seattle to alaska?

[soleil]

I am thinking about visiting alaska this summer and considering the option of driving from seattle. any advice? any great places that i should aim for when i get to alaska, whether we drive or not?
Thanks in advance.

[RoadTripper Brad]

There aren't very many options as far as roads go in Alaska, but here's my dream trip:

Alaska Marine Highway (ferry) from Bellingham to Skagway.
Skagway, AK to Whitehorse, Yukon (or, Haines, AK to Haines Jct., Yukon)
Yukon to Fairbanks
Fairbanks to Denali NP and then Anchorage
Anchorage to Seward
Seward to Tok, on the Alaska Highway (AK 2)
The Alaska Highway back into the Yukon
Here, you can either do the oposite route than the one you took to get into Alaska (if you disembarked the ferry at Haines, get back on in Skagway, and vice versa), OR, travel the overland route through BC.

There are some smaller roads that look interesting, but these should give you quite a tour.
-Brad

[PNW Judy]

I agree with Brad that this is a great way to go to/from Alaska. In fact, Brad's dream trip sounds like a fantastic itinerary! If you want to drive one way of it and take the ferry the other way, you'll have a monumental trip!

One of the best resources for planning driving trips to and from Alaska is a magazine called The Milepost.

Seattle to Fairbanks is roughly 2300 miles. You'll head north on I-5 and, once over the Canadian border, you'll be using 1 to Cache Creek, 97 to Prince George, 16 to Kitwanga, 37 over the border into the Yukon Territory where you will pick up 1 through Whitehorse until you hit the Alaskan border. Once you're in Alaska, this becomes 2. You take 2 until Tok where you turn on 1 to Anchorage.

Of course, if you're going to a different part of Alaska, you'll have to adjust accordingly. But, really, don't go by my word, read The Milepost!