Hey AK Jeepers, I'm planning a trip for this summer that should get me to Alaska around late June/Early July hopefully. I figure I can't drive all the way to AK from TX and not try to find at least one place to go out with the Jeep. I have no idea if there are OHV parks up there or if the whole state is like an OHV park :p Either way, was hoping to get some suggestions for a day somewhere between/around Chicken to Anchorage to Haines. I'll also spend a few days in Juneau as well.

Thanks for any tips on where to plan a day!

 

I'm a little confused.....you say....."you can't drive all the way to AK from TX and not try to find at least one place to go out with the Jeep." Then say.... "I'll also spend a few days in Juneau as well." How are you getting up here? You do know you can't drive to Juneau don't you?

Anyway, if you are driving the AlCan and not taking the ferry, you might want to consider taking a few extra days to do a little wheelin' while in Canada. The AlCan is a long haul and there are trails that lead off of it. Some go for no more than a few hundred yards and some go for miles. You just have to go slow and look for them. Just something to think about.

 

When I drove up from El Paso I went through Moab, Utah. If I wasn't on such a strict time table (El Paso to Anchorage in 4.5 days) I would have played around more. Depending on your route, and time table, there is plenty to see and do.

Bit of advice; avoid Sweetwater. Montana is a beautiful state, smells wonderful, but Sweetwater is a dump. I had to spend the night there because I was worn out from driving.

Also, 60% of Alaska is marsh or mountains. It's difficult to find a good trail that isn't filled with silt. They're out there, I find them when I go camping, just not like Moab or anything.

 

I plan to drive north from Dallas through to North Dakota then into Saskatchewan and Alberta. From Edmonton I'll be heading into BC and Yukon, then up to Inuvik, NWT before I actually get into Alaska. I'll be driving the whole way and then into the triangle of Chicken->Anchorage and back from Anchorage->Haines. From Haines I'll be taking the ferry to Juneau then after a few days in Juneau I'll take the ferry down to Bellingham, WA. Then from there I head back home to Dallas.

Right now I'm looking at a 6 week trip but have about a week of that to play around with and figure out where I want to stay still. I figured I'd adjust stays somewhere to allow me a day to just have some fun offroading I've got family in Edmonton that I'll visit and may take an extra day wheeling there to break up the long trek some more.

 

Ok....I understand now. Luckily for you there are more places to wheel up around Anchorage than down here on the Kenai. I'm sure if you keep in touch with the guys up there, somebody will be glad to take you out for a day.

Have a great trip...!!!

PS....When you are dropping down into the Anchorage basin, there is a place called Gun Site Mt. From what I hear it has a pretty good trail. You might google it.

 

Sounds like an epic road trip! Make sure to get the latest copy of a book called The Milepost. Well worth the 20 bucks.

 

It should be a trip of a lifetime I hope I'm actually waiting for the new Milepost to come out, says March 20th I believe it is. I've heard great things! My biggest worry of the whole trip is the fuel stops I'll be able to make. Getting that whopping 15mpg doesn't reassure me that I'll do well in the mountains and may get less. I'll have by then the AEV 10gal fuel carrier to help ease my mind, give me an extra 50% fuel in case I run low is a good thing! Also not sure if I'll lose much when the front bumper/winch goes on, lots of extra weight there but I'll take it so I can try to get myself out of trouble should something unexpected happen.

 

I was thinking I'd take a day and drive down to Kenai somewhere, maybe Cooper Landing or Moose something I think it was. Not sure yet but one of the guys here at Screamin Lizard said he used to live in Anchorage and recommended Cooper Landing. He also recommended Chicken hahaha If for no other reason than I'll have visited a place called Chicken, I have to go there and get a beer too!

 

Moose Pass I believe is what you meant and this is approximately 10 hours and about 500 miles from Chicken. The Kenai Peninsula is a pretty fun place though in the summer if you like fishing and/or just sight seeing.

 

Yeah....I was gonna say....Chicken is a LONG ways out of your way if you plan on coming down to the Kenai. If you're looking for some wheeling, there really isn't any around the Cooper Landing, Moose Pass area. Just south of Moose Pass there is a trail you can take up to a mine. I remember it being some decent wheeling as the truck we were in only made it up so far before we had to turn back. Other than that most everything is blocked off.

Coming down to the Kenai, is nice if only just for the trip from Anchorage. It is one of the most beautiful trips there is in south central AK.

Edit: Oh and btw....Don't worry about finding gas, there are plenty of stations open along the way during that time of year. It's just that if you stop at all of the little places for gas, you'll end up paying considerably more. Your extra 10 gals will come in handy for that reason, but not a necessity.