Alaska Here We Come

[OREddie]

I've made the Alcan trip between the Pacific Northwest (PNW) and Tok, Alaska and beyond 6 times. Next week (8/4) we're starting a trip from Oregon to what I think is the closest road accessible Alaska town from the PNW.

We'll travel through Canada's BC to Hyder, Alaska, a mere 1300 miles from our home in central Oregon, in hopes that the salmon will be running and the bears feeding on them numerous. Return plan takes us thru Jasper and Banff.

Any suggestions on what to see and do after Hyder (been there, done that) are appreciated. But don't suggest we get Hyderized at the Glacier Inn. Been there and done that too.

Ed

[spock123]

What roads do you take in British Columbia and Alaska

[Blackrock]

A friend of mine just passed through there on his way up to Alaska and the photos he has posted on FB of the mountains and glaciers in Jasper are really neat.

[spock123]

I guess I’m in the minority here I don’t do Facebook. We were in Jasper some last year coming back from Alaska. We turned off the Alaska Highway on to 37.

[Thurman]

OREddie states that he has made the trip six (6) times already. My hat off to you sir as I admire you for making this trip. May I share this: I have a daughter in Fairbanks so I have made many trips up there, flying in of course. On one visit some years ago we went to what was then known as " Alaskaland", I believe it is now know as "Frontierville". It's a park where they have some of the original Fairbanks settlers homes, various gift shops, etc. On that visit I did not want to go through all the gift shops as the women did so I went to sit on a bench and just watch people. A nice older gentleman came and sat down with me and we got to talking. He was a retired doctor from Pennsylvania. He and another Dr. had bought a motor home then with their wives they set out from PA up through Canada to Fairbanks. He asked me if I was interested in buying the MH as they had had enough on the trip up and were flying home. The main problem was the condition of the road they traveled. My understanding, at that time, was the the road was not actually paved with asphalt but with a type of "shale" rock common to the areas of the road. On the way up he has lost two (2) tires and one windshield due to the shale rock being somewhat loose. He had taken the MH to a consignment RV place in Fairbanks, told them to sell it and send him a check to PA.

[Leismom]

Lake Louise is a must. Also try to get camp site at Jasper and Banff, both also have Gondola rides.

[spock123]

Originally Posted by Thurman

OREddie states that he has made the trip six (6) times already. My hat off to you sir as I admire you for making this trip. May I share this: I have a daughter in Fairbanks so I have made many trips up there, flying in of course. On one visit some years ago we went to what was then known as " Alaskaland", I believe it is now know as "Frontierville". It's a park where they have some of the original Fairbanks settlers homes, various gift shops, etc. On that visit I did not want to go through all the gift shops as the women did so I went to sit on a bench and just watch people. A nice older gentleman came and sat down with me and we got to talking. He was a retired doctor from Pennsylvania. He and another Dr. had bought a motor home then with their wives they set out from PA up through Canada to Fairbanks. He asked me if I was interested in buying the MH as they had had enough on the trip up and were flying home. The main problem was the condition of the road they traveled. My understanding, at that time, was the the road was not actually paved with asphalt but with a type of "shale" rock common to the areas of the road. On the way up he has lost two (2) tires and one windshield due to the shale rock being somewhat loose. He had taken the MH to a consignment RV place in Fairbanks, told them to sell it and send him a check to PA.

I didn’t think the roads were that bad in Canada. It seemed like the roads were worse in the lower 48. We got a chip in the windshield coming back but my insurance fixed that at no cost to me. I had no trouble with my fifth wheel, I had trouble with my truck but that was the emissions. I had a great time, things cost more money up there but I knew that. I plan on making the trip to Alaska next year pulling my fifth wheel. DW and I just like to ride

[twojump36]

After Hyder, you can continue north on 37 to Watson Lake then keep going north up the Campbell Hwy to Ross River Dawson then Top of the World to Chicken and into Tok...

That'd be a great trip.

Have Fun!

[Cold Lake Kid]

CAUTION: Be aware that Canada has very strict gun laws about handguns, rifles and shotguns.
Do not try to cross the Canadian border with firearms unless you have the proper licenses issued by the Canadian Government, even if you are driving straight through.
Call the Canadian Firearms Centre at 1-800-731-4000 before attempting any crossing.

[luvbigiron]

We did Alaska last summer from Virgina via PNW and Columbia River Gorge and other Oregon/Washington sites (awesome beauty). Pulled a 39 foot Cardinal with 2004 Silverado dually diesel. The trip up through BC to Dawson Creek and the Fraser Valley is gorgeous with excellent roads. From Dawson Creek on to Anchorage with a side trip to Valdez was great but we did pass stretches of the Alcan highway under repair from frost heaves as well as the usual heaves in the pavement that caused our rear kitchen pantry to collapse (overloaded but very poor construction too). In Anchorage we found our aluminum RV wheels had cracked through the spokes so I ordered four new steel rims and replaced them before returning. We were losing air through a crack in the rim. Came back to Hyder via 37 from Watson Lake. Beautiful drive but some dangerous sections with big drop offs and no guard rails at the south end. Passed an 18 wheeler that had gone over the side after a sharp curve northbound. In Hyder, going to Salmon glacier was definitely a highlight. It's an 18 mile trip on a winding dirt road but it's worth the views. Saw lots of bear and eagles at the park in Hyder, but no grizzlies. We came east through Prince George and on to Alberta and Jasper NP with plans to see Banff & Lake Louise, but 2017 was Canada's independence celebration with free passes to all the parks. Needless to say we only got a flavor of the area. Lake Louise was closed to parking (totally slammed). Another trip to that area may be in our plans. Had a tire go flat on I-94 east of Billings but my TMS kept us from shredding the thing and causing damage to the underside of the RV. Got a chipped windshield on Alcan also due to big fuel truck flying and throwing stones up in the air. It's an adventure traveling to Alaska but you have to expect surprises. Any trip should start with premium tires with low miles and high quality rims. Watch the camper loading, especially shelving. Good idea to keep liquids on the floor on the Alcan.

[OREddie]

I appreciate all the advice and will post our experience driving to Hyder and return to Oregon. Our route will take us north on US Highway 97, first stop at Blue-Shastin RV park just south of Leavenworth, WA. We'll stay at Sun Mountain Lodge near Winthrop, WA for 2 nights before heading north to Oliver, BC.

From there we'll continue north on Highway 97 to Prince George then take Canada 16 and 37 west to Hyder.

We stumbled on this cool place on a return trip from Anchorage to central Oregon. We took the Cassiar Highway on a whim, having heard it had been paved, then saw the turn off to Hyder at the southern end and decided to explore. Stewart, BC has a couple RV parks and Hyder has one, Camp Runamuk. The Cassiar took us through some amazing country, including a jade mining company, and the west bound run to Hyder has huge mountains and glaciers, strange people, bear and the Glacier Inn. So fun!

The Alcan, Cassiar, etc, are paved but every warm season brings repair work so it might not always be so.

OREddie

[Filterman]

Originally Posted by spock123

I didn’t think the roads were that bad in Canada. It seemed like the roads were worse in the lower 48. We got a chip in the windshield coming back but my insurance fixed that at no cost to me. I had no trouble with my fifth wheel, I had trouble with my truck but that was the emissions. I had a great time, things cost more money up there but I knew that. I plan on making the trip to Alaska next year pulling my fifth wheel. DW and I just like to ride

Did the trip from Vancouver BC to Deadhorse ( end of the Dalton Hwy) on the Arctic Ocean in 2015. Fabulous trip off lifetime. Spent a month touring Alaska and most of a month in Yukon. Did Dawson City and over the top to Tetlin Junction. Went north on the Alaska Hwy and south on 37. Planning a similar trip in 2020 but will do the Dempster North our of Dawson City and the new road to the Arctic Ocean at Tuktoyaktuk. We tow a 28RKS Wildcat with a 8200GVW F150 6.2L 6 app. Leave with good quality tires that aren’t worn out and you will likely have no issues.

[K_and_I]

Originally Posted by Filterman

Did the trip from Vancouver BC to Deadhorse ( end of the Dalton Hwy) on the Arctic Ocean in 2015. Fabulous trip off lifetime. Spent a month touring Alaska and most of a month in Yukon. Did Dawson City and over the top to Tetlin Junction. Went north on the Alaska Hwy and south on 37. Planning a similar trip in 2020 but will do the Dempster North our of Dawson City and the new road to the Arctic Ocean at Tuktoyaktuk. We tow a 28RKS Wildcat with a 8200GVW F150 6.2L 6 app. Leave with good quality tires that aren’t worn out and you will likely have no issues.

Filterman,
Did you haul your camper up the Dalton? My DW and I are planning an Alaska trip next year, and wanted to go as far as the Arctic Circle, then head back. That looks like a 2 day affair. Others have said not to bring a tt on that road. What's your take on it?

[Blackrock]

Originally Posted by K_and_I

Filterman,
Did you haul your camper up the Dalton? My DW and I are planning an Alaska trip next year, and wanted to go as far as the Arctic Circle, then head back. That looks like a 2 day affair. Others have said not to bring a tt on that road. What's your take on it?

I was staying at Riverside RV Park in Anchorage and a friend and I did a day trip up the Dalton as far as the Arctic Circle. Took us 10 1/2 hours round trip with several stops for sightseeing and lunch at a funky Alaska outback place. It was June and road maintenance crews were working on the road. I really wouldn't want to pull a nice big trailer up that road.

[spock123]

I want to drive the Dalton Highway but I plan on leaving the Cedar Creek in Fairbanks. We drove to the Dalton sign, we had emissions troubles last year and didn't want to chance it. We plan on going next year

[K_and_I]

Originally Posted by Blackrock

I was staying at Riverside RV Park in Anchorage and a friend and I did a day trip up the Dalton as far as the Arctic Circle. Took us 10 1/2 hours round trip with several stops for sightseeing and lunch at a funky Alaska outback place. It was June and road maintenance crews were working on the road. I really wouldn't want to pull a nice big trailer up that road.

I hope you meant Riverview RV Park near Fairbanks. You must have really flown to do Anchorage to Arctic Circle and back in 10 1/2 hours.

[spock123]

Riverview was a nice rv park ran by really nice people.

[Blackrock]

Originally Posted by K_and_I

I hope you meant Riverview RV Park near Fairbanks. You must have really flown to do Anchorage to Arctic Circle and back in 10 1/2 hours.

My bad. I was in Riverview for sure.

[K_and_I]

Somehow I thought it was further from Fairbanks to the circle. I checked the mileage, and it seems doable, as you stated. Even if we went to a 12 hour day, we could live with that. We're just kids at 65 years old.

[Filterman]

We took our trailer as far as the last BLM campground before the coast ( can’t remember the name of the lake). We were told there is no place to camp in Deadhorse and that’s pretty accurate after having been there. It’s roughly 100 miles from where we left our trailer to the coast. The highway is very well maintained all weather gravel road with minimal traffic. We did the round trip easily in five days. Spent the first night at Yukon River crossing, the second 2 at the northern BLM sight, back to Yukon River on the forth and back to Fiarbanks on the 5th night. Loved the trip. There’s a fuel stop at Coldfoot and Deadhorse so no fuel problems Make sure you have good tires and plan to travel slow 45-50mph with some slower spots. Don’t tie up commercial traffic ( let them pass). Found the truck drivers to be very courteous. Trip if a lifetime for me. If your planning on actually going out to the ocean you have to get security clearance 48 hours ahead because they shuttle you through the oil fields. But if a rip at 59$ a person but felt we could be there and not do it�� We packed a picnic because otherwise you eat in camp at specific hours and it’s fairly pricy. Any other questions, I’m happy to answer them.