Alaska and Canada Sights

[RMccord]

For those who have made the pilgrimage to Alaska. What were the things that you are glad you did, would do again or are dissappointed that you did not do? What sights, things, tours, treks, etc did you do that were better than you expected and had a great lasting impression for you. A big WOW factor. Where were some of the most scenic areas you visited with reasonable access? Where would you absolutely have to go back to again if you made the trip again?

Thanks

[nkwist]

We just returned home from our AK trip this summer. It's difficult to put in a nutshell, but I'll start out with some ideas and add more later.

We crossed the border east of Glacier NP because we wanted to do the Icefield Parkway between Banff and Jasper. From there we took the Yellowhead and Cassiar Hwys. (Next time I think we'd take the AK highway north through Ft. Nelson rather than the Cassiar both ways.) The Cassiar was in very good shape and we saw more wildlife (nine bears one day!) along this route than any other. The stretches of gravel totaled less than 100 miles and was surprisingly smooth. The roughest road was the AK highway between Destruction Bay and Tok.

We "base camped" with friends out of Wassila, AK and did our side trips from there. Spend a few days at Denali NP and take the tour bus into the park. We didn't get to Fairbanks, but wish we did. We spent about 10 days on the Kenai in Soldatna, Homer and Seward. Our favorite stop was Valdez. We got lucky and saw the big whales from our boat. We camped at Sea Otter CG and the sea otters were playing only 30' from our rear window. If you take a cruise (and you should), get on one of the smaller boats (Stan Stephens is very good). The drive through Thompson Pass to get to Valdez is beautiful.

On the way south, we took the Top of the World Hwy. through Chicken and Dawson City. Yeah, you'll get muddy or dusty but it's well worth it. Then the Cassiar once again to watch the bears at Hyder, AK (Stewart, BC). Being only 15 feet from a mother Grizzly and her 3 cubs was one of the highlights of the trip.

Spend the $100 for the Alaska Toursaver book and be sure to get the Milepost. Both were worth much more than we paid. We also spent $$ for the best binoculars and video camera we could find and we're glad we did.

[adelmoll]

We will second everything that Norm and Cris said. When you get the Toursaver book thare is also a coupon for going to a gold mine in Fairbanks. That was a hoot as was panning on our own in Dawson City.

Slow is the name of the game and we can't stress that enough.

Helen

[sgtpp214]

We went the summer of 06. Only had 5 wks and had 78 yo MIL so couldn't put on lots of miles in one day, but who cared scenery and animal life was great to view. We wouldn't leave anything off we did only wish we had more time and hope to get back for a longer trip. We did following and would highly recommend: Lake Louise, Baniff area, Ice Highway, AlCan HWY, Sign Forest,Fairbanks, Tour Bus to Artic Circle, Skagway, Fjord Express to Juneau, WhitePass RR. These are just the highlites. If you really want to do the trip justice take at least 2 to 3 months and definitely get the Milepost and take your time, slow is the name of game. We ahd no problem with campsites and never made reservations expect to call in the morning for that night if we had cell service which usually we didn't have.