noahs_helper
Alabama
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I’m starting to make plans for a summer 2008 trip to Alaska with my family – my wife and I and our two kids. Our daughter will be 10 (almost 11) and our son will be 8. We’ll fly into Anchorage and rent an RV for most of the trip. Unfortunately, we’ll only have two weeks, so we want to make the most of it.
I’d appreciate any feedback on the possible itinerary below. We’re particularly concerned that this might require too much road time for the kids. What do you experts think? (By the way, this will be our first experience with an RV.)
Day 1: Fly into Anchorage
Day 2: Train to Seward, dogsled tour in afternoon
Day 3: Kenai Fjords tour
Day 4: Seward to Anchorage, pick up RV, drive to Talkeetna
Day 5: Talkeetna to Denali NP, camp at Teklanika
Days 7 & 8: Denali NP, Teklanika
Day 9: Denali NP to Denali Highway
Day 10: Denali Highway to Glennallen, flightseeing tour of Wrangell - St. Elias NP
Day 11: Glennallen to Valdez
Day 12: Columbia Glacier kayak tour
Day 13: Valdez to Anchorage
Day 14: Return home
An alternative would be to skip the Denali Highway, Glennallen, and Valdez, and spend more time at Seward, Talkeetna, and Anchorage.
I’ve been to Alaska once before, in 1992. Most of my time then was spent tent camping in Denali NP and the Talkeetna area. I’d like to share some of that experience with my family, and also visit some new places together. I know that I would enjoy all the above activities, but I have a hard time predicting what my kids will enjoy (or even endure). My wife is even more concerned about what they can tolerate. Any insight or assurances would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Ben
* This post was
edited 04/23/07 09:14pm by noahs_helper *
Ben
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pjhootch
Iowa
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Hi Ben,
I think you're right that you don't have much opportunity for "down time" built in there for the kids. My guess would be that after the train, the dogsled tour, and the fjords tour, you are asking a lot for them to endure the drive from Seward to Talkeetna while picking up the RV along the way. That drive from Seward up to Anchorage can take quite a while, depending on the day and the traffic. There are also some beautiful places to stop along the way.
Since you haven't done the rv thing before you will need some time to get the introduction at the rental place. I guarantee your first stop for the night will be long after you are ready to call it quits :-)
If your kids are into nature and good at long car rides you may have no trouble at all. Make sure you take some dramamine or something similar just in case they have trouble with motion sickness. Sometimes the rv can bring it out (riding sideways, trying to read... staring out the window even), not to mention the flightseeing tour. Nothing to make everyone miserable like a kid with a sour stomach!
P.J.
2006 Winnebago Outlook 31C
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alaskan-rver
Anchorage, AK
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Joined: 09/25/2005
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Kids that age are far more into activities than scenery. With all that driving, I hope you have something to play DVDs on to entertain the kids.
Seward and Valdez are somewhat similar in terms of activities and scenery, so you may want to pick one of the other. Also, several of your activities are extremely weather-sensitive (flightseeing, sea kayaking, Kenai Fjords tour).
In Seward, don't forget the Sea Life Center.
An alternative to a Kenai Fjords tour would be a glacier tour out of Whittier. The advantage here is that the bays are more protected, and thus should be less rolling about.
Allow yourself plenty of time to stock up in Anchorage after you pick up your rental RV.
North of Wasilla, you have Hatchers Pass (abandoned gold mine in a state park, and usually enough snow on the pass for a family summer snowball fight). Just north of Wasilla off the Parks Highway there is a miniature train track system through the woods. You straddle scaled down railcars and ride for several miles. Kids really like it, but it's usually only open on weekends.
A good family-oriented campground is the Willow Creek Resort at Willow. Lots of great fishing if they are running, and the kids can wade in the creek and throw rocks. Very popular with residents, and I don't think they advertise in the Milepost.
In Talkeetna, consider a fishing trip, jet boat tour, or flightseeing tour of Denali.
At Denali STATE Park's Byers Lake campground, you can rent canoes and kayaks and tool around in a scenic lake (much easier with kids than ocean kayaking). Also, you get better views of the mountain from here than inside Denali National Park.
While I love the Denali Highway, particularly for ATVing, there's not a whole lot for kids to do there. Furthermore, your rental contract might forbid you from going on it, as it is unpaved for something like 80 miles.
Being as you are first timers in a rental unit with kids, I wouldn't recommend Teklanika--there's not a whole lot for kids to do there, and if you forget something, there's no place to get it. Furthermore, you ride the bus on a space-available basis, which can mean having to wait an hour or more. Consider one of the campgrounds closer to the visitor center instead.
In Anchorage, visit the Alaska Native Heritage Center. Also, try to hit Anchorage on a Saturday morning for the Saturday market. They also have one on Sunday, but the Saturday one is bigger.
There's nothing to Glenallen and Paxson (at the end of the Denali Hwy).
Homer is a neat place, but it takes a day each way from Anchorage to get there.
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robanddi
Burton TX USA
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I have not done Alaska with small kids but I do tend to agree your plans are ambitious. I have camped with kids all over the US in tent, cab over, Class C and Class A. As they aged their attention spans did not necessarily increase but their interests did change. Recommend each one getting a back pack they can haul filled with whatever toys, games, activities they pick out.
Also are you taking the kids sea kayaking??? That makes me nervous but I am a worry wart. Babysitting may be easier to arrange than dog sitting but one needs to be more careful. (Although we shop and check out kennels pretty thoroughly before using.)
You might investigate (if you haven't already done so) flying into Anchorage and out of Fairbanks assuming the RV rental has drop off privileges. There are several things in Fairbanks that lend themselves to both adults and kids ... Discovery River Boat and El Dorado Gold Mine tour (which includes a little train ride).
Diann
P.S. We love Valdez but the Kenai is closer to Anchorage and has lots of activities especially around Seward and Homer. Camping next to the water allows the kids to play on the beaches, have a bonfire, see the boats and see wildlife ... eagles, otters, whales even and fish from the land.
* This post was
edited 04/24/07 06:08am by robanddi *
Robert & Diann
2001 34' Foretravel U270
2004 Avalanche
Burton TX
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PA12DRVR
Anchorage, AK
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As others have noted, the scenery is much more of an attraction for adults than for kids.
- I'd think about seasickness issues on the water portions of the trip;
- Would also think about airsickness issues: although kids don't seem to be bothered too much, if a kid is stuck in a small plane where he or she can't see out the windows very well and the air is bumpy, that causes problems.
- As noted above, you will probably be prohibited from taking your RV on the Denali highway...and, while it is some of the most spectacular scenery in the state, there's pretty much nothing for kids to do unless you stop and build fires, throw rocks, whatever.
You will see some of the better parts of the state with your itinerary.
CRL
Displaced Alaskan NO MORE!
My RV is a 1946 PA-12
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katleman
San Jose
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Heading up to Anchorage for two weeks in a RV in June, so I'll report back on what worked and what didn't (and I'll be taking notes on suggestions until then)
As to kids, I've taken trips of 5 weeks/8000 miles (2004), and 4 weeks/6000 miles (2006), with our three kids, ages for the latter was 7/10/12. Ages are just about right for a trip, old enough to enjoy it, not too old to hate it. Our trips have been to Yellowstone/Glacier/Banff and any other national park we can find in the western US, pretty much middle of no where places, so the experience I would think is similar to Alaska.
For our virgin trip in 2004, we packed a ton of DVDs, fearing they would need something to keep them busy on the road, just like our road trips in a minivan. They watched just one movie that entire 8000 mile trip, midway through the trip, and didn't ask about movies any other time. Being able to see things, spread out a bit, and play games, drawing, etc, at the table while driving does wonders. Not that we had all that much room in a 24'C, but it was enough to make travel times very pleasant. Granted, that only applies to a moterhome, not a trailer, where you're restricted to the tow vehicle.
We didn't even pack DVDs for the 2006 trip.
But do plan to do and/or see things that are of interest to the kids each day, doesn't have to be more than a couple hours. And yeah, they love water, tossing rocks, climbing, etc.
Get on the road early, stop early.
Visted via RV
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sharrlan
chino,ca
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Joined: 05/07/2004
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I am going to keep a close eye on this thread.
We are taking the entire month of July 08 for an Alaskan trip. We will have our two eldest granddaughters (12 and 13 then) along for the ride.
We keep tossing our options back and forth. Right now we are planning on taking our Starcraft 3608 tent trailer up. That may change before then, though.
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fulltime_family_RV
Alaska
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Joined: 04/10/2007
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Hi we are a full-time rv family living in Alaska. ( my husband builds bridges) There's alot to do in Alaska! You have alot of plans. Sometimes the best thing to do is to kick back and enjoy nature! Make sure you plan for some down-time. I would avoid staying in Anchorage if possible. Most of the RV places are full of drug activity. The worst one of all is Creekwood Inn- avoid it at all costs. We are here currently getting ready to pull out. I see drug deals and prostitutes all over the place. A good one that opens may first is ship creek also centennial park . That is run by the state. We are getting ready to build a bridge in Kenai area ( near Homer) I would love to meet other RV folks! - Briana, wife to Peter. Mom to 3 boys Jesse 11, Gavin 8, and Gregory 6. 
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noahs_helper
Alabama
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Joined: 11/17/2005
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Thanks everyone for the feedback so far. I suppose we do need to scale back our plans a bit.
Hatcher Pass sounds interesting, but I'm not sure about the drive to get there. From what I've read, it sounds intimidating for an RV.
Has anyone here been to the Moose Dropping Festival in Talkeetna? This sounds like it could be fun during the day, but does it get rowdy at night? That would also have us there in mid-July; otherwise, I was thinking of the latter half of June.
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dsteinman
Los Alamos, NM
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We did a similar trip to the first part a couple of years ago, but not with an RV. Our daughters were 7 and 9. The kids had a great time.
On day 4 you will probably need to stay near Anchorage. You can see our trip here http://www.steinmanhome.com/Alaska0.htm
The kids had no problem with the all day bus trip in Denali. We went in early June. A little less crowded at that time. And they especially enjoyed the Jetboat River cruise in Talkeetna.
Book things early.
David
2007 Four Winds 34H
2007 Saturn Vue
2005 Dodge Durango 5.7 Hemi
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