Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Tips for driving the Alcan

Yes. And really clean, neat campsites too. I'm looking forward to going back to the Yukon for a fishing/camping trip. Maybe next summer!

Guy

carry an extra can or 2 of fuel if you can

slow down for the bridges some of the bridges are quite a bit higher than the road surface so hitting them at a good rate of speed will be a bit rough on things.

otherwise it was smooth sailing 3 years ago when I did it with my brother-in-law and loved that road. for being a dirt road it's better than a lot of paved roads that i've been on over the years

Check your phone service to make sure they don't tack on any additional foreign or roaming charges. These can get expensive quickly.

i didnt want to disclose our secret ...even at our peso rate it is really a bargain ...

fishing is good too for sure ...

I made the trip from CT 14 times over the years. Make sure your vehicle is in good repair before you leave, as others say credit cards no problem. Most banks along the border will do currency exchange. I would cross from ND and the first town I would stop at the bank and make the exchange. The way I travel 1000 USD was more than enough. Fairbanks AK banks may have some CAN currency or may not. As for the trip, its pretty good one, I always planned on 7 days on the Alcan. Take your time. Keep your tank full, There are spots on the road that you are a good 120 miles between service stations. take some extra belts hoses for your machine- insurance if you will. 300 to 400 miles per day is about right little more or less. Enjoy it's a fun trip, even when you are alone like me, and your old underpowered VW Jetta Diesel. I even did the trip a few times in winter- that makes for interesting planning.

If you plan on having some "adult beverages" in the evening you will want to take some with you, if you don't you will cringe at the price of them in BC.

The allowance you can take duty free is fairly generous, you can check Canadian Customs on line and the amounts are listed.

I usually take the maximum allowed and give it to my Canadian friends.

drover

That was fairly inexpensive for the times but I just did a conversion of what the $50 would be in todays dollars -

$50.00 in 1952 had the same buying power as $455.53 in 2017

Mr Van Bibber left us this last year. He was well thought of in YT!

When I visit US campgrounds today, I see they want $8 to $15 for about a cubic foot of firewood. I probably have $100k's worth stacked behind the house.

I have too many transactions a month for a Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking Account.

For any others making the trek, I recommend keeping an eye out for any big dark lumps up ahead on the pavement. In our case, they turned out to be two bison bulls with no interest in moving, matched by my lack of interest in striking one at highway speed. This was in winter, so it might not be much of an issue mid-summer.

I travel into Canada a couple times a year. Have never had a border guard check my insurance.

Yes, have seen quite a few near Liard Hot Springs in winter.

Same experience during a blizzard.....bison were covered with snow and lying in the road.......finally realized that a bull very close to me had just blinked an eye.....close call.

Have Canadian money.
Mid 90s, in the truck, I was well up into Quebec,
stopped a a resturant for a travel mug of coffee.
They charged me over $2 for the coffee, and all I had was
an American $5 bill, got Canadian change! Expensive
darn coffee, but it was good. Glad I didn't have to break a
Benjamin.

AWESOME trip. Loved driving to central, WA. Buddy and I drove the Cassiar to the Canadian Rockies (loved Smithers and Banff) and my buddy dropped me off in Walla Walla. Yukon, BC and Alberta are every bit as beautiful as Alaska. Free wood at the campgrounds, like others said. You can drive your vehicle as fast as is safe for the conditions. There aren't any Mounties, except in the urban areas. Beautiful weather 6/8 days. Canadian customs agents DID search our RV when we returned from Hyder. GREAT trip overall. $1,200 including camping fees to drive 2,810 miles to central WA.

Glad to hear this! Good weather over that long a stretch, is, well.... a stretch!

Yeah, this white boy was struggling with 90 degree weather in both Canada and WA. Enjoyed it though. Wish I could have gotten in the water more.

Just made the trip, dragging a small trailer. Had to divert from the Cache Creek to Williams Lk route due to fires. Saw many black bear, deer, wood bison, moose and Caribou. Took a run to Dawson, ferry across to the Taylor hwy.(start rant) The Taylor is terrible and seems to go on and on. Tok cut off is equally terrible with it's usual frost heaves and drops in the road. The Tok cut off has always been horrible between Mentasta to Chistochina. It was crappy in the 60s and continues to be so today, despite many many over lays and rebuilds. Even the earthquake rebuild is bad. No road in Canada is as bad as the Tok CO and the Taylor. Rant over. Tool 6 days and had 3 days of rain. Not a lot of construction delays. Overall, good trip.

Are you in town now?