Alaska 2025

[NWIP]

@Neal request we start a new thread for travel to Alaska. @ARD and @NWIP are traveling to Alaska, we will post here. I encourage anyone else traveling to Alaska to post here also.

 

[Underboss]

Have a trip planned for 2026

 

[BGMAC]

We went last year 1st of June- 30 July. It was the best trip ever. If anything we should have started a week earlier. Just don’t go too late in the season. Mosquitoes/bugs are killer in places.

 

[ARD]

We made it to Dawson Creek yesterday — Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway!

@NWIP is a seasoned pro at this Alaska adventure (as many of you are too), so feel free to jump in and share your own tips in this thread. This is my first time doing the trek, so I’ll be chiming in with first-timer observations — along with the expert tips I’m getting (in real-time!) from @NWIP — aka Bill and Lisa.

Bill’s Pro Tips for Border Crossing:

1. Just answer the question you're asked. Don’t offer extra info.
2. While you're in line, switch your dashboard from miles to kilometers.
3. Know your license plate number. (Yeah… he “forgot” to mention that one to me. )
4. Tape a Post-it note near your driving area with meter to feet conversions for the height of your coach.

Lisa’s Pro Tips for Driving Dawson Creek to Tok:

1. Remove racks and trays from the oven.
2. If you're in a Newmar, take heavy items out of the cabinet above the sink. I bungee those cabinet doors anyway, but I’ll report back on whether that’s enough.
3. Roll up all the shades. I usually keep them down to help cool the coach, but she warned both sides get dirty — so up they go!

EDIT d. 6/12/25: Lisa Pro Tip #4 for driving to Tok: Wrap all glass bottles in Pantry. Guess what I'll be doing tomorrow.


Thanks Lisa for making this for me!

 

[ARD]

Our journey to Alaska began in Great Falls, MT, crossing into Canada at the Sweetgrass/Coutts border. Since @NWIP has already explored Jasper and Banff — and I can save that for another time, maybe paired with a return to Glacier — we bypassed that route and headed straight to Claresholm, AB.

We stayed at Centennial Park Campground, which offered 50-amp service and water. It’s a clean, well-kept campground — definitely one I’d return to. Dinner at Casa Roma (Greek/Italian) was a win. I recommend the Chicken Souvlaki.

From there, we continued on to Spruce Grove and stayed at Diamond Grove RV Campground. We had 50-amp service and full hookups. Heads up: the water and sewer connections are at the very back of the site — if you’re using a Sanicon hose, you will need an extension. We fueled up at a Pilot Flying J about 96 miles up the road on our way to Valleyview.

Speaking of fuel - back in 2022, you could apparently use the EFT (TSD) card at Canadian card locks, though without the discount. So far on this trip, we haven't had any luck using them ourselves.

Next stop was Sherk’s RV Park in Valleyview, AB, where we again had 50-amp and full hookups. And now, we’ve arrived in Dawson Creek! We’re staying at Northern Lights RV Park & Cabins — full hookups, 50-amp power, and all the essentials for a comfortable stop at Mile 0.

Sherk's RV Park

Centennial Park Campground

Northern Lights RV Park

 

[J&JD]

Those rv spots sure do look clean & well kept!

 

[BGMAC]

So are you going to Dawson city, then to Tok? Which ever way you’re going take your time and watch out for ice heaves.

 

[NWIP]

Those rv spots sure do look clean & well kept!

Goes downhill from here

 

[BGMAC]

Triple G Hideaway in Fort Nelson was pretty good. Shops, restaurant, RV wash and pull throughs.
BTW, looking on the map it looks like hwy 97 the Alaskan highway is closed all the way to toad

 

[BGMAC]

Take a look at BC’s Hwy status. There are a lot of fires. There is a notice about Alaskan Hwy outside of Fort Nelson.

 

[NWIP]

There is a fire around Toad River Rd, road has been open using single lane alternating traffic.

 

[MrsSquid]

If you're going to be in Alaska on Independence Day, you might consider the Alaska Car Jump in Glacier View. It's a one-of-a-kind event that still brings a giant grin to my husband's face.

 

[ARD]

Well, our trusty wagonmaster @NWIP told me a few days ago it was time for ME to post an update. LOL — gotta love delegation!

Last time I posted, we were in Dawson Creek, staying at Northern Lights RV Park for three nights. As many of you probably noticed, wildfires are flaring up all across Canada. On the morning of our departure, we had to make a group decision: do we press on toward Fort Nelson and risk getting stuck, or reroute? We chose to backtrack and head toward Prince George instead.

We fueled up at an Esso in Prince George (for big rigs, lanes 2 or 3 are your best bet). Then we went looking for a place to stop for the night. Just a note for anyone traveling this way—most provincial rest areas in BC don’t allow overnight parking, only short 4-hour stops. We ended up boondocking at Beaumont Provincial Park. It worked, but I wouldn’t recommend it for big rigs unless you park parallel in the parking lot, which they allowed us to do.

From there, we headed to Stewart, BC and stayed at Bear River RV Park (FHU, 30 amp). Highly recommend it. If you can, stay 3-5 nights — it’s so peaceful. If you time it right for July, you can watch the salmon run and see the bears from the boardwalk in Hyder. Be sure to eat at El Tostador — a fantastic little Latin kitchen that also houses a quirky toaster museum.

I fueled up again at the junction of Hwy 37 and the Cassiar - I was glad to find DEF there too. After that, we overnighted at a pull-off on Dease Lake. It was beautiful and serene, though there was a bit of truck traffic because they had just started road and bridge repairs that day. Didn’t take away from the view though.

From there, we made our way to Watson Lake, YT and stayed at Downtown RV Park (FHU, 30 amp). The Sign Post Forest was great — fun stop! The park owner provided us with cards to use at the local cardlock fuel station, which made fueling up easy — we all took advantage of that.

Now we’re settled in at Pioneer RV Park in Whitehorse, YT (FHU, 30 amp) and looking forward to the next stretch of the trip.

Beaumont Provincial Park (don't look at the bugs)

Dease Lake

Our view of Dease Lake

Pioneer RV Park

 

[Neal]

Thanks for the update, looks great! The biggest mystery for those that haven't done this yet, I presume, is how hard is it to find campgrounds, as well as fuel, and what is the cost of diesel through CA?

As you rerouted, did you all have reservations along the path of your expected route or are you reserving campgrounds as you go?

 

[NWIP]

Our reroute from Dawson Creek to Watson Lake via the Cassiar was decided morning of departure from Dawson Creek. Reservations along the route were just made as we went with 1 night each at provincial park, full hookup park and road side turnout. On the way we reached out to Watson Lake since we were arriving late for our stay there which was not an issue. This park is popular with the caravans which were changing their schedules due to road closures.

Fuel is quite a bit cheaper than in 2022, the 6 stops so far in Canada range $3.80-$4.50 per gallon. Fuel availability is not an issue just a little planning for best price which usually is a larger population areas. In 2022 we were able to use the TSD card in Canada at cardlock locations which was great, easy in and out with no worries. However Open Roads has discontinued using WEX for payment processing and this option is no longer available.

 

[NWIP]

Friday 13th Strikes

June 14th, today was scheduled departure from Whitehorse. Yesterday in preparation I was checking fluids and needed to add coolant to the surge tank. To my surprise 1.5 gallons didn’t even register further investigation indicates I have a leak somewhere. I’ve decided best option is Whitehorse but everything closed till Monday morning. Hopefully it’s just a hose issue and not something more serious

@ARD was preparing and discovered a left drive axle oil leak. She won’t be departing today either and has reached out to Spartan for help as she is still in warranty.

…..to be continued

 

[Neemer]

Damn

 

[ARD]

No matter how well you plan, something can always throw a wrench in it-literally. As @NWIP mentioned I discovered oil leaking from the driver's side drive axle on my coach.

After making a few calls, here's what I've learned about the current RV service landscape in Whitehorse, YT:

Philmar RV and Fireweed RV have been sold and are permanently closed at the moment.

Fraserway RV is still operating, but was closed when I reached out.

GoNorth Yukon told me they couldn't help me and told me I needed to go to a garage.

I was able to get in touch with New North Truck & Equipment. They're closed on weekends, but they do offer call-out service if needed. Whether they'll be able to come out over the weekend is still uncertain- it's likely I'll have to wait until Monday for inspection or repair.

Just glad @NWIP and I discovered our leaks while here. This could have gone horribly wrong if happened on Cassiar Hwy or on our way to Tok. So I'm counting my blessings.

Will post an update once I get things resolved.

 

[24thrd]

Glad you caught it before getting back on the road. Hopefully it will be a quick Monday fix and then back on the road again. Thoughts and prayers with y’all.

 

[Neal]

I'm no mechanic but would that be something where you can just remove the cover and check torque on the bolts? Any value in removing the cover and inspecting at least? @NWIP

Wonder what Spartan says...