Heading to an RV Trip in Alaska: Any Advice?
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Anonymous
| A week from tomorrow DH, two kids (ages 10 and 12) and I are flying to anchorage for 10 days in Alaska in an RV. We have all our campgrounds, itinerary, and excursions planned. I'm looking for tips and advice on both RV'ing in general (we've never used one before), as well as any general advice about Alaska (e.g. Things to pack that I wouldn't have thought of, ideas for food shopping, etc). Thanks in advance!!! |
Anonymous
| We are doing this next summer! So I appreciate any advice as well. And have you seen the Robin Williams movie RV? |
Anonymous
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Stock up on food at a WalMart or Costco in Anchorage. Food, especially fresh vegetables, is very expensive in the smaller towns (which is everywhere outside of Anchorage). That said, be careful where you store your food (bears). The wild blueberries in Alaska are amazing, but be careful when you pick them (bears in Interior Alaska basically live on blueberries). Be wary of bears, but more people are hurt/killed by moose, so keep an eye out for all large critters.
It can be a long way between fuel/supply stops. Everyone in Alaska swears by this book: https://www.amazon.com/MILEPOST-2017-Kristine-Valencia/dp/1892154366/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1502340460&sr=8-1&keywords=milepost+alaska+2017 |
Anonymous
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Also, count on it being cool and rainy (as in, you'll be lucky if it gets into the 60's), so take fleece and good rain gear and shoes that won't be miserable if they get wet. It is cooler along the coast, and can be warmer in the summer in the interior (e.g., Fairbanks, but the weather is more variable there -- it's colder in the winter).
It will be "fall" there -- the days will be getting noticeably shorter every day, and you will probably see the "termination dust" (snow) creeping down from the tops of the mountains while you're there. Don't go by mileage (in the same way you do in the Lower 48, or "Outside" as Alaskans refer to it) when estimating how long it will take you to get somewhere. Not all "highways" are paved, and you'll need to go slower than you are used to. Another thing that's hard to get used to -- earthquakes are very common. I once experienced a 5+ earthquake that didn't even make the newspaper. I hope you're going to take a ferry or otherwise get out on the water -- the Alaska Ferry system is a great way to see the state, and you really need to see the state from the water to get the whole Alaska experience. |
Anonymous
| Single use rubber gloves for the one who will be dealing with the tanks. |
Anonymous
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Where will you be? Maybe we can give more specific recommendations. I definitely recmend the native Alaskan heritage center outside Achorage and the wildlife refuge on the Seward highway.
Agree that you should be careful about gas. We almost ran out coming south from denali and were desperate to find a gas station for many miles! There's a great pizza place outside denali. Agree be prepared for rain and bring layers, including things like gloves and hats. Cell reception is also bad many places so be sure you have old fashioned maps and aren't overly dependent on your phones and gps. In the same way, download things like audio books now as you likely won't be able to do it on the road. |
Anonymous
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When we visited Alaska a few years back, our mantra became never pass up an opportunity for gas, a bathroom and food. You can travel very long distances and not find places to stop. Someone else already mentioned warm clothes - I wore long pants and fleece every day. And cellphone reception isn't great.
Only other thing is to be sure you have the right type of drivers license to drive the size RV you are renting and be sure you understand the hook ups. |
Anonymous
| I'm jealous. This sounds awesome. OP, please report back after your trip. |
Anonymous
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It's a state law to pull over if you have more than five cars behind you. This happens frequently with RVs! Most of the highways are only one lane in each direction, but there are lots of places to pull over. Or there will be a short stretch of highway with two lanes, and the slower vehicles are supposed to move into the right lane at that time.
http://www.fodors.com/world/north-america/usa/alaska/travel-tips/car-travel-96034550 |
Anonymous
+1 OP- I would love to hear your itinerary! Alaska is high on my list of places i want to go! |
Anonymous
Me too. Love the sound of it. Please give us a full report/review when you get back! |
Anonymous
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As a life long Alaskan resident, you'll be one of the few without gun protection. And I'm not talking about crime. Take bears as serious as possible, even in National Parks. Our Parks are nothing like your local ones, Rangers can be 100 miles away at times, no hourly Ranger drive-by in most camp grounds like most parks in the lower 48 get.
Just do your homework. |
Anonymous
I'm NOT a lifelong Alaska resident, but have been a couple of times. The time of year affects where you'll see bears and how many. When the salmon runs, there are just an insane amount of bears near the rivers. But in the interior that's not really an issue because the salmon don't get as far as places like Denali, so the bears there forage all year. But --- and please correct me if I'm wrong, Alaska resident -- my understanding is that, at this time of year, if you're on the West Coast, bears aren't that much of an issue because the salmon are running and they are all busy feasting, so much less likely to be wandering through your campground looking for snacks (which is more of an issue in June before the salmon run starts, when they are starving). |
Anonymous
I'm not the pp lifelong Alaska resident, but I've spent a lot of time there, and the only time you don't have to worry about bears in Alaska is in the winter, when they're hibernating. The bears on the coast are usually fishing for salmon, but they do wander around and eat berries, and will defend their fish and most definitely their cubs. There are bears in Interior Alaska that don't fish, but basically live on berries and other types of food. You can run into them anywhere. As pp said, Alaskans do not go into bear country unarmed. There was a story recently that I can't seem to locate regarding a boy who was hunting with his uncles. They were all armed, and they were attacked so quickly that the 11 year old boy was the only one who could get a shot off (because he didn't have a sling for his rifle). The 11 year old kid knocked down the bear, and then the uncles finished it off. This isn't to scare people off of going to Alaska, but it's not a joke. Black bears can be dangerous, too: https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2017/06/19/really-odd-two-fatal-maulings-in-two-days-blamed-on-alaskan-black-bears/ Go to www.adn.com and search for bear attack and you'll get stuff like this: https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2017/06/18/searchers-looking-for-runner-in-bird-ridge-trail-race-who-reported-being-chased-by-bear/ https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/wildlife/2016/09/16/black-bear-climbs-tree-to-end-trek-through-downtown-anchorage/ https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/wildlife/2017/07/05/black-bears-attracted-by-trash-shot-and-killed-in-anchorage-area/ |
Anonymous
| I'm the Alaskan resident, of course certain times of the year are worse then others but in general any back country in our state is bear country. Period. Just be super careful with food and garbage. When hiking never put yourself in a position of surprising a bear on the trail, always watch ahead. Most bears want nothing to do with you unless they feel threatened. |