So here's my Alaska planning so far: 4 weeks + 2 weeks contingency, leaving June 1st from the San Francisco bay area on my F800GS. That's it. So, what's the minimum I really need to do? I'm willing to camp, or stay in hotels when convenient. I figure I should: 1) Have a vague route to get there. 2) Mark the BMW dealers and other notable shops. 3) Mark out a few "must stop" areas. (?) 4) Mark out obvious lodging/camping spots (?) What else do I really need to do? I'm loathe to book specific dates or lodging reservations - am I gonna regret that? I have the Milepost, but it's like drinking from a firehose. Thanks for any tips!
dem 1. yes 2 Why? is the bike really old? 3 The whole route will be fantastic 4 No need just stop where you want Last june I went for 4 weeks and camped for 21 of the 30 days never had a problem with finding any place to stay
Reservations are not required if you plan on camping or have the ability to camp when you cannot find a room. If you want a room on the ALCAN/Cassiar then plan to stop a little early in the day to greatly increase your chances. I'd suggest having a rough idea of things you want to see or visit on the trip. Visit the Alaska regional forum for some great info from the locals and previous visitors. My short list (assumes you are up for some dirt roads: Hyder, AK The Cassiar Hwy Dawson, YT (try for 21-22 June and attend Dust 2 Dawson) Side trip up the Dempster to Inuvik Top of the World Hwy Eagle Chicken Kenai Peninsula (Seward at least, Homer if possible) Whittier Valdaz Hope Hatcher's Pass Denali Hwy Denali Park Fairbanks (Stay in the dorms; see my sig line) Manley Hotsprings Chena Hot Springs Arctic Circle Deadhorse (actually a low priority in my opinion) Circle and Central McCarthy / Kenicott Mine Side trip to Skagway The sign forrest in Watson Lake Try to fit in a ferry ride to someplace. Perhaps from Valdez to Cordova. Ride from Cordova out to the Million Dollar Bridge and Childs Glacier. Back to Cordova and the ferry to Whittier. Take a halibut fishing charter out of Valdez, Homer or Deep Creek. If you land a 300 pounder you can have it frozen and shipped home. Take the bus trip into Denali Park. You cannot ride in past Savage Creek (unless you win a lottery like I did a few years ago) Visit Alaska Leather in Anchorage or Adventure Cycle Works in Fairbanks for tires (visit them anyway just for fun) Just ideas and certainly not an itinerary. Enjoy
What a list...excellent! I'll second the few I have already done and will be doing again they were so well worth the time..... Cassier Highway, D2D, Dempster....the rest is gravy and probably fantastic also. The far north is full of fantastic places, that once you've been there once, you will need to go back time and time again!
Thanks everyone.. your responses are comforting that I can do this with minimal planning. I've never gone more than 1 week before, so this will be a possibly once-in-a-lifetime trip for me. (The bike is an 2011 F800GS - but you never know! Lots of electronic things in there!)
One thing I would recommend making an appointment for is a routine service on your bike if you think you will need one while in Alaska. Both Trails End in Fairbanks and The Motorcycle Shop in Anchorage get very busy in the summer. An appointment will save some grief.
So you can camp anywhere even outside of a camp ground with no problems. Just pull off the side of the road and camp? Planning a trip June 16 from Ohio to Dawson then beyond...
There are many places you can probably get away with roadside camping when outside of towns and urban areas. You need to use good judgement. However, there are also many free or low cost public primitive camping areas to be had. There was a thread on this topic within the past year.
I did this North of Fairbanks but for most of the trip I stayed at regular campsites manly for the social aspect and conversation. Forgot to add that campsites varied from 9.00 to 23.00 and the best place to stay in Tok is Thompsons Eagle Claw Motorcycle park
Cool. Try to be in Dawson City Yukon Thurs/Fri June 21-22 for the Dust2Dawson gathering. 200 riders from all around the world. Fun! Yes, there's a lot of roadside camping available up here. This including a lot of gravel pits scattered about that a few motorhomes even take advantage of. Our Harley shop here in Anchorage has free mc camping that includes a code entry bathroom with shower. It's a nice grassy area between them and Motoquest Tours who, by the way, sells off their slightly used dual sport tires. Good luck and have fun, Mark H.
