Driving from Anchorage to Homer in late March ?
 

Hi,... I'm heading to Homer Alaska in late March 2018 to see and photograph Eagles. I'm not too fond of travelling in small planes, so am considering driving the leg from Anchorage to Homer. So, I'm wondering if anyone here that might have done the drive before in late March could give me some hints on what the road conditions would typically be like on the drive from Anchorage to Homer that time of year. I am thinking of leaving first thing in the morning, and giving myself the entire day for the drive. (Note, I'm from Canada, and am a well-seasoned driver in all sorts of winter conditions.)

Thx. Alfred.

I thought there would be some answers by now and keep forgetting to ask our son who used to live in Kenai. You can google about avalanche conditions along the Seward Highway. They do avalanche prevention but it looks like sometimes there are delays because of snow across the highway.

The commuter flight between Anchorage an Kenai is fine. The plane we took wasn't that small. Homer is further south and also has an airport but I didn't check about size of planes. Our luggage was transferred to commuter plane in Anchorage just like any big airport. I think it's 3 hours from Anchorage to Kenai/Soldotna so figure on lunch in that area. Soldotna is a large suburban type city. Then there's not much until you get to Homer which is another 2 hours (I think).

We drove an old Buick around in the summer but I would definitely rent AWD or 4 wheel drive that time of year. Since you are Canadian you understand that some days you just stay off the roads. You'll be driving in the dark or dusk and you'll have to be cautious of animals. I've had a couple of near misses with deer crossing a highway so I'm not sure I would attempt that drive. It's too far and too dark.

March is a transitional time, but by the end of March you ought to be okay driving. I'd probably try to time the drive during daylight hours in case the weather's clear and things ice up overnight. Obviously you're going to have to play this by ear to some degree. Keep an eye on road conditions here: http://511.alaska.gov/alaska511/mappingcomponent/index

For what it's worth, Ravn flies Dash-8s to Homer; the flight takes 40 minutes; in March the round trip is $218 and would save you at least a full day of car rental cost from Anchorage. Picture: https://cdn.jetphotos.com/full/6/39643_1482662085.jpg . There are rental cars available at Homer.