Planning stage - San Jose to Alaska (WIP)

[sebm]

We are planning a trip to Alaska and back this summer.
I will post my research for the trip in this thread and welcome anyone to contribute their experiences.



Duration: 14 days

Main goals:

• Go through BC
• Go through Cochrane, AB
• Use as little paved road as possible
  • We would use paved road to move faster between places
• Hikes, MTB, Scenic drives

(more to come)





Here is the list of posts I found when using the search function of the forums:
San Francisco to Alaska (and back): Any suggestions for places to see and camp!
Seattle through Alaska Planning
Alaska 2018
North to Alaska
Santa Barbara California to DeadHorse Alaska
Overland Expedition From Oregon to Alaska -
Alaska

 

[Redruby]

I’ve driven to Alaska 5 times and all I can say is 14 days is way too short,imho you need to stop and smell the roses

 

[shortbus4x4]

I’ve driven to Alaska 5 times and all I can say is 14 days is way too short,imho you need to stop and smell the roses

Yep, not near enough time. If you only have 14 days I would stay on Interstates and put some miles down until you got well into Canada. You could always fly and rent which would give you way more time in AK, ship your vehicle both ways and fly in, or ship and drive where you drive up and ship it back or vice versa.

 

[sebm]

I’ve driven to Alaska 5 times and all I can say is 14 days is way too short,imho you need to stop and smell the roses

What route did you take? How much time would you suggest?

 

[Redruby]

I’ve taken Canada #1 to Prince George and I’ve taken Canada #93 through Baniff and Jasper to Prince George and from Prince George I’ve taken the Stuart Cassiar and Canada #97 to Watson Lake, at Watson Lake I’ve taken Canada #4 to Carmacks then Hwy#2 to Dawson City then Top
Of the World Hwy to Chicken Alaska. I’ve also taken Canada #1 from Watson Lake to Whitehorse and stayed on Hwy #1 into Alaska. I’ve also gone from Prince George to Dawson Creek to start the Alcan at mile post 1
I’ve driven every possible way to get to Alaska and I return by a different route and either way the scenery is gorgeous and different in the opposite direction.whichever route to take you won’t be disappointed.
These trips are for me about a 3-4 month trip from Phoenix and back. We boondock very night and hit an rv or state park once a week.
If only only have 14 days to do Alaska I recommend fly in and rent an rv for 10-12 days that will give you a great view of Alaska, that’s what we did the first time, and when you have more time to spending driving then drive the entire route. Canada is very big and it has a lot to offer in scenery and historical points of interest. I hope this is helpful feel free to contact me at anytime if you have any questions or concerns.
As of today we are planning on making a return trip to Alaska this summer

 

[jmcgilroy]

I've been up from San Jose, CA to Prudoe Bay twice. The Stewart-Cassier Highway from just north of Smithers, BC to the Yukon border was far better than the AlCAN Highway but I guess you could travel up one way and return the other. Once you get into the Yukon, Highway 4 (Robert Campbell Highway is mostly dirt/gravel until you get close to Carmacks. Highway 1 through Teslin is scenic but all paved roads. Out of Whitehorse, I'd choose Highway 2 up to Dawson, Top of the World Highway into Chicken, Alaska.

 

[Reality19]

What days in the summer?

 

[MOAK]

We are planning to leave out July 1st. Go to Glacier NP, make a right hand turn and head north, till we can’t go any further north, then head back down, make a right turn and head on over to Alaska. Detailed planning? Nope, not doin it, can’t make me. Fuel budget? Who knows? Time? 7-8 weeks. Two weeks? No way- the OP needs to get at least another week off.

 

[John and Mandi]

We've only been once and spent 10 weeks between Alaska and Canada, entered on the east side of Glacier. Only after did we realize the area of Canada we traversed was much larger than Alaska, and Alaska is no small chunk of land. Doing over we'd split the two into separate trips or add 6 more weeks at minimum. A two week trip will mostly be a scouting expedition for your next trip and you will spend the vast majority of your time in the cockpit. Road work is common so there will be stretches of crawling along in traffic behind big rigs, RVs, etc so making a daily mile target can have you driving until 11PM. Coming from the deep south, the long amount of daylight was an issue for us so we preferred to drive until 10PM but we also got a very late start each day. You'll probably be up early and pulling in late so don't expect to be refreshed when you return home. The locals always said two things to us, "you're first trip to Alaska is to figure out your second trip to Alaska" and "Alaska is nothing but miles and miles of miles and miles"...both are true.