tā Chʼilā Provincial Park.

[Lorraine Pittsburgh]

Hi All,

As I mentioned to Donna in an email exchange, my plan was to go to Alaska in 2024, but 2025 could work. I'd be leaving from Pittsburgh, PA, & would want to attend the Escape Rally in Osoyoos on the way out, assuming it is still a thing by 2025. This will be my one & only trip to Alaska, so I'd like to see as much of it as is reasonable & see a bit of northern BC & the Yukon too. I could return home as late as mid-Sept.I hadn't considered the possibility of going with a big group, but it could be fun - will have to mull this a bit.

Am on the road now until Sept 1, so may not engage too much with this discussion before early Sept. Will follow the tread in the meantime.

[splitting_lanes]

Hi Donna! Yes, we are interested in going to Alaska in the summer of 2025!

Sounds like it could be a lot of fun, and maybe a little safer and more secure with a loose group of people rather than going alone.

Please keep us in the loop.

Rick & Mary

[Fox hunt]

I’m interested in going to Alaska I’m also going to Quarzsite.

[Jacque]

Hi Donna, Dee Dee & I are very interested and plan on being in Quartzsite/Dome Rock in 2034, we’ll start doing research and continue to contribute & share.
Jacque

[Donna D.]

Wow, this may be quite a group! But honestly, I've found.. over the years, more than half drop out of these type of activities. Lots of reasons for that to happen. Budget, health, family obligations, etc. So, IF you're interested please post. There WILL be room!

[Mike G]

Hmm, it does sound interesting. I would like to keep an eye on your plans as they get fleshed out. But I'm at least a year, maybe a year and a half away from knowing if it would work out for me. So much can happen in that amount of time. So call me 'kind of, sort of interested.'

[Linlie]

Hello, all. Although my husband tends to be cautious about committing, we are interested in the trip. Alaska has long been on the bucket list!

As we live in northern Idaho, we too can be in Canada in a day (half a day) and would meet you somewhere in BC.


Linda and Jim

[EscapeBoulder]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Sorta, kinda. I've found people like to be a bit loose when traveling. Some people like to leave at 6am and stop someplace for breakfast (even if they pull over and fix it themselves). Others sleep until 7am and want breakfast right away. Others sleep in until 8am and don't eat until lunchtime! What's difficult is fuel stops. IF we have a bunch of trailers caravanning, it would take hours to get everyone fueled and ready to leave a fuel station. I would prefer groups of three trailers where we travel at our own pace, but the whole group meets up at the end of the day at the campground or that pre-decided wide spot in the road!

We caravan’d up to Whitehorse in 2010 with about 10 Scamp trailers. (We had a Scamp at the time). It was a loose group and did exactly what you indicate: We tended to go our own ways during the day & meet up to camp at night. CB radios were important. On the Alcan hiway, the radios helped the caravaners move truckers thru the Scamps so they could speed up the hiway. Also CBs were good for planning gas and other stops when together + reporting animal sightings, etc. One caravaner was a geology prof, so we got some impromptu info about geology along the way thru the CB radio too.