Below we share our route and a side trip off the Alaska Highway that we highly recommend. On this amazing North America road trip, you will travel through BC and into the Yukon Territory.
Map of the Alaska Highway
Roads: Be prepared that there is frost heave on many roads and construction on the Alaska Highway somewhere, pretty much all summer. But don’t let this stop you from taking the trip!
Our setup: Family of 6 (Dad, Mom, 15, 13, 13 and 11 year old) in a Keystone Arcadia 248SLRE 5th wheel being towed by a Ford F350.
Animals: Look for bears, moose, bison, stone sheep, deer, and maybe even a lynx.
Here is an article about all of the highways in Dawson Creek you can take to get to the start of the Alaska Highway.
Here is what we did on our trip on the Alaska Highway to get to Alaska.
Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson
@crazyfamilyadventure Next up we head out on the Alaska Highway! We kicked it off with a stop at the official Alaska Highway sign in Dawson Creek and made our way to Fort Nelson for the night were we came across some pretty heavy smoke from the wildfires. From there we headed back on the road and made a stop at the Tetsa River Lodge for the Cinnamon Rolls – yum!! And made a stop at the gorgeous Muncho Lake before getting to our campsite at Laird Hot Springs. We also saw a bunch of animals and beautiful scenery along the way. The Alaska Highway is LONG but it is beautiful!! RV: @Keystone RV Company Arcadia 248SLRE #keystonerv #campbetter #keystonearcadia #krvbrandambassador #alaskahighway #gorving #rvfamily #rvtrip #rving #5thwheel ♬ original sound – CrazyFamilyAdventure
We stopped for the night in Dawson Creek BC – where the Alaska Highway officially starts after leaving Jasper National Park .
Campground: Mile 0 Campground
Reservation: No – called on our way there and they had availability.
Date stayed: June 1st
The campground was fine – nothing fancy but full hookups and laundry, and our Starlink worked here, so it was all good. We headed to the Alaska Highway Sign in the morning and got multiple pictures and videos!
Mile 0 Alaska Highway Sign and Visitor Center
There is plenty of room to pull a trailer/RV into here, and people are always coming and taking pictures.
There is also a visitor center where we got some stickers and checked out the local travel guide brochures.
Drive from Dawson Creek To Fort Nelson
After that, we made sure we were filled up on gas, and we were on our way on the first stretch of the Alaska Highway. Our plan was to get to Fort Nelson today (you could plan a stop at Fort St John, too, if you would like.).
Road we took: Alaska Highway
Road condition: Fine. 2 lane highway with a big shoulder. Passing lanes every so often. Not many gas stops – so fill up when you see one.
Overall: Some 10 and 9% grades but manageable. We did hit wildfire smoke for a good hour.
Cell: Verizon coverage was on and off. But more on than I thought it would be.
Animals spotted: We saw 1 Bear and 1 coyote. My sister saw 3 bears. And another driver they talked to saw 7 bears in total.
Scenery: It was beautiful, but not the Icefield Parkway. You don’t see much of the mountains.
Fort Nelson to Laird Hot Springs
@crazyfamilyadventure Everyone we talked to said you have to stop at Laird Hot Springs in BC, Canada when you are driving the Alaska Highway. I am glad we listened. When we were planning our Alaska route we decided to book a campsite at the Laird Hot Springs and I am glad we did. When we got there the campground was totally full. You can park in the overflow lot across the street but it was really nice to have a campsite in the park – even though there weren’t any hook ups. From our campsite it was a 10 minute walk to the hot springs and they were fabulous!! You can visit the hot springs if you aren’t camping or staying the night too. Which I know some people come and just stop for a few hours before moving on for the day. In my opinion it is worth staying the night if that fits within your schedule. #lairdhotsprings #hotsprings #explorecanada #rvtravel #rving #travelwithkids ♬ original sound – CrazyFamilyAdventure
When we arrived in Fort Nelson, we stayed at the Triple G Hideaway campground, which was great! There was a ton of smoke when we were about an hour out of Fort Nelson, so be prepared for that.
Campground: Triple G Hideaway
Reservation: No – called on our way there and they had availability.
Date stayed: June 2nd
When we pulled into Fort Nelson, we stopped first thing to get gas and, from there, headed to the campground.
You just pull in, stop in front of the building, and go in to check-in. They were quick and efficient and got us set up with our site.
After that, I got some loonies – they take US dollars for an even exchange – which the rate is not even right now – but I needed loonies for laundry, so that is what it is. And I did a couple of loads of laundry.
They had multiple washers and dryers. But the dryer did take two cycles to dry the clothes.
After that, we made dinner – they do have a restaurant on-site if you prefer not to cook.
After dinner, we headed in to get the kids ice cream. They were generous scoops in a waffle cone and had 20 different flavors to choose from.
We also explored the gift shops (they have multiple small gift shop huts on the property) before heading in when the mosquitos got too bad to hang out outside.
The next day, we headed out to Laird Hot Springs (we did have a reservation for the campground here. If we didn’t, they have an overflow lot you can boondock at – I believe you do pay for it?).
NOTE: Download your GPS before you leave!
Drive From Fort Nelson To Laird Hot Springs
Campground: Laird Hot Springs
Reservation: Yes – months before we went.
Date stayed: June 3rd
This part of the drive is gorgeous!!! You are entering back into the Rockies, and it is beautiful. But be prepared; it is also like a roller coaster ride of up and down and winding roads.
Stop 1: Tetsa River Lodge
Come hungry and with money when you stop here! Also, don’t miss it. Our downloaded GPS had us driving right past it. There are multiple signs, and you will see the cinnamon roll sign, too.
There is a campground here and spots to just pull over and park. We parked to the right when we pulled in before the campground and headed in to find out about the cinnamon rolls.
She said she only had five left, and with my sister and her family coming up in a few minutes, I grabbed all five! Someone else did come in after that asking for some, and she said her next batch would be done in 37 minutes.
In other words, she is cooking cinnamon rolls all day – so you shouldn’t have a problem getting one, but you may have to wait a few minutes for yours.
She gave us ours, which were still warm, and we headed to the picnic table to enjoy them. They were delicious! We each had half of one and could have easily finished a whole one, even though they were big.
There is also a variety of local meat that her husband prepares that you can buy. We got beef sticks, salami, Canadian bacon, and Italian sausages.
The Cinnamon Rolls were $7 Canadian each, and the meat was more expensive. The Canadian Bacon we got was $21, the meat sticks were $18, and the four sausages were about $32. But everything we had was delicious!!
They also have soup and coffee that you can get here. Plus gas if you need it.
Stop 2: Muncho Lake
For this part of the drive, you drive along a river, and then reach Muncho Lake, which is that unreal blue color water!! They have a few first come first serve campgrounds here – which at about 2 pm looked pretty filled up.
We stopped at a pull-off to grab some pictures before heading out again to our reservations at Laird Hot Springs.
Stop 3: Laird Hot Springs
The campground at Laird Hot Springs was really nice. A massive fence surrounds the whole campground to keep the animals out. This also means it is locked at night. Make sure to check the times so you know when you have to get there!
The campground has no hookups. But from your site, you can walk to the hot springs, and they are gorgeous. Being in the campground makes it very easy to walk over there and visit them multiple times before you leave.
This part of the drive was our favorite so far!! Every turn seemed to get more beautiful!!
Road we took: Alaska Highway
Road condition: Fine. 2 lane highway with a big shoulder. Passing lanes every so often. Not many gas stops – so fill up when you see one. Lots of up and down and winding through the mountains. Craig called it a roller coaster!
Overall: Some 8 and 9% grades but manageable. Some rough gravel and washboard sections by the Tetsa River Lodge for a couple of miles. Other sections where the road had batches of graveling spots – you could go around them in the other lane if there wasn’t traffic coming.
Cell: No coverage once we left Fort Nelson.
Animals spotted: We saw 2 Bears, 1 Caribou, 1 Moose, a few deer and 1 lynx on the side of the road that Craig saw.
Stops made: Tetsa River Lodge, ToadRiver to get gas , Muncho Lake pull-off for pictures.
Scenery: Was a beautiful drive through the mountains and along rivers and lakes!
Laird Hot Springs – Whitehorse
Campground: Caribou RV Park
Reservation: No called on our way there
Date stayed: June 4th
This was a long drive that originally we thought we would break up but both Craig and Jake said let’s go for it so we drove all day to get to Whitehorse.
It rained almost the whole time – which was good for the area since there have been a lot of wildfires. But not that fun to drive in.
It was another beautiful drive – not as mountainous as the previous day but still beautiful!
Stop: Signpost Forest
We had heard this was another must do on the Alaska Highway! We had bought a piece of wood at Menards before we left and since we were scrambling to get everything ready to go we just grabbed some permanent markers and wrote Crazy Family Adventure 2023 and our names on it.
When we got to the Sign Forest – just off of Hwy 1 it was pouring rain! We grabbed our umbrellas and headed out to check out the signs and find a place to put ours.
Craig had his drill and some screws so we found a spot and added our sign and grabbed a few pictures! Megan and her family did the same and we were on our way.
There were so many signs! It was fun to read all the different ones and see where people were coming from. It was also cool to see how some people used whatever they could – a shoe or a bin top or even a kids training toilet to leave their mark in the sign forest!
@crazyfamilyadventure The Sign Post Forest in Watson Lake, Yukon, Canada is a must do when on the Alaska Highway! We knew we were going to stop so we had bought some wood at Menards back in Kenosha and created our sign using permanent markers – we will see if it holds up :)! It was pouring rain when we got there but we got out and found one of the few open spots where we could put our sign and my sister and her family could put theirs. If you are ever stop at the Sign Post Forest let us know if you see our sign! It was right across the bridge by the stage. #signpostforest #alaskahighway ♬ original sound – CrazyFamilyAdventure
There is a gas station right across the street and a big parking lot in 2 different places so parking the RV wasn’t a problem.
You may also want to stop at the George Johnston Museum in Teslin if you have extra time.
Road we took: Alaska Highway
Road Condition: Fine. 2 lane highway with a big shoulder. Passing lanes every so often. Not many gas stops – so fill up when you see one. Lots of up and down and winding through the mountains.
Overall: Same 8 to 9% grades with some spots of gravel – that you could normally go around if no one was in the other lane.
Scenery: It was a beautiful drive through forests and mountains.
Cell: No Verizon coverage for most of the time.
Animals spotted: Multiple bison – there are signs all around warning about them and 2 bears.
Whitehorse to Dawson City
We made a last minute decision to head to Dawson City. We figured when we were here why not! Before going we called to make sure there was somewhere to stay and head off the Alaska Highway to make a stop in Dawson City.
We are so glad we added this stop to our trip. Dawson City is a unique place and is definitely somewhere you should visit at least once in your life!
https://www.tiktok.com/@crazyfamilyadventure/video/7246865313713769771?lang=en
Campground: Gold Rush Campground
Reservation: No, we called a couple days before we headed that way.
Date stayed: June 5th – June 7th
This was another beautiful drive but there were a lot of potholes and construction that had us driving on a completely dirt road. It was a long drive day from Whitehorse – on Google maps it said 6 hours but it took us closer to 8 hours.
Road Condition: Questionable. We hit a couple potholes and Craig spent the majority of the drive super focused on not hitting anymore!
Overall: It was a beautiful and long drive but not an easy drive.
Stops made: We stopped to get gas and one extra time to go to the bathroom.
Scenery: Beautiful!! At one point we could see the huge snow covered mountains in the distance past a beautiful green forest.
Cell: Pretty much no service – once in a while it would work but nothing consistent unless we were passing through one of the small towns.
Animals spotted: A couple bears including one that stopped on the side of the road and basically looked both ways before crossing the street right in front of us. It was like he knew to look for cars! We also saw a beautifully colored fox.
Dawson City – Tok
Top Of The World Highway
Campground: Tok RV Village Campground
Reservation: No called a couple days before we headed that way.
Date stayed: June 7th – June 9th
This was a fun one and a bit nerve wrecking! The trip starts by taking the ferry across the Yukon River in Dawson City. The ferry is part of the Canada Highway Department so it is free and runs 24 hours a day. And yes RV’s can go on it!
@crazyfamilyadventure Dawson City to Tok, Alaska via the Top Of The World Highway It was time to head to Alaska! This meant driving our RV onto a Ferry to be ferried across the river in Dawson City to get to the Top of the World Highway. The Ferry is free and run by the Canadian Highway department. There was a decent line and it took us a couple hours to get across and for Megan and Jake to get across. So if you are planning to cross around 11am when most RV parks have check out be ready to wait. We drove onto the Ferry had a quick ride across and off we went on the Top of the World Highway. There is a sign as you are entering the highway that says drive at your own risk since the road isn’t maintained past this point. It was definitely scary at times without any guardrails or shoulder and a straight drop down but it was gorgeous! It is a dirt road and was pretty smooth for the most part. We definitely had some elevation gains and loses – no signs telling you the percentage but right before we reached the US border there was a large hill up that from a distance I assumed we wouldn’t be going on. But we did! We made it to the remote border crossing at The Poker Creek-Little Gold Creek border crossing. There is nothing around you and all of a sudden there is the border crossing! We got our passports checked, answered a few questions and we were good to go. Right up the road was the Alaska sign so we stopped to grab some pictures before continuing on the Top of the World Highway. A lot of people drive this route each year with small rigs to big rigs. It is doable when the border is open (always check that – it is NOT open all year). But is also not for the feint of heart! We continued the drive on some paved roads and a lot of dirt roads with pretty much no cell signal the whole time. Until we made it back on the Alaska Highway and stopped at a super expensive but nice full hookup site in Tok, Alaska where we planned to stay to just relax for a few days. We made it to Alaska!! We can’t wait to get out and start exploring!! Follow @crazyfamilyadventure!! RV: @KeystoneRV Arcadia 248SLRE #keystonerv #campbetter #keystonearcadia #brandambassador ♬ original sound – CrazyFamilyAdventure
What we didn’t realize is that we would be waiting in line for over an hour to get on the ferry. Due to the amount of people trying to cross at about 11:30 and the size of the ferry. It was taking 2 maybe 3 RV’s over at a time. Plus there were regular cars and work trucks that needed to get across.
By the time we got across and Megan and Jake did it had been 2 hours. With that we took off on our adventure on the Top Of The World Highway from Dawson City to Tok.
During this trip we would also be crossing the border back into the US and into Alaska! This meant we had to be sure to get to the border crossing while it was open.
We assumed we would have plenty of time before we had the 2 hour wait. But it still seemed like it would be fine so off we went.
The Top Of The World highway has a sign right before you get on it that says: Road is not maintained – travel at your own risk. Well there you go.
We knew going into it what to expect and it was just that. There were no guardrails or shoulder and we were way up in the mountains. Basically driving on the side of the mountain with our RV. Even with a car it would be a bit scary but with an RV it was even more so!
We took our time and Craig did a great job navigating the roads and the grades – the grades weren’t labeled and I think we hit a few that were at least 10% and on gravel. There is also a large climb right before you reach the border crossing.
The views pretty much the whole time are unreal. You are basically on top of the mountain just looking out over miles and miles of mountains and forest.
We made it to the border crossing and it was a quick passport check and a few questions and we were on our way. There was no wait and everything was really easy.
1st Part Of The Tip: Top Of The World Highway
Road Conditions: The road was paved for a while and became not paved. As mentioned above no guardrails or shoulder on the road. There were a lot of dips and bumps and pot holes along the way. But the views were unreal!!
Overall: If you are prepared, know what you are getting into and feel confident in your ability to drive your RV you can do it. Note: I would 100% not recommend in snow or heavy rain.
Stops made: We stopped to take in the view and for bathroom breaks a few times.
Scenery: Beautiful!! You really do feel like you are on top of the world!
Cell: I forgot to note this but I am going to assume we may have gotten a little bit of service here and there since we were so high up and it was wide open space all around us.
Animals spotted: None – besides birds.
Stop: Welcome To Alaska Sign
There is room to pull over with your RV to take a picture by the Welcome To Alaska Sign. Just don’t miss it or it will be hard to turn around!
2 Part Of The Trip: Top Of The World Highway To Tok
Right past the border crossing is the Welcome To Alaska sign so we stopped there to grab some pictures. Don’t miss it! We made it to Alaska!
On the way we stopped at the community of Chicken Alaska – but the gas was all locked up and no one came out so we just took a quick bathroom break and kept going.
We had about 77 miles to go to get to Tok. The road continued to be paved in most spots with lots of dips and pot holes.
