planning driving from Tampa to Anchorage

[mecheng1]

Planning on driving our Class C from Tampa to Anchorage in June 2022, and I was wondering how best to plan campgrounds or other, to stay at during the journey.

 

[JayArr]

With long trips I've learned not to plan or reserve too far ahead. A problem that delays you by one or two days in South Dakota can make a mess of every reservation all the way to Alaska.

Our first trip was from BC to Quebec and we had reservations ahead of time for every leg of the journey. It was a giant PIA to keep to the schedule and some days we had to drive much farther than we would have liked. One change of plans caused my wife to have to change 8 or ten reservations.

When we got home I asked a similar question here and the best advice I got was to start calling in the morning to make reservation for that evening. You should be able to have a place to stay by noon and then spend the afternoon getting there. If you like someplace or there is a festival that weekend you're free to spend an extra night etc.

We did a giant loop of BC and the Yukon last summer using this method and had great success. We found great spots every night.

Others have pointed out that reservations are a must at high concentration destination sites lik Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore and Banff.

 

[mecheng1]

Yes. I think that that is excellent advice. What resource do you use on the road to identify which campgrounds to call ?

 

[uchu]

Planning on driving our Class C from Tampa to Anchorage in June 2022, and I was wondering how best to plan campgrounds or other, to stay at during the journey.

We are almost in mid April and you say June. Less than two months time. I'm sorry, but what you are proposing is hardly realistic, IMO.

For the length and complexity of the trip, I would suggest summer 2023. Start booking as soon as possible.

 

[mecheng1]

Booking campgrounds you mean?

 

[mecheng1]

We are almost in mid April and you say June. Less than two months time. I'm sorry, but what you are proposing is hardly realistic, IMO.

For the length and complexity of the trip, I would suggest summer 2023. Start booking as soon as possible.

The previous suggestion is to book campgrounds "on the fly" so to speak, so as not to be pressured to maintain a set schedule. Sort of makes sense to me. But I haven't figured out yet what resource to use to identify campgrounds on the route.

 

[phil-t]

We always (for the last 6 years of summer travel), to include most of the major national parks and many other attractions; start calling at noon while on the road, from a list of campgrounds made the evening before and we have never had a bad experience. We use apps like RV Parky, Campendeum, Good Sam, and others to make that list.
We are traveling, not camping, staying where and when we want and seeing what we want. Have used, almost exclusively; commeercial, village and town campgrounds. Doing our sightseeing using our towed vehicle.

 

[mecheng1]

We always (for the last 6 years of summer travel), to include most of the major national parks and many other attractions; start calling at noon while on the road, from a list of campgrounds made the evening before and we have never had a bad experience. We use apps like RV Parky, Campendeum, Good Sam, and others to make that list.
We are traveling, not camping, staying where and when we want and seeing what we want. Have used, almost exclusively; commeercial, village and town campgrounds. Doing our sightseeing using our towed vehicle.

Thank you

 

[JayArr]

We stay in mostly State/Provincial or Federal parks. We're a trailer with little need for hookups so we dry camp more often than not. Most parks have water at the entrance to fill your tank for the night, this gets you showers, dishes and makes the toilet flush. The next morning we dump the grey and blackwater tank on our way out of the campground and 6 hours of driving each day keeps our batteries completely charged. You don't need fancy apps to find the government parks and Google has listings for most everything else.

 

[Larry N.]

RVparky and Allstays Camp & RV (iOS only, or online) are excellent resources, and we generally call on the road at least a couple of hours before we get to our destination for the day to ensure there will be a spot. If nothing available at our first choice, we try others, even if it has to be an hour or two before or after (depending on the area and our desires).

In some cases (Banff, Glacier, etc.) we may make reservations a bit more in advance, again depending on our plans. It's rare that we make reservations before leaving home, except when we'll be meeting others at a specific destination (family, framily, etc.).

 

[SpencerPJ]

Sounds like a great trip. As you should be aware, there will be zero available camp spots available any Fri-Sun during the summer on this adventure, weekdays will be iffy but doable. Since this trip will likely focus on the destination and not the tranquil overnight lodging along the way, set your expectations accordingly. Years ago, this was easier than in todays world. The RV industry is bananas and any state or federal campground is booked 6 months out. There will be ma & pa places along the way, I suggest a diligent search and reservation along the way. Many Cracker Barrel and walmarts allow overnight stays in the parking lots, keep that in mind. Keep us updated on the adventure, enjoy.

 

[JayArr]

I don't know about State and Federal parks below the 49th but in Canada a certain percentage of the parks are not reservable, usually around 30%. These spots are labelled FCFS on the post and if you see one you can pull in. When looking online it's not uncommon to see a provincial park say that it's "Full" but that only refers to the reservable portion. It's not hard to believe that there are no spots available in that campground that weekend but that may not be the case. We went out last year at the end of July and were able to drive into a provincial park on the Friday of a long weekend, pick a spot and camp all weekend. We then spent the rest of August touring BC and the Yukon and drove in and found a spot every night except one and that night the private campground across the highway had room. If you're having trouble finding sites you could think about crossing north earlier, you may have better luck north of the line.

 

[Alaskansnowbirds]

Buy a copy of the Milepost. Make sure it's the 2022 edition. They print a new one every year with the latest updates. It will be the best $40 you ever spent.

Take JayArr's advice. Don't try to plan too far in advance. My biggest advice is DON'T plan on driving like you do in the lower 48. Travel is much slower. It's been a few years since I last drove the Alcan but I never had a problem finding a place to stay for the night.

Remember that ALL road construction is done in the summer so you will have to deal with that.

Take your time and watch out for the frost heaves. It's a beautiful trip.

 

[JayArr]

They stopped printing the Milepost when Covid hit. I couldn't get one last year. Maybe it'll come back this year.

Also: Once you're north of Dawson Creek on the Alcan the number of roadside spots you can just pull into for free goes way up, if you can boondock there are some drop dead gorgeous riverside spots along the way.

 

[shorts]

You don’t say what type of RV you will be traveling to Alaska in (nor have you set up a signature line with that information yet - highly recommend you do) but if you can set yourself up to be able to boondock with good batteries and either solar and/or a generator, your camping options will open up a great deal. As JayArr mentioned there are many places you can just pull off and camp for free, but also, there are some campgrounds in Alaska that have no hookups. Some are free, some charge a small fee but are in a great location!

When we went in 2016, we didn’t make any advance reservations but that was before the Covid boom in RVing and we primarily boondocked. We used the “Milepost“ for touring and camping ideas.

Hope you have a great trip!
Vicki

 

[mecheng1]

All great advice! Especially the resources for booking campgrounds on the way. We lived in Alaska for 20 years and now just spend the summers at our cabin at Big Lake, Alaska. Have driven the Alcan a few times in a car but this will be the first time driving from Tampa to Big Lake in our new RV. New 2022 Four Winds 28A ( Ford Chassis) to replace our old reliable 1997 Four Winds 5000 that we keep in Alaska. The trip is about 5,000 miles and looking at the potential routes, I think that the route minimizing mileage through Canada would be best? Through Montana, Calgary Edmonton etc.?

 

[shorts]

When we went in 2016, we didn’t make any advance reservations but that was before the Covid boom in RVing and we primarily boondocked. We used the “Milepost“ for touring and camping ideas.

Hope you have a great trip!
Vicki

Quoting myself as I can no longer edit the post. It was actually summer 2018 when we took the RV to Alaska. We did a cruise to Alaska in 2016. We took the route up through Montana, Calgary, Edmonton and the Yukon and then came back along the west coast into Washington.
Vicki

 

[Ex-Calif]

As others are suggesting I would no book any earlier than like 2 weeks in advance. If there is somewhere you absolutely want to stop for 5 days and see, "and" the campground location is important it may be wise to bookmark places like that with an earlier advance reservation and plan on hitting it. I am thinking places like the Grand Canyon.

On a long trip like that you should have no problem getting 2-3 day weekday reservations but Fri-Sat is pretty popular with the weekend crowds.

In those cases you can fill in a night or so by camping in a Walmart, Camping World and many Cabelle's parking lots. I have also had great success with freeway rest stops.

I use Campendium app for my searching but then also use the google maps search function and often find locations that are not in campendium. There are still campgrounds out there with no real website and a reservation is done the old fashioned way with a phone call and a good faith gesture on both sides that you will show up and a campground will have a spot.

Don't sweat it too much. You will learn these tricks pretty quickly once you are underway.

It goes without saying that a cross country in an RV takes a lot longer than it would with a car. I can even do 12-14 hours in the saddle of both car and RV but in the car I seem to average close to 70mph and in the RV I average closer to 60mph.

 

[Jeff in Ferndale Wa]

Planning on driving our Class C from Tampa to Anchorage in June 2022, and I was wondering how best to plan campgrounds or other, to stay at during the journey.

Did you end up doing this? How was the trip and how did you plan your stays?
I am thinking about doing this maybe summer 2023, but I am starting a lot closer that you did.
I am just 14 miles south of the BC/Washington border.

 

[Joenew61]

Buy a copy of the Milepost. Make sure it's the 2022 edition. They print a new one every year with the latest updates. It will be the best $40 you ever spent.

Take JayArr's advice. Don't try to plan too far in advance. My biggest advice is DON'T plan on driving like you do in the lower 48. Travel is much slower. It's been a few years since I last drove the Alcan but I never had a problem finding a place to stay for the night.

Remember that ALL road construction is done in the summer so you will have to deal with that.

Take your time and watch out for the frost heaves. It's a beautiful trip.

Is there an equivalent guide to the Milepost for the lower 48 - i.e. a master list of places to overnight for a day or days. One of my personal stressors for driving in general (car or RV) is struggling to find parking, but philosophically I agree with what most here say - too rigid a schedule can be a real trip spoiler!