TOUR ALASKA BY LAND in a PRIVATE MOTORHOME

LOOK AT THIS TRIP MADE BY HOWARD C. ANDERSON

GO IN THIS MOTORHOME OR SIMILAR

LOOK AT THESE ITINERARYS

Traveling to Alaska from where I am near Dallas, Texas (can depart from many major cities, we have Luxury Motorhomes in many cities in the USA) will take about 30 days from the Dallas area. Depending on city of departure for the round trip could take more or less. See the best way below, 30 days is a lot of time to travel for most people. I will do it your way though.

The best way for a trip like this is to travel from Seattle, Washington up and take a Cruise back from Anchorage to Seattle or cruise up to Anchorage and travel back to Seattle in a Motorhome.

The motorcoach will sleep 6 and has all the comfort of home.

So, you are wondering about driving the Alaska Highway. Perhaps you are asking yourself. What are the road conditions? When is the best month to go? How much time is needed? Should I drive the highway and cruise home aboard an Alaska ferry? Is gasoline available all along the highway -- and how about camping and lodging? What items should an emergency kit include?

The Alaska Highway, nicknamed the Alcan Highway, is still an adventure road, but the degree of difficulty has eased sharply in recent years as more and more sections have been straightened and paved. Today, almost all of the two-lane highway is surfaced with asphalt. But it’s no freeway. There still are stretches where the highway is narrow and curvy, where it lacks center lines and ample shoulders. Also, watch out for sudden loose-gravel breaks where the pavement has failed or is under repair. Sometimes the gravel gaps are marked with little, red flags; sometimes they are not. And that asphalt paving can ripple like a roller coaster track in places where “frost heaves” are caused by seasonal freezing and thawing of the ground.

Read the latest news & information about traveling in Alaska and on the Alaska Highway at the RVtravel.com blog RVing Alaska Click Here

Maintenance crews do their best to patch the annual outbreak of frost heaves, but it’s a never-ending, high-cost job. Long dry spells can make the gravel portions of the road dusty, and if it's extremely dry, you may have washboard and roughness problems. Drive with your headlights on at all times as it is easier for oncoming vehicles to see you. For those travelers with vehicles in good condition and who drive sensibly, the Alaska Highway is a pleasure, not an ordeal. For sure, the modern Alaska Highway is a far cry from the pioneer road that was cut through the bush during World War II by Army Corps of Engineers units. That was a muddy, twisting, single-lane trail fit only for trucks and bulldozers. Today's highway is mostly smooth going all the way. In Canada, it's paved or packed gravel with a tar base, which makes for a smooth ride. The Alaska Highway is entirely paved in Alaska. An upgrading process has been under way ever since the road was created, and considering the region’s weather and difficult terrain, today’s Alaska Highway is a wonder of the north. Horror stories about mud, dust and vertical grades, oft-exaggerated tales told by long-time-back motorists, still worry hesitant travelers.“Some people still have the perception that they’re going to be driving up through the wilderness and they need 17 spare tires and armor plates to punch their way through,” says Lynn Gabriel, deputy director of the Great Alaska Highways Society. “We want people to know that you don’t need a surplus army tank.”

MANY VISITORS combine Alaska Highway trips with Alaska’s state ferries. It’s an ideal itinerary; One way on the open road with no schedule—the other through the scenic waterways of Southeastern Alaska’s Inside Passage. Ferries of the Alaska Marine Highway operate from Bellingham, Wash., and Prince Rupert, B.C., to reach the southeastern ports of Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Sitka, Juneau (Alaska’s capital), Haines and Skagway.

Alaska’s ferries operate on two separate routes—the mainline between Bellingham, Prince Rupert and the southeastern ports; a separate network in the south central region of the state that includes stops in Valdez, Cordova, Whittier, Seward, Homer, Kodiak and other points. The two systems do no connect. The ferries are crowded in summer, so early reservations are essential. Both Haines and Skagway, at the northern end of the ferry route, provide ready access to and from the Alaska Highway. The 150 mile Haines Highway connects the ferry port of Haines, Alaska, with Haines, Yukon Territory, on the Alaska Highway. The 98-mile Klondike Highway links the port of Skagway with the Alaska Highway near Whitehorse, the Yukon capital.

Alaska Highway Specifics

THE ROUTE: The Alaska Highway begins in Dawson Creek, in northeastern British Columbia, then winds northwesterly through Canada’s Yukon Territory and into the heartland of Alaska. Delta Junction, Alaska, 98 miles south of Fairbanks, is the official northern end of the highway, but Fairbanks is the destination for most Alaska Highway motorists. The Richardson highway, in place for decades before the Alaska Highway was opened, is the route north to Fairbanks from Delta Junction. Driving distance from Dawson Creek to Fairbanks is 1,488 miles. Distance between Seattle and Fairbanks is 2,313 miles. The western access route to Dawson Creek and the Alaska Highway from Seattle is by way of Interstate 5 to the British Columbia border, then through the Caribou country of British Columbia to Prince George, B.C. From Prince George, the 250 mile long Hart Highway leads to Dawson Creek and milepost 0 of the Alaska Highway. Distance from Dawson Creek is 817 miles. Approaching from the east, the access route to Dawson Creek begins in Great Falls, Mont., and extends through Calgary, Edmonton and Grande Prairie, Alberta. Distance from Great Falls to Dawson Creek is 866 miles. Canada is metric, so keep kilometers in mind when mapping daily drives.

DRIVING TIME: Unless you are in a hurry, allow at least 7 to 10 days for the trip from the Seattle area to Fairbanks. Double the time to allow for fishing, hiking and camping.