Alaska Highway Experts! (Campgrounds?)

[puff5655]

I know this route isn't a big one for this web site, but I thought I'd give it a try.

We've driven this 5 times now, and have yet to have the perfect trip, where we're happy with every campground we have stayed at. This year I'm doing more research and compiled a list of favorites, as well as some recommended by others. Here's my list ( ** means we've personally stayed there ). Please add your favorites, or criticize mine!

Sourdough Campground (Tok) **
Dawson's Peak Resort (Teslin, YT) **
Liard River Provincial Park, YT
Northern Rockies Lodge, Muncho Lake, BC
Muncho Lake Provincial Park, BC
Coal River RV, BC **
Tetsa River Regional Park, BC
Sikanni Chief River, BC
Rotary RV Park, Charlie Lake, BC **

BEYOND the highway:
Williamson Provincial Park, Calais, AB
Carson-Pegasus Provincial Park, Woodlands County, AB
Ook Shell Oole, Shelby, MT **

And I should also mention that we are tent camping.

[glc]

I can't personally help you with that, but do you have the latest edition of The Milepost? Looks like they are taking preorders for the 2014 edition which should be out in March.

[Midwest Michael]

I'm not sure where you've gotten the idea that the Alaska Highway isn't a "big one" for RTA, as I'm sure we've had several hundred threads about it and several regular members have driven it multiple times.

But as GLC said, this certainly is one where the Milepost is the must-have guide.

Is this part of the same trip as the North Dakota question you asked about earlier? If so, we'd much prefer if you keep everything together, and give us a picture of your overall trip, rather than try to piecemeal information together.

[DonnaR57]

We went up and down the Highway a number of years ago. For the most part, we stayed at different places going north than we did going south. Since it was a number of years ago, I won't compile a comprehensive list here. I'll just list a few, but ... Some places may not even still exist, or even could be under different management or a different name. We traveled with a 5W trailer, and found that a lot of Canadian RV parks' definition of "long site" or "pull through" meant we still had to disconnect in order to fit into the RV site!

Mile 0 Campground and RV, Dawson Creek - stayed there northbound and southbound
Riverview RV, North Pole - nice for an RV park, not for tents
McKinley RV, Healy AK - looked like old KOA - UGH
Anchorage RV - HUGE!!!!!!!! All the amenities
Creekside RV, Seward - I would NEVER recommend this for anyone. We were so tightly in the spaces that when we let out our slide, we were 5" from my parents' trailer
High Country RV, Whitehorse - liked this place much better than Pioneer at Whitehorse
on the way up. This one looked like an old KOA too.
Blue Spruce RV, Prince George BC - loved the people that were running this place, which
looked like yet-another former-KOA. (You can always tell by the tee-pee style
building, if it still exists.) The place was well-kept, too. Who knows if it's still under
the same management, though!


Donna

[Lifemagician]

The Milepost is definitely the way to go. Did you have it on your previous trips.... and if you did, did you actually study it. There is such a wealth of information in it. They say that it is the bible of all who make the trek north. (It is actually bigger than most bibles.) It has happened a couple of times that I have been at an establishment, when someone from The Milepost was there, speaking to folk and gathering up-to-date information. They do this every year, for the following edition.

Must say in my three trips, though not all along the Alcan, rarely have I been unhappy with a place where I have stayed. But then, my exptectations may be lower than yours.

Lifey

[Eris]

Here is an online source of information from the Milepost which includes visitor information, camping, fuel, food and accommodation etc.

A good place to start your research. Have a great trip.

[puff5655]

Hi again all..

Michael, a few years ago I was active on this forum before ever driving this highway, and I got a response that said something like, "not many members on this site have driven that way or would be able to give you specific advice." That sort of steered me away from this site for this topic.

This is part of the ND thread- I got my answer for that part so I'll stick to this thread from now on- I apologize for that.

We have always traveled with the Milepost and it is our bible- we keep it in the glovebox and pull it out every 5 minutes. The only trouble is that it lists all the campgrounds, but doesn't often offer reviews of them. We've stayed at some pretty awful places that were listed. A few times campgrounds listed, even in the latest edition, have been closed.

Thank you Donna for your info!

I'm wanting to put together a spreadsheet of all the "good" campgrounds with their phone numbers, locations, costs, etc. so that we can be better prepared.

[Mark Sedenquist]

One of the regular RTA staff writers, Jaimie Bruzenak, has driven the route 2-3 times over the last decade -- not tent camping, but in different RVs.

(not the right subject -- but if you've ever wondered about exploring New Zealand, she's caravan camping there right now..)

But here is one of her articles about the Alaskan Highway in western Canada..

Getting ready for traveling in Alaska

The spreadsheet is a good idea.

I was asked by the Alaskan Tourism department (a couple of years ago) to create a marketing plan for a camping promotional campaign -- I'll look for that database we worked on. We didn't get the contract and so I shifted focus to other projects before I had done that much.

Mark

[Lifemagician]

I'm wanting to put together a spreadsheet of all the "good" campgrounds ...

Main problem I see with this projects is the definition of 'good'. Different people have different opinions of the same place.

Unless you can come up with an exactl list of what your definition of 'good' is, I'm afraid you are still going to have to go by what others think.

Lifey

[Lifemagician]

Riverview RV, North Pole - nice for an RV park, not for tents

Stayed there at the recommendation of a friend who was tent camping. He loved it, as did I.

High Country RV, Whitehorse ...

I have stayed there three times. Lots of tent campers who were really enjoying it.

Lifey