Advice needed - Alaska by RV - 7 nights
 

We are a family of four; the kids are ages 3 and almost 6. We fly into Anchorage July 3rd and fly out July 12th. I am seeking advice on campgrounds. I understand it is not necessary to book in advance, but I would like to make some reservations anyway to avoid stress when we get there. We are thinking of limiting the amount of times that we change campgrounds to avoid having to waste time on checking and out and hooking up. Does that seem to make sense? Which campgrounds do you recommend that have some activities for the kids (a lake, a playground), a nice view, maybe an on site restaurant, and a camping, natural, feel.

We rent a small RV on July 5th and return it on July 12th. I was planning an itinerary along the lines of this:

July 3: arrive at night - Anchorage hotel
July 4: Anchorage (stay in either airport hotel or midtown or downtown?

Do I need a car in Anchorage or are taxis or hotel shuttles a possibility? We would like to see either the Zoo or the Heritage Center and spend some time at the July 4th festival downtown.

July 5: Talkeetna
July 6: Byers Lake or Denali NP
July 7: Byers Lake or Denali

At Denali, should I stay in the National Park campground or somewhere else? Do I need to book a tour for the bus ride of Denali or just get a schedule when I get there?

July 8: Girdwood - should we stay in Girdwood or just stop during the day and then continue on to sleep in Seward?
July 9: Seward/ Kenai Peninsula
July 10: Seward/ Kenai Peninsula
July 11: Seward/ Kenai Peninsula
July 12: Return to Anchorage for flight out at night

Once parked at a campground, for example, if I stayed at a Seward campground, is it easy to get around the city without using the RV to leave the camp site? Can I see much of the peninsula if I stayed in one campground? Would you recommend an overnight in Girdwood or a day stop and then continue on to camp/park in Seward?

I am new at this! Never RVed before.

The Alaska Railroad is on my bucket list. http://alaskarailroad.com/travel/Tra...5/Default.aspx
You may find that renting an RV which you may end up hating is more expensive than renting a car and staying in motels.
The railroad does have a stop near the entrance of Denali with some type of bus service from there.

I think you need to put some more thought into this idea. You are trying to get the best of 2 types of travel - parking your RV for several days at a time to have a home base; and being mobile to be able to tour Kenai Peninsula, area up to and including Denali.

I will admit to only 1 RV trip ever - but if you want to go anywhere, the downside is that you have to haul it with you. But that eliminates one of your goals - which is to avoid multiple set-up, hook-up of RV. You can not get around Kenai Peninsula effectively without a vehicle.

When we were at Denali, reservations for the bus and/or tours was necessary. And it would have been an unpleasant experience for children the ages of yours.

I suggest you first price a rental car and hotel versus all costs associated with RV. And go from there to thinking what style trip you want - because an RV is partly cost but also vacation style.

The drive from Denali to Girdwood or Seward is very long.
It's not easy to get around the KP. There's only one road from Seward to Kenai/Soldotna and then Homer. If you want to see those other places in addition to Seward, you should consider camping in another spot on the other side of the peninsula. I would vote for Homer. You will also need to check roads around Homer. For example, there is a terrific view from the Skyline Drive overlooking Homer but the route we took from town was not RV friendly, lots of switchbacks but I think you could drive from the other direction. However the view as you approach town from the rest area is beautiful.

The Anchorage 4th of July should be fun but when we visited AK in 2004, we went to the 4th of July in Kenai and then over to the Girdwood Forest Fair (craft fair, music, food vendors). You might check to see if the Forest Fair dates and activities might be a good event for your family and reverse your itinerary to do Denali afterward. There is a campground near Kenai, very basic (no hookups).

Check with the RV company about how long you can expect to "boondoggle" - go without hookups. You might be able to go two nights if you conserve generator, propane and water so you could spend a night or two in a basic campground without hookups. Keep in mind that 4th of July is a very popular weekend so locals will be camping as well as tourists.

I think the Seward campground is in a great location to town but if it's the one we saw, it's pretty much a parking lot on the water. Check to see if there is anything like a playground for little ones. The campgrounds may be more rustic than you want.

I think Seward is beautiful but they also have a big event around 4th of July (marathon race) so I would avoid it that weekend. Kenai and Soldotna are more suburban like towns (stores and restaurants, large residential areas). I liked the visitors center in Kenai and I recall that they had some activities. Also a nice library (see if they have story times for children).

We used to pull a camper because it was easier than a motorhome but when we visited AK we used hotels and B&Bs. Also look at your driving distances and keep in mind that once north of Wasilla heading to Denali/Talkeetna, there's very little in the way of restaurants and gas stations. You would be wise to always be ready to do lunch on the road with what you have stocked in the rv.

Get a copy of The Milepost.
http://www.themilepost.com/
It's a guidebook covering all of Alaska, the highways, campgrounds, rest stops, side trips, hikes, etc.
We did a week RV trip from Anchorage to Denali a number of years ago. The book was valuable for the trip.

The Alaska Railroad is extremely expensive and far slower than driving. Check the other comments on this board - the distillation is that the trip from Anchorage to Seward is scenic (it tracks the roadway for most of the trip and that is a fine road to drive), from Anchorage to Denali is not.

Our kids were 4+ and 6.5 last year and we rented an apartment in Seward, stayed at a B&B in Homer and Anchorage, skipped Denali because of the immense hassle. Anchorage is VERY spread out.

Your decision to avoid Seward on July 4 weekend is correct - the locals actually think that the marathon is a reason to jack up lodging prices as if it's New Year's in NYC.

We did almost this same trip, several years ago with our 3 children. We had never camped in an RV before, and it was a wonderful experience!

We stayed the first night at a Marriott, I think, using points. Then we got the RV.

I totally agree that purchasing the Milepost magazine is essential to your trip. It actually shows you every single mild on the highway and which campgrounds are there. We did not reserve any ahead of time and we were fine.

We spent one night just outside of Anchorage after we went to the Alaska Native Heritage Center. I think your kids would love to visit there. Then we drove toward Talkeetna, spent some time there, then drove toward Denali. We camped right outside Denali at a place we just called "The Moon," because it looked like how we imagined the moon's surface would look.

The next day we went on our (reserved) school bus trip in Denali. This trip was much less expensive than the official tour, and the only difference is that you have to provide your own lunch if you use the school busses. We had a great time there and saw grizzlies, caribou, moose, mountain goats, etc.

The next day we drove back toward Anchorage and stayed at a camping ground overnight (can't remember the name). The next day we drove toward Seward. We stayed in Seward for 3 nights, and I believe we were able to walk to several restaurants and also to the aquarium there. We also took a day cruise from Seward and loved it.

We drove the RV to see the glacier, but RV parking is everywhere.

We went to a Wal-Mart early in the trip to get some supplies, including a small, cheap grill and some food to grill. We used that grill for several dinners at the campground. We actually ran over it (accidentally!) after we had used the grill for the last night. Oops. :) In Seward we ate ate several nice restaurants.

Once I get home and look at my papers from there, I could give you more exact names, if you want.

Be sure to take lots of mosquito repellant! :)

Samsaf, How old were your children at the time?

Did they do okay on the bus ride and on the boat tour out of Seward?

Did you do dry camping or more full service hookups (I am new to the lingo!)

If you have specific names and recommendations, that would be great.

What month did you go? I am afraid to not have reservations at campgrounds in July.

Did you find it was best to stay put in just a couple of campgrounds throughout the length of the trip rather than moving about every couple of nights?

Bigruss - "immense hassle of Denali" - are you referring to the bus ride and hoardes of tourists?

Yes, purposely avoiding the Seward mountain, but toying with reversing to be able to hit the Girdwood festival on July 5th, as Dfrostnh. I think we are going to miss Homer due to the distance. I believe we need to choose between Homer and Denali, because we only have the week.

Thanks to everyone who responded to this post.

Hi, mooninjuly. Our kids were teenagers when we went, but I think younger kids would be okay. The day we went out on the boat trip, the sea was as smooth as glass, they kept telling us. The aquarium would also be great for the ages of your kids -- even my teenagers liked it!

Our son brought along a fishing pole, and we did fish a little bit, but at the time we didn't know about all the restrictions and regulations Alaska has about fishing. If you are going to do that, you ought to look up that info before you go.

We mostly had full-service hookup campsites, but since we had never done this before, we used the showers at most of the camps. I believe the campsite at Seward was not a full-service campsite, and we used our shower in the RV while we were there. We did use the bathroom in the RV the whole time, though. My husband had a grand ole time emptying that drain -- NOT! :) (The night that he was backing up and moving the RV to get close enough to hook up to the drain was the night he accidentally ran over our still smoking-hot grill. I'm sure we were quite the sight for the more experienced campers. :)

We went in June, during the first part of tourist season. I think July is more crowded.

We stayed at 5 sites altogether: 1 night, 1 night, 1 night, 1 night, then 3 nights. This seemed fine to us, because we weren't unpacking each day, just driving some. It was so beautiful to just drive through Alaska that even that part was fun for us. And the pictures we took really did not do justice to the beauty we saw. It is so incredible!

The Milepost Magazine Edition 2015 will be the best thing you can get to prepare for your trip. Since campgrounds can change or go out of business from year to year, I would rely on Milestone as much as on anyone's recommendations. I believe you can order it from Amazon. Just be sure to get the 2015 edition.

Since you have young children, consider this.
North Pole, Alaska (a town outside of Fairbanks) is about 2 hrs away from Denali. It's got the "real" Santa who lives there and could be fun for your kids.
Also in Fairbanks is a place where you can "mine for gold".
We did these with our kids who were 8 and 11 at the time and they loved it. We camped in Fairbanks overnight before heading back and were there in time to see some the beginning of the Northern lights in mid-August.

So you would recommend Fairbanks in conjunction with Denali and instead of Seward?

Has anyone been to lake Eklutna?