I'm planning a trip to Alaska from Chicago and trying to plan my stops. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to stop? Any military people know if US Military can use Canadian Military Lodging Facilities?
QUOTE(Bryan & Gina Mallin @ Jan 21 2011, 07:36 AM) [snapback]25302[/snapback] I'm planning a trip to Alaska from Chicago and trying to plan my stops. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to stop? Any military people know if US Military can use Canadian Military Lodging Facilities? You really need to select your own stops when traveling. Some things that you would be interested in, or like to see, may not be the same as other traveling RV'ers. Additionally the fun is planning you own adventure. I am not aware that Canadian Military Facilities have RV parks, as do the US Military, but you should call ahead and ask the base if they have camping available for civilians or US Military
This site is all about helping others find places to stay. It is fun to plan your own adventure, but it is equally fun and helpful to get suggestions of things to see and for places to stay, and I hope some of our members will give you some ideas. I would, but I have no knowledge of parks in that area. Also it would be helpful if you would give a little more info about the type of park you are looking for. What size site do you need? Do you want full hookups? 50amp? You can also plan a route and then use this site to look up towns along the way. This will give you an idea of what's out there. Sounds like a great trip. Good travels.
You can also use "Campground Search" at top center of this page. With that you can see what we have on file here and use the filters to pull down a list of parks along the way up and back.
I know what you are going through. I am planning a trip from Texas to Maine for fall. As mentioned earlier in another post you can use this site to find campgrounds. I use the site to find campgrounds where I will be stopping. I figure out how far I can drive in a day. So far that has worked pretty well on my other trips. Then I posted a question for the best route to use to a certain destination. You may have better luck on feedback if you gave an idea of the route you are planning to take. For example, say Chicago going through XYZ states. I know Colorado has a military only campground around Colorado Springs, but I am assuming you probably are not going through Colorado. Remember to allow time for traffic and road construction. Learned that on my last trip. Hope this helps.
There are several places you can enter Canada going west from Chicago. You should also contact your vehicle insurance carrier to get a proof of insurance valid in Canada from them. Passports are now required. Don't know if you need it to enter but you will to return to the US. We were there before passports were required. Be sure to go on line and request a copy of the customs rules and regulations for the US and Canada. Get a good atlas decide which cities in Alaska you want to visit and then do internet searches for RV campgrounds along your route. When driving across the Dakotas you might drive 50 miles without seeing more than farm houses in the distance and fields of crops. You can find campgrounds in Canada and Alaska through internet searches. Get an Alaska Mile Post guide (I got one from Amazon.com) this is probably something you need to get before you go very far in planning. We spent a month touring (on our own) through Alaska. We found the roads to be in good condition, and had no problems with biting bugs. Be aware you should plan your visit for mid summer. By the end of August it is getting cold and September can bring snow. Forty below is common in the winter. Hope I have been of some help. Go for it, you won't regret the trip.
As a number of responders have already indicated, you need to give us a bit more information before folks can give you advice. How long do you have for this trip? If you are considering doing this in less than a month, good luck. I did this trip (from Chicago) back in 1998 and put on 11,000 miles. I left Chicago mid-June, entered Alaska 7/1, left Alaska 7/31 and got back to Chicago at the end of August. Where are you crossing the Canadian border? Ther is no sense for someone to recommend agreat park in Montana if you are crossing into Canada from Minnesota. Are you taking the "standard" Alaskan Highway route from Dawson Creek, B.C. to Alaska? If that is the case, there are only a handfull of towns (Dawson Creek, Fort Nelson, Watson Lake, Whitehorse, Dawson, YK) along that route that have RV parks with facilities. You can find most of these parks reviewed on this site. Are you going to be in Alaska at the peak of the RV season (late June through mid-August)? If so, RV parks will be at their busiest. If not, some parks and tourist attractions may not be open. I could go on, but you get the picture. You need to make some general decisions before getting into the particulars of the trip. Good luck with your planning.
