Navigability of AK, phones, GPS, map (Anchorage, Fairbanks: rental car, rental, to buy)

[LO28SWM]

Just saw the T-mobile thread and it made me realize that I had not even thought of that.

We have T-mobile, AT&T and verizon. We are planning a big family trip up in July next year. I know, generally the best way to navigate is with a map. We are planning to be going between Anchorage, Seward and Denali and all over in between. Cell phone may be spotty, will a GPS system work better? Or if we use a paper map, is there enough signage to make it easy to figure out where we are at any given time? If we wander off the main roads.

[Haolejohn]

Good news is there is only one road that connects anchorage to all the areas you want to go to. As long as you start your GPS with service you will be fine.

[LO28SWM]

The road that goes to those places doesnt connect to any other roads? What if we wander

[Parnassia]

I'm sure what Haolejohn meant was that there is only one highway route between those places. There are local roads once you reach the outskirts of larger towns, but they often don't go far and wander around, don't have much signage, and they don't provide alternative ways to reach other destinations. If you rent cars the rental agreement may confine you to "paved hard surface" roads. Not too many of those and they don't extend into recreation destinations such as Denali or Wrangel St Elias. GPS coverage exists, but how good it is...pretty variable and specific to the location. Get off the phone...don't plan to rely on it. There's the paper DeLorme Alaska Atlas & Gazetteer that will show back roads and supposedly local GPS grids but get the most current edition. No notations about road or trail condition except how it is categorized on the map legends. I don't know how often its updated. Plan to buy the current copy of the Milepost before your trip. There may be notations about GPS in specific popular tourist areas.

[Northrick]

Get a copy of the Milepost. My wife's iPhone with AT&T service works fine for navigating near any of the paved highways and most towns in southcentral Alaska. Honestly though, there are so few real roads up here it's hard to get lost. You will lose cell coverage on most of the gravel highways like the Denali Hwy and the McCarthy Road but the phone should still get GPS coverage.



One thing that is different up here versus the lower 48, is that most people here refer to highways by name and not number. If you asked me if route 1 was the best way to go I'd look at you funny (I know because it has happened). Now if you asked if the Glenn Hwy was the best way to go (to say Glennallen), I'd say yes because you don't have much of a choice.

[LO28SWM]

Great, thanks. We will definitely get the Milepost.

[rich67]

Google Maps allows you to download offline maps for use in certain areas if the cell reception is nonexistent. Research your area before you go and download the maps ahead of time. Or, you can use a standalone GPS like the one in your car or a Garmin dash GPS with preloaded map software. I always carry a redundant paper map backup. The best I have found is the Delorme: https://www.amazon.com/Delorme-DeLor...xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

[alaskaflyer]

From Fairbanks to Denali to Anchorage area to Seward cell phone service for both Verizon and AT&T is operational, with LTE/4G service even, with a few blank spots here and there just as in any rural area. Once you get a decent distance into Denali, say a few miles past park HQ, there will be no cell service, but you aren't likely to be driving your own car that far anyhow.

Have no info on T-Mobile.

[AKStafford]

Another recommendation for www.TheMilepost.com . In my opinion it's the best guide to the drive.

"What if we wander" As stated... We don't have a huge road system. And your rental contract will limit you paved roads anyway. You can get lost, I suposse, but it'll take effort.

[LO28SWM]

Yeah I was looking at the map, not a lot of chance of getting lost. But I like to be prepared just in case. Thank you guys for the Milepost rec. We were going to do the whole RV thing but It seems like big business up there and there will be a million of them fighting for the same camping and road space. We have a large party so once we considered it, we scaled back and decided that 2 RVs and 2 rental cars was too much. So we switched it up and found an AirBNB in Wasilla right on Wasilla Lake and an AirBNB in Kenai right by the water. We are splitting our trip in half between the Anchorage area and Kenai Peninsula. We nixed Denali as there is just not enough time to enjoy everything. We will go again and do the Fairbanks area.


Any must see/must do kind of stuff? We are going to be there over 4th of July