Alaska Trip

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RV Alaska
The Last Frontier

There is so much to see and do in Alaska with each region offering a unique Alaskan experience. Alaska is a land without fences. Animals outnumber people, sunlight shines at midnight and nature reigns. Life is different. This northern frontier still boasts pristine landscapes, majestic wildlife and a coastline that is one of the most enthralling waterways in the world. Beyond Alaska's fortress-like glacier walls lie scenic ports of call, treasured national parks, and abundant wildlife. And, with more than 1,400 miles north to south and 2,400 miles east to west, it's truly, a land of epic proportions.

Your sixty (60) day Alaska trip begins from your starting point of Cache Creek, B.C.  This little town is billed as the oasis for traveler’s services.  Properly supplied, you leave Cache Creek taking Highway 97 North, the Gold Rush Highway, which offers stunning scenery and historic towns with many stops along the way.

Leaving Prince George the Alaska Highway will take you through rolling hills, forests and land dotted with lakes. The communities of Bear Lake and McLeod Lake are en route before arriving at Mackenzie Junction. At this point in the journey, a quick side trip north along Highway 39 to Mackenzie is worthwhile. Mackenzie offers outdoor recreation opportunities on many lakes and trails. Winter activities include snowmobiling and cross country skiing.

Returning to Highway 97, you will head into the mountains through Pine Pass, following the Pine River into Chetwynd. Here, you’ve made it to “Peace River Country”, where it’s a picturesque drive onwards to Dawson Creek, BC.

Dawson Creek is located at Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway. In 1942, Dawson Creek’s population exploded when U.S. troops led Canadian and American civilians in the rush to construct a 2,400 km (1,491 mi) military supply route to Alaska. The Mile 0 Post in the middle of town is one of the most photographed landmarks in the Region.

Further along the Highway, Taylor overlooks the “mighty” Peace River and from there it’s a short drive to the “energetic city” of Fort St. John. The drive north is wide open, paved and includes numerous river valleys and mountain vistas before arriving in Fort Nelson. Fort Nelson is a growing, prosperous community on the doorstep of the northern Rockies. Old-timers refer to Fort Nelson as Mile 300, its historic mileage from Dawson Creek on the Alaska Highway.

Fort Nelson began as a fur trading post in 1805. In 1942, it was a base for pushing the Alaska Highway through the wilderness. Today, Fort Nelson has a thriving oil and gas industry, including North America’s largest natural gas processing plant, a substantial forestry sector and is a growing centre for eco-travel and adventure in the northern Rockies.

From Fort Nelson the road climbs through sharp bends, dramatic scenery and abundant wildlife before arriving at Steamboat. You’ll then drive through Stone Mountain Park. The highway clips the park’s north end about 151 km (94 mi) from Fort Nelson. The park’s Summit Lake, at a staggering 1,295m (4,249ft), is the highest point on the Alaska Highway. Wild, rugged country and quintessential backcountry hiking can be found throughout the park where you share the alpine tundra and deep valleys with stone sheep, caribou, moose, deer and bear. Features of the Wokkpash Recreation Area in the south end of the park include gaunt erosion pillars called hoodoos, which stand 98 feet tall. Forlorn Gorge is another unique land feature falling 429 feet deep. You can fly over this terrain, or take a multi day trek. Heading past the park and on to Toad River, the road hugs the shore of jade colored Muncho Lake, the “jewel of the north”, and reaches the Liard River Hot Springs, a must stop!

From here the highway now heads northwest to the Yukon border. Upon leaving BC (though not for the last time), it is a short distance to Watson Lake.

Start your Yukon scenic drive along the Alaska Highway in Watson Lake and visit the town’s world-famous Sign Post Forest. Next stop is Teslin, home of the Inland Tlingit people. A popular destination for fishing and boating, this scenic lakeside community has a proud artistic and cultural heritage. From Teslin, visit Yukon’s capital, Whitehorse, known as the Wilderness City for good reason. Surrounded by forests and mountains, the Yukon River flows through downtown Whitehorse and trails criss-cross the city. Visit the S.S. Klondike on the waterfront, MacBride Museum, Beringia Centre and galleries showcasing the work of Yukon’s talented artists.

Beyond Whitehorse, the Alaska Highway parallels the majestic outer rim of Kluane National Park from the mountain village of Haines Junction to Destruction Bay, Burwash Landing, ending its Canadian journey at Beaver Creek. Offering spectacular glacier flightseeing, hiking, horseback riding, wildlife viewing, canoeing and river rafting, Kluane Country is a popular Yukon adventure vacation destination.

Upon leaving Whitehorse you will stop at such places as Chicken, Alaska and finally on to Fairbanks, Alaska. While in that area you will visit Denali National Park and then drop down to Anchorage. From Anchorage you go to the Kenai Peninsula and travel to Soldotna and Homer, and on the way back you will visit Stewart.

Leaving the Anchorage area you will go down to Valdez, and then work your way back to Tok Alaska and then on to the Alaskan Hwy. to Skagway and Haines.

From Haines you will board a ferry with your RV and go on down to Juneau and continue the southeast trek by land and ferry all the way to Stewart.

From Stewart you can take land routes to Prince Rupert and then on to Prince George. From Prince George you go back to your starting point Cache Creek.

This trip covers some of the most interesting and historical places in both Canada and Alaska. The beauty of the last frontier is unforgettable.