Al-Can Highway (Alaska-Canadian)
Jul 1, 2003 | 07:31 PM
#2
Registered User
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 132
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From: Dallas
Yes, I drove it last summer. Flew to Vancouver, B.C. and rented a Ford Explorer from Budget. Drove to Anchorage and back. It's the most beautiful and interesting trip I've ever taken- and I've been a lot of places.
First thing: buy http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1588431177/qid=1057116319/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_2/102-8711559-8085713 book. It's extremely useful. The milepost book seemed popular with other people on the highway, but I didn't buy it.
You absolutely have to book your hotels in advance. Some towns (Tok, AK) only have a few places to stay. I mostly stayed in Best Westerns and this chain of resort-style hotels (they were more like motels) run by Holland America cruise lines (I can't think of the name, but it's the only hotel in Tok as I recall).
From what I remember, my first night was in Prince George, B.C. Our Explorer's check engine light turned on, and knowing what we had ahead of us, I called Budget and asked for a new vehicle. They gave us another Explorer at their airport, which was surprisingly large. Prince George is a big town (100,000) and there are plenty of things to do and places to stay. They have some GREAT restaurants- there's a good kinda fancy italian and a REALLY good lebanese food restaurant. The lebanese restaurant was one of those trendy Vancouver-style places and wasn't very expensive. They employ some really hot girls as waitresses, too.
I was pretty impressed with Prince George- it's a really clean and very scenic town. However, you don't drive the Alcan for cities, so let's keep moving...
I think my next night was in Fort Nelson, B.C. Nothing to do there, but they have a decent Best Western. I think there is only one restaurant in town. They do have an A&W rootbeer place, though.
Next night, as I recall, was in Whitehorse, YK. It's where 2/3s of the population of Yukon lives. It's a nice town, but fairly touristy. They have enough hotels, but they fill early so plan way ahead. There is a lot of stuff to do in Whitehorse's downtown. They have some good food, although for some reason I think we ate at Boston's, this big chain pizza/pasta restaurant that they even have in Texas. I guess we weren't in the mood for trying new things that night.
From there I'm pretty sure you go to Tok. Like I said before, Tok is TINY. I think less than 100 people live there. They had a good barbecue restaurant, though. It's the only place to eat in town, so you'll see it. There was some big group of RV owners... like a club or something when we were there. They employ college students from the lower 48 (btw, "lower 48" is a commonly used term in Alaska). Before you get to Tok, you enter the US (obviously). At least last year, they took their jobs very seriously. They did a very thorough search of our vehicle and gave us a very hard time because it was registered to Budget in British Columbia, and not to us. We don't exactly fit the "terrorist stereotype" either. Take them seriously and don't joke around... I kinda figured the checkpoint would be a joke, but it's not.
From there you can either go to Juneau or Anchorage- we drove to Anchorage. Don't forget that while Alaska doesn't look that big on a map, it's HUGE. Anchorage to Juneau is a full day's drive.
That's more or less what we did. I'm probably leaving out a ton. There's a lot to see along the way, too. Gas is cheaper in Canada than Alaska for some unknown reason. The Canadians must not tax it as much. "Southern hospitality," which I should know as I was born and raised in the South, is nothing compared to Canadian hospitality. The Canadians in the small towns and even in Prince George and Vancouver were among the nicest people I've ever met. When you stop for gas, they are so friendly. Every gas station is like something out of a movie- one little pump and a little old man who pumps your gas, checks your oil, etc.
You'll go 2-3 hours sometimes without seeing anything man-made. It's absolutely awe-inspiring. They are doing a lot of construction on the highway, though, and occasionally you'll be stuck at a construction stop for half an hour. Then the "lead vehicle" will lead your line of cars through 20 miles of construction- that's something you don't see in the lower 48.
Also, you don't see a lot of other traffic and towns with service stations are far apart. The only Ford dealerships were in Prince George and Whitehorse- I checked on that ahead of time. There are Toyota dealerships in both places, too. But an average day is 8-10 hours of driving and sometimes you're 12+ hours away from a car dealership. So make sure your car is in good operating order... that means everything. I know this sounds like common sense, but you won't understand what I mean until you're on the highway- when that check engine light came on in my first Explorer, I knew I had to get it fixed or get a new vehicle. The last thing you want is to be stranded. Not only is it a b!tch to get your car fixed up there, but you'll be stuck for a few days and you'll lose your hotel reservations. And in places like Tok, there's nowhere else to stay!
Prepare for 20-70 degree weather. We saw both. Actually, vancouver was in the 90s! It was snowing just outside of Whitehorse- and it was sticking to the ground. This was in early August!
Anyway, I think I've rambled for enough. If you're considering this drive, please don't hesitate to ask me any questions. It's absolutely the most interesting vacation I've ever taken.
First thing: buy http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1588431177/qid=1057116319/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_2/102-8711559-8085713 book. It's extremely useful. The milepost book seemed popular with other people on the highway, but I didn't buy it.
You absolutely have to book your hotels in advance. Some towns (Tok, AK) only have a few places to stay. I mostly stayed in Best Westerns and this chain of resort-style hotels (they were more like motels) run by Holland America cruise lines (I can't think of the name, but it's the only hotel in Tok as I recall).
From what I remember, my first night was in Prince George, B.C. Our Explorer's check engine light turned on, and knowing what we had ahead of us, I called Budget and asked for a new vehicle. They gave us another Explorer at their airport, which was surprisingly large. Prince George is a big town (100,000) and there are plenty of things to do and places to stay. They have some GREAT restaurants- there's a good kinda fancy italian and a REALLY good lebanese food restaurant. The lebanese restaurant was one of those trendy Vancouver-style places and wasn't very expensive. They employ some really hot girls as waitresses, too.
I was pretty impressed with Prince George- it's a really clean and very scenic town. However, you don't drive the Alcan for cities, so let's keep moving...I think my next night was in Fort Nelson, B.C. Nothing to do there, but they have a decent Best Western. I think there is only one restaurant in town. They do have an A&W rootbeer place, though.
Next night, as I recall, was in Whitehorse, YK. It's where 2/3s of the population of Yukon lives. It's a nice town, but fairly touristy. They have enough hotels, but they fill early so plan way ahead. There is a lot of stuff to do in Whitehorse's downtown. They have some good food, although for some reason I think we ate at Boston's, this big chain pizza/pasta restaurant that they even have in Texas. I guess we weren't in the mood for trying new things that night.
From there I'm pretty sure you go to Tok. Like I said before, Tok is TINY. I think less than 100 people live there. They had a good barbecue restaurant, though. It's the only place to eat in town, so you'll see it. There was some big group of RV owners... like a club or something when we were there. They employ college students from the lower 48 (btw, "lower 48" is a commonly used term in Alaska). Before you get to Tok, you enter the US (obviously). At least last year, they took their jobs very seriously. They did a very thorough search of our vehicle and gave us a very hard time because it was registered to Budget in British Columbia, and not to us. We don't exactly fit the "terrorist stereotype" either. Take them seriously and don't joke around... I kinda figured the checkpoint would be a joke, but it's not.
From there you can either go to Juneau or Anchorage- we drove to Anchorage. Don't forget that while Alaska doesn't look that big on a map, it's HUGE. Anchorage to Juneau is a full day's drive.
That's more or less what we did. I'm probably leaving out a ton. There's a lot to see along the way, too. Gas is cheaper in Canada than Alaska for some unknown reason. The Canadians must not tax it as much. "Southern hospitality," which I should know as I was born and raised in the South, is nothing compared to Canadian hospitality. The Canadians in the small towns and even in Prince George and Vancouver were among the nicest people I've ever met. When you stop for gas, they are so friendly. Every gas station is like something out of a movie- one little pump and a little old man who pumps your gas, checks your oil, etc.
You'll go 2-3 hours sometimes without seeing anything man-made. It's absolutely awe-inspiring. They are doing a lot of construction on the highway, though, and occasionally you'll be stuck at a construction stop for half an hour. Then the "lead vehicle" will lead your line of cars through 20 miles of construction- that's something you don't see in the lower 48.
Also, you don't see a lot of other traffic and towns with service stations are far apart. The only Ford dealerships were in Prince George and Whitehorse- I checked on that ahead of time. There are Toyota dealerships in both places, too. But an average day is 8-10 hours of driving and sometimes you're 12+ hours away from a car dealership. So make sure your car is in good operating order... that means everything. I know this sounds like common sense, but you won't understand what I mean until you're on the highway- when that check engine light came on in my first Explorer, I knew I had to get it fixed or get a new vehicle. The last thing you want is to be stranded. Not only is it a b!tch to get your car fixed up there, but you'll be stuck for a few days and you'll lose your hotel reservations. And in places like Tok, there's nowhere else to stay!
Prepare for 20-70 degree weather. We saw both. Actually, vancouver was in the 90s! It was snowing just outside of Whitehorse- and it was sticking to the ground. This was in early August!
Anyway, I think I've rambled for enough. If you're considering this drive, please don't hesitate to ask me any questions. It's absolutely the most interesting vacation I've ever taken.
Jul 2, 2003 | 07:51 AM
#3
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,858
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From: Seattle, WA
Hey Andrew,
Thanks for the reply! I figured it was a shot in the dark finding someone that may have done that trip. I live in Seattle, so I'll be driving up through Vancouver in the ol' 4Runner. Since I'll have a ton of gear, I'll be planning on camping out for most of the trip, and possibly do some fishing, though I haven't checked it out very thoroughly yet. I just ordered the Milepost yesterday, but will check out the book you suggested as well. How long did it take you to do it? I'm probably going to take my time, not necessarily aiming to do the entire Alcan if I get sidetracked along the way with other sites- its just an excuse to go back and do it again!
Thanks for the reply! I figured it was a shot in the dark finding someone that may have done that trip. I live in Seattle, so I'll be driving up through Vancouver in the ol' 4Runner. Since I'll have a ton of gear, I'll be planning on camping out for most of the trip, and possibly do some fishing, though I haven't checked it out very thoroughly yet. I just ordered the Milepost yesterday, but will check out the book you suggested as well. How long did it take you to do it? I'm probably going to take my time, not necessarily aiming to do the entire Alcan if I get sidetracked along the way with other sites- its just an excuse to go back and do it again!
Jul 9, 2003 | 07:44 AM
#4
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 132
Likes: 0
From: Dallas
Well, it was one night in each of those places... so... 4 days, I think. We didn't take many side trips since the Alcan itself is an adventure. We wanted to spend some time exploring the Alaskan shore and the area around Vancouver, too, in a limited time period. Total trip was about 16 days.
andrew
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