Family road trip BC to AK, recommend some stops along the way

[ndbwhunter]

Sounds like an awesome trip! Would love to do this some day. How does one manage to get that much time off from work? Makes me sick to my stomach watching my leave balance drop after taking just a week off in September!

 

[KBC]

Well I get 4 weeks a year right now plus I'm allowed to bank my OT up to another 4 weeks and I can even buy 2 weeks extra. I'm not going to deny I'm in a pretty good situation but I do have to be available for a few month long road trips for work through the year and be flexible enough to work all the OT when it's busy. They are pretty flexible if you are willing to bust your ass when required. My wife is on maternity leave right now and in Canada you can take up to 1.5 years off after you have a kid so this is kind of a no brainer time to go.

It looks like we are going to try and get to Anchorage in 7 days to meet up with some family and then camp with them for a week in a few spots and then take a little more time to come home. Which route would be best to take up there? There's really only about an hour difference in driving time so we'd like to take the more scenic route home when we are travelling less per day.

 

[tuffcity]

Take the Cassiar up - once you get past Johnson Crossing take the cut off at Jakes Corner and head to Skagway (via Carcross), take the ferry to Haines then up the hill to Haines Junction, thru Kluane and to Anchorage. On the away back come through Chicken and top of the world hwy to Dawson, from Dawson take the Robert Campbell towards Ross River and back to Watson Lake and the Alaska Hwy south. If you really want to see Whitehorse keep driving for a bit once you've passed Jake's.

Yukon Territorial campgrounds are what BC Park campgrounds were 30 yeas ago... cheap, free wood and clean and well maintained.

Come up in early to mid August (if that works for the AK family portion).

RC

 

[2Stamp]

Take the Cassiar up - once you get past Johnson Crossing take the cut off at Jakes Corner and head to Skagway (via Carcross), take the ferry to Haines then up the hill to Haines Junction, thru Kluane and to Anchorage. On the away back come through Chicken and top of the world hwy to Dawson, from Dawson take the Robert Campbell towards Ross River and back to Watson Lake and the Alaska Hwy south. If you really want to see Whitehorse keep driving for a bit once you've passed Jake's.

Yukon Territorial campgrounds are what BC Park campgrounds were 30 yeas ago... cheap, free wood and clean and well maintained.

Come up in early to mid August (if that works for the AK family portion).

RC

That's a great route! But I'd be leary of doing it in 7 days like he's intending, with a trailer in tow.

 

[keller]

did this trip last year from wi lots to see lots to do.liard hot springs. nabesna road ak wrangell st elias park stop at ranger station for audio cd of the road and road conditions campsites along the way.watson lake signpost forest. denali brewery talkeetna. Yukon brewing company Whitehorse. buy a copy of the milepost and alaskan camping book by mike and terri church this helped a lot on campgrounds. deep creek ak j and j fishing charters has nice campground super people off the beaten trail its busy on the peninsula.seward exit glacier.lots of hiking trails.

 

[Beendare]

Severe allergies....I was going to suggest a hop over to Victoria and Bouchart gardens

 

[AKDoc]

You are going to see some beautiful country, and you've gotten a bunch of good feedback already...roads trips are part of our summers for many years.

I'll also endorse doing the Cassiar on the up or back...and of course Fast Eddy's in Tok. Consider doing the side-loop to Carmacks and see the glacial sand dunes. If you want to push further on that side trip, the topography on the way to Skagway (from the border to the point of descent into Skagway) is really unique and reminds me of Iceland. We also enjoy the scenery of the Haines Junction area, and the bakery there is pretty fantastic. The Kluane Lake area on the drive north of Haines Junction is one of our favorite areas...nice campground at Congen Creek along the lake. In fact, I think the Yukon Provincial campgrounds are generally super great and have firewood (bring a maul).

If you were in a 4-wheel drive truck/camper (that's our rig...we've been all over the Yukon and AK), I could add a whole bunch more, but...

Beware of the frost heaves up here...if you hit them too fast, they can cause serious problems for you. They are bad off and on from Burwash pretty much to the border, and that is remote country. Then they're bad off and on from the border to Tok. The stretch from Mentasta Lake to the Nebesna turn-off has lots of heaves, and then the stretch from a few miles past that turn-off until Chistochina is really bad. Seriously, get good at spotting the frost heaves ahead of you...the center-line or white lines on the side shoulder of the road, when they are there, are good indiicators...as well as all the tire skid marks!

You're probably thinking of all of this already, but consider taking an extra spare tire on the rim for your trailer...by the time you know you have a flat on a trailer, the tire is usually trashed. Also, take some fuel additive just in case you get some bad fuel with water in it...it's not that uncommon. Last, get a couple of Thermocells and a bunch of refills for them...those things do work.

Enjoy the trip...take you time.

 

[KBC]

Thanks for the suggestions. Looks like we will be getting out a couple days earlier than planned so the trip up won't be as much of a rush.

I plan on having two spares for the truck and two for the trailer as well as a bunch of plugs. I'm debating if I should also pick up an inner tube or two as well.

I think with both routes being so close in distance/time I will just look into which road has the best conditions for the trip up and then take the slower one on the way back.

Severe allergies....I was going to suggest a hop over to Victoria and Bouchart gardens

Huh? Not quite along the way and the ferry is a rip off.

 

[keller]

ak hwy from dawson creek bc mile 0 of the ak hwy to Alaska is good road. only rough part is permafrost area on north side from Canadian border to gakona ak or so and of course road construction areas.drove a 06 dodge 3/4 ton diesel with 'good' load range e tires.no tire issues and I didn't stay on the road. we liked haines jct Yukon wildlife monument and the town was cool.pine lake prov campground just out of town very nice place.you will run into places where their is no gas for maybe 200 miles and it will be a campground with an above ground barrel with a line so plan accordingly.take extra cans.i had a 34 gallon tank and no trailer could easily get 500 miles per tank so we had no problem.gasoline is easier to get than diesel. best of luck if you want more info feel free to pm me it was a trip of a lifetime and I will do it again god willing.
john

 

[mowing_machine]

I recently did the drive from southern BC to Whitehorse via the Alaska Highway and between Fort Nelson and Watson lake is probably one of the neatest stretches of road I've ever been on.

I've done bits and pieces tuffcity's route and If I had to do it as a complete trip I would definitely take that route!

It seemed like there was a gas station every couple of hours so I never found fuel to be an issue but if you were to be traveling at night it could be a problem. I brought a gerry can and would definitely recommend anyone do so.

Make sure to bring a spare tire or two. I saw a couple of people on the trip pulled over changing one. I never did find the road to be exceptionally bad but there was quite a bit of gravel and frost heaves on the road.

 

[Buck Naked]

Like mentioned, lots of driving so lots of highway scenery........but few special features too visit.
The museum in Ft Nelson has a great history of the AlCan hwy construction, amazing what effort went in.
There are a couple of nice waterfalls to see, Helmcken and Kinuseo
Dawson City has great mining history, see the old dredge.
Kennecott Mine and ghost town is a slight side tour
In Kluane area you can take an airtour of the St Elias Mtns to see the icefields and giant Mt Logan. Book with Icefield Discovery and he'll land you on the glacier for lunch
Time a trip to Skagway on a day without cruise ships or you will hate it. If you can take the narrow guage White Pass Railway it is a thrill