Road Trip in Alaska: Potentially Stupid Questions from a Tourist (Anchorage: credit, insurance)

[MizThree]

You know you're going to be in the car a LOT, right? Driving from Anchorage to Fairbanks in one day really isn't just a "piece of cake" for people who aren't used to really long road trips...stopping to stretch included!

When you goto Seward, don't forget Portage Glacier and the Big Game Park. Both are really neat, and at the Game Park, you'll get to see the animals (moose, buffalo, deer, caribou) up close but in a less formal setting as a zoo.

Driving to Fairbanks...After Glennallen! You'll pass through Delta Junction. Really not much there (I lived there...Alaskans-don't yell at me!), but it's the start/end of the ALCAN Hwy (alaska/canada hwy). Kinda cool to see the little visitors center there.

One tip! Stop for gas when there's a station and nothing for the next 100 miles...even if you have 1/2 a tank...fill up! And I agree with the DEET people...I've been bitten through jeans before! Clothing doesn't always keep them off.

[murlough23]

Originally Posted by MizThree

You know you're going to be in the car a LOT, right?

Yes, and what may sound like torture to you sounds like great fun to me. I planned the trip specifically with some of those long, scenic drives in mind. I do a lot of driving on most vacations, so I'm used to it. It'll be a bit on the extreme side, but we acknowledge that ahead of time and we'll make sure there's time to get out and stretch and explore and so forth.

Down here, I'm used to driving from L.A. to San Diego in one day, or driving up to San Francisco from L.A. on a Friday night and then returning on Sunday afternoon... on one trip this February, we drove from Santa Cruz through Monterey and Big Sur, then all the way back to L.A., all in one day. That was exhausting, but that was like 8 hours of driving, and other than Anchorage to Sweard and back in one day (if there's traffic or we stop a lot), I don't think any of our days will require that much driving.

I grew up doing long car trips every summer for our family vacations (I didn't drive, of course, but when I got older I navigated!). One year we drove from L.A. to Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore, and back, in a total of a little over a week, so I'm used to this sort of thing.

Originally Posted by MizThree

Driving from Anchorage to Fairbanks in one day really isn't just a "piece of cake" for people who aren't used to really long road trips...stopping to stretch included!

I won't be driving from Anchorage to Fairbanks in one day, though.

Let's test the real-world usefulness of Google Maps. Here's what drive times they give for the days I'm gonna be there (yes, this is assuming no stops, but if we stop, that entails doing something else other than driving during that time):

Day 1: Anchorage airport to our B&B in the Hillside neighborhood (26 minutes
Day 2: Anchorage to Seward and back (2 hours, 26 minutes x 2 = 4 hours, 52 minutes), plus time to explore Seward and the nearby Glacier
Day 3: Anchorage to Glennallen (3 hours, 35 minutes)
Day 4: Glennallen to Fairbanks (4 hours, 36 minutes)
Day 5: Fairbanks to Healy (1 hour, 52 minutes)
Day 6: Healy to Denali and back (should be less than an hour, right?), plus whatever time we spend on the bus within the park (which could be long)
Day 7: Healy to Anchorage Airport (4 hours, 25 minutes)

Do those sound in any way reasonable?

Assuming 8 hours of sleep per day, we're still looking at having over 10 hours every day that aren't spent in the car, so I think we'll have plenty of time for other things. Day 2 is going to be a long day but worth it to explore Seward, I think. Day 7 is the only one I wish I'd planned different, because we have a 2:30 flight out, and we'll have to get up early to make sure we're back to Anchorage in time. I would have just left from Fairbanks if it wasn't so expensive to return the rental car somewhere different from where I pick it up.

Originally Posted by MizThree

When you goto Seward, don't forget Portage Glacier and the Big Game Park. Both are really neat, and at the Game Park, you'll get to see the animals (moose, buffalo, deer, caribou) up close but in a less formal setting as a zoo.

Portage Glacier looks like it's not too far off of the road to Seward, that might be doable. Where's the Big Game Park?

Originally Posted by MizThree

Driving to Fairbanks...After Glennallen! You'll pass through Delta Junction. Really not much there (I lived there...Alaskans-don't yell at me!), but it's the start/end of the ALCAN Hwy (alaska/canada hwy). Kinda cool to see the little visitors center there.

I'm assuming there's not much in Glennallen, either. Am I right?

Originally Posted by MizThree

One tip! Stop for gas when there's a station and nothing for the next 100 miles...even if you have 1/2 a tank...fill up!

I plan on doing that, but how will I know there's nothing for the next 100 miles before I've passed the last gas station? Where along my route is that actually true?

Originally Posted by MizThree

And I agree with the DEET people...I've been bitten through jeans before! Clothing doesn't always keep them off.

So I should spray it on my clothes, too? Duly noted.

[Rance]

The big game park will be on your right...very near the left hand turn off to Portage Glacier. There are big signs and you should have no trouble spotting it.

[n4sir7]

As an Alaskan, I must tell you Mur 23 that even though I am leaving this great state, I will truly miss it.

Just sit back and enjoy the scenery. Hopefully you will see the mountain goats, the whales, etc on your way down to Kenai, Seward or Homer. It is not that long of a drive really. Fairbanks (north) is another matter. lol

Truly it never gets old when someone asks if we have polar bears walking around. (I always say yes and we live in 2-story igloos) lmao

[mal_flisk]

The drive times are alright for good road conditions or even fair conditions. The one thing Google can't take into account is the predisposal of Alaska DOT to do ALL road maintenance in summer. Many good reasons for this. But they close down one lane and alternate in the remaining lane. Depending on how long the road shutdown is, you can wait up to 45 minutes (rare, but possible) for your set of cars to get waved through. Average is 10 - 15 minutes, but you will then be limited to 10-15 miles an hour until you have passed through the construction area. 2 years ago, there were three sections like this between Anchorage and Glennallen. Weather can also affect your time.

[viking2001]

You will need repellant not clothing for bugs. Don't bother with Glenallen, there is nothing to see or do, & the drive isn't that long. Personally I'd skip fairbanks alltogether & drive from Anchorage to Denali on the Parks hwy. in one day, about a 3 1/2 hr drive. A good hike with an excellent view is flattop mountain hike in Anchorage. View of city & ocean mountains , etc. 1hr to top of mountain. Really the best scenic driving time you will have would be the kenia peninsula. You should try to spend a night in Homer & maybe go halibut fishing on a charter. Even if you don't do the charter, this route of travel has the most beauty for the driving buck.

Originally Posted by murlough23

Hi, first time posting on this board and I recently finished planning my first trip to Alaska (something I've been wanting to do ever since childhood). My wife and I are flying up to Alaska for the last week of June (from Los Angeles; we'll be spending the weekends bookending the trip with friends in Seattle to break up the long flight), and we're going to be road-tripping around the driveable parts of the state and staying at B&B's. Where we're gonna be driving and spending the night each day is already booked; so I'm looking more for general info on what to expect when driving and exploring around the places we're planning to go.

Our rough itinerary is this:

- First 2 days in/around Anchorage (may drive south toward Kenai
- Peninsula/Seward area for part of one day)
- One night in Glennallen (drive from Anchorage via Glenn Hwy)
- One night in Fairbanks (drive from Glennallen via Richardson Hwy)
- Two nights in Healy/Denali area (drive from Fairbanks via Parks Hwy)
- Drive back to Anchorage and fly out on last day (via Parks Hwy)

With that in mind, here are my (hopefully not too ignorant) questions:

1. What are some scenic, but not too strenuous hikes that can easily be accessed from the road system?
We're not planning on doing any serious backcountry hiking - just day hikes that take a few hours at most.

2. Are the mosquitos really so bad that we'll need to cover every exposed inch of skin, hands and face included, while hiking?
I have a little bit of experience with mosquitos since they seem to have loved me in Hawaii (where my wife is from) and northern Michigan, so I'm kind of expecting the worst - they appear to know who the tourists are.

3. Is there much of interest that can be seen from the road, or should we plan to get out of the car at certain special places along the way?
I've heard that the Glenn and Richardson Highways are particularly scenic, which is why I want to drive them (I know it's a long drive, but I don't mind; I enjoy driving when it's not in a crowded city like L.A.), but I don't want to miss important photo ops just a few miles off the road that I might blow by in a hurry to get the next meal or to check into our next room. We have plenty of daylight, so I want to try to take this at a more leisurely pace.

4. On the highways we're planning to drive, what's the longest stretch in between bathrooms/gas stations/civilization in general?
You men know how this one works. You've just passed the last town that you're gonna see for a while, and suddenly your wife/girlfriend (or even more likely, one of your children, but we don't have any) needs a bathroom break. There's this inborn thing within men; we hate having to stop when driving, which also means that we sometimes get cocky and think we have enough gas when we don't.

5. What are our chances of encountering bears, moose, or other potentially dangerous animals along the highway?
I'm not so much worried about seeing one while inside a car - that could be rather exciting, actually - but say we've stopped for a picnic during that aforementioned long stretch between towns. Is it a wise idea to eat a meal in the great outdoors, knowing what a good sense of smell bears have?

6. Do hotels/B&B's typically have blackout curtains for when people need to sleep while it's light out late at night? Or is the notion that people in Alaska use things like this a total myth?
I can't seem to sleep well when it's light out, though I suppose if I rack up enough of a sleep deficit, I'll get over that little hangup. I just don't want to risk falling asleep at the wheel on a long drive.

7. Does it snow anywhere in the summer? Are certain places extremely rainy or otherwise difficult to deal with weather-wise?
I expect that it will be cold at night, and even during the day in certain parts of the state. No biggie. We can dress for that. And we won't go to extremely wet places like the Panhandle, or places where it obviously snows all the time, such as Barrow or the summit of Denali. I'm mainly talking about the towns we'll be spending the night in and the circuit of roads connecting them, plus Denali National Park. I've checked average low temps for everywhere we'll be staying and nothing seems to go below high 40's... but that's average, so I figure I could use the voice of experience on this one.

8. Are road closures along Alaska's highways common?
Few things would suck as much as making it most of the way to Delta Junction on the Richardson Highway and then having to turn back and take a several-hundred-mile detour.

9. What sorts of amenities do first-time tourists in Alaska often expect, and end up being shocked to not find?
You know, like the time I went to Hawaii and just assumed my bank would be there. This is basically to cover my rear for all of the questions I forgot to ask.

10. What's the dumbest thing that tourists in Alaska typically do?
Just because it's funny to read about these sorts of things, until it happens to you.

Thanks in advance for any insight that you Alaska residents on this board can give.

[Sunset_Va]

Last July I took an Alaska Railroad tour from Anchorage to Seward, back to Anchorage, then up to Denali/Talkeentna, up to Fairbanks, then back down to Anchorage ending up in Whittier. I was on the tour 12 days.

I took boat day trips in both Seward and Whittier, the bus tour in Denali (I just hope your bus isn't as crowded as mine was, it really annoyed me , the noise level of the passengers), visited the UAF at Fairbanks, and much much more. I loved just visiting the village of Talkeetna.

I guess it was my lifelong dream of visiting Alaska, but I loved every place I went, every thing I did and there is not a day goes by that I don't relive part of that trip. I did many things that perhaps I wouldn't have done if I had driven up from Virginia, but then again I missed seeing the Alaskan Hwy, and seeing some of the small towns , eg. Tok, Delta Junction.

If I ever return to Alaska, the only different approach I would take, is that I would visit a remote hunting/fishing/ lodge in the Lake Clark area, and spend the entire time there. I am not a hunter, but occasionally fish, but I think it would be more rewarding for me, now that I have seen much of the mainstream areas of Alaska. The Kenai Pennisula is so beautiful,I missed not visiting Homer, and also the Southeastern part such as Sitka.

The main thing for you is to simply enjoy. Have a great time! If you need any advice or want to know more, send me a message here!

[MizThree]

Originally Posted by murlough23

Yes, and what may sound like torture to you sounds like great fun to me.

Awesome! It's not really long for me-after driving from GA to here... Just wanted to make sure you knew what you're in for!

[QUOTE-murlough23;688503]
I won't be driving from Anchorage to Fairbanks in one day, though.[/quote]
oops miss-read your plans!

Originally Posted by murlough23

I plan on doing that, but how will I know there's nothing for the next 100 miles before I've passed the last gas station? Where along my route is that actually true?

You should be able to tell on the maps. We usually stop in Glennallen and (oh darm the name escapes me), when we're heading the Fairbanks on the Glen hwy.


[QUOTE-murlough23;688503]So I should spray it on my clothes, too? Duly noted.[/quote]
YUP!

[rotorhead]

Most motels have pretty heavy curtains, but you could always carry some insurance.....a roll of aluminum foil and some tape. Lots of houses have a window or two plastered over with foil in the summertime, you're not the only one that has a hard time sleeping in the long hours of sunlight.

As far as banks and ATMs go, Wells Fargo and the credit unions were the ones that I remember seeing in the Anchorage area. Outside the major urban areas expect some pretty high fees if an ATM is available at all. Many seasonal places along the road take Visa and Mastercard, but cash always works.

Biggest mistake tourists make? Hard to lump everything together under one roof here, but trying to pack too many road miles into too short a time has got to be near the top. How do you know if its too much? When you can't remember where you were last thats a caution, when you're nodding off at the wheel thats a warning. Too many single vehicle accidents in the summer are the result of just plain falling asleep at the wheel, and it'll get you bent or broken just as fast as any drunk driver could. If in doubt, find some place and pull over for a nap. Chances are it'll still be light out when you're ready to go again.

Plus...don't take chances with the moose. If you see one on the roadside slow way down (but please don't hold up traffic to take photos), if its already across keep in mind that if its a cow there may be a calf or two following closely behind. Never get between an adult cow moose and its calf, they're very protective and they can have hooves the size of dinner plates. Most people worry about the bears, but I'd bet the moose get the bigger share of tourists.

[mal_flisk]

I think the name of the town you're looking for is Delta Junction.