Alaska Again!

[donkro]

I've read many threads here on Alaska and have seen some on this topic. We're looking to leave mid June of 2018 from Chicago in our class C, no toad, and taking about 6 weeks.It seems like it might be difficult to plan ahead every nights stay as weather and road conditions will certainly affect timing. Do most people just "wing it"? or do most plan every stop along the way? I'm guessing major destinations like Denali, Lake Louise would need a reservation and I'm planning part of return trip on the inter-coastal ferry system. I have a Milepost and am beginning plans now. How soon do places like Denali book up? Am i right in reading you can pretty much camp anywhere in Alaska as long as you're off the road? Any guidance appreciated!

[Awilson]

On our trip up there we saw several Motorhomes parked off the road as well as in the RV parks we saw. As I am interested in doing a trip up there myself I asked the guide if that was legal and he said they do it all the time and it was not illegal.

[formerFR]

we just returned from 8 weeks thru the US, Canada, into and around Alaska, and return...
never had a single reservation ANYWHERE, and found a place to park, rv park, campground, parking lot, or beautiful pull off on any road or place we were.... no issues

I don't see how anyone could 'plan' a JOURNEY like this in advance... too many unknowns

[Awilson]

Originally Posted by formerFR

we just returned from 8 weeks thru the US, Canada, into and around Alaska, and return...
never had a single reservation ANYWHERE, and found a place to park, rv park, campground, parking lot, or beautiful pull off on any road or place we were.... no issues

I don't see how anyone could 'plan' a JOURNEY like this in advance... too many unknowns

I totally agree and I had no plans of reserving anywhere. My big gripe is there are many places that want days in advance of a cancelation and forfeiture of your money. Cured me of reserving as I can always find a place to spend the night. Besides, Alaska is very big with more than enough room to park.

[spock123]

When we go back next year I plan to really have no plans, just wing it. We did that this year and we were turned down one time and really we didn't want to stay in that campground. There is really just to many unknowns but we are going early and there won't be as many people going at that time. Besides I like the journey. In Alaska you can camp out beside the road and no one says anything. I don't plan on dry camping all the time, maybe three nights day camping and three nights in a campground with full hookups.

[Chief4774]

June, July and August are prime time months up here.
You might be able to go standby on the Alaska Marine Hwy (ferry), but I highly recommend making a reservation. It is about 4 days from Skagway or Haines to Bellingham, WA and also recommend a state room outside birth. Also a birth if going from the Skagway/Haines route to Prince Rupert, CA about 3 days.

[camper70]

I rented a motorhome for three weeks last year from right after Memorial Day to middle of June. The only reservation I made was for Rainbow Village near Denali. It may have not been necessary. I did call ahead a couple of days before we got to Talkeetna. You can park just about anywhere in Alaska unless signs are posted saying not too. The city of Anchorage has an ordinance not allowing parking anywhere in city limits. This even includes Wal Mart.

[fanrgs]

We spent 3 months on our RV trip to Alaska and only had reservations at Denali and Banff-Jasper before we arrived at those locations. We made our on-line reservation for the Riley Creek CG at Denali from our RV park in Wasilla 3 days before we got to Denali in late July. We made our reservations 5 days before we arrived at Whistler's CG in Jasper NP and Lake Louise CG and Tunnel Mtn. CG in Banff NP in mid-August.

If, however, you want to stay at the Teklanika River or Wonder Lake CGs in Denali, you will need to make your reservation much further in advance due to the demand and the limited number of sites available. And, because you have to drive on the park road to those CGs, then park and use the buses for any tours you do, you will have to stay for a specified number of days.

We went to the AMHS ticket office in Skagway at 10:00 one morning to reserve a spot for our truck and trailer on the ferry to Haines. We boarded the 3:00 PM ferry the same day and arrived at Haines an hour later. However, on an earlier trip to Alaska, we got reservations several months in advance for the ferry from Skagway to Sitka because we wanted a cabin for a specific date and those are limited in number.

Have fun planning your RV trip!