First Time Campers
What to bring
Your RV will be ready for you to hit the road! Check out our convenience kits to see what is already included in your rental. All you need to bring are clothing, medications, special personal items you like to have with you while traveling.
Since you may leave the RV for day tours, make sure you have a day pack with you. For roundtrip rentals you may move your clothing and items into the RV upon pick up and leave your suitcase with the rental station until your return. For one-way rentals we recommend you bring your belongings in duffel bags, as they can easily be stored in a truck camper or motorhome.
Routing
Enjoy the freedom and flexibility your home on wheels will allow. Depending on weather, you may decide short term to change your routing or start from back to front. Maybe you like a place so much, that you decide to stay a few more nights and instead leave out another loop of your planned itinerary. Since you don’t have to drive to a specific place for the night, you will most likely find that you advance at a much slower pace than initially expected. Take the time to smell the roses.
Some good general route suggestions you can find with our self-drives at https://gonorth-alaska.com/travel-center/selfdrive-tours/ Keep in mind though, that with an RV you will most likely travel at a more leisurely pace, as you tend to explore much more. Expect to add at least 30% of time to what you see suggested for a self-drive package.
Campgrounds
The Milepost is a great resource (book) with information about campgrounds. Private campgrounds tend to be more luxurious, offering full hook ups (electric, water, sewer). Most of them have websites where you can make a reservation online. Most of the time these campgrounds are within or very close to cities and villages.
Between places, out in pristine wilderness, you will find very scenic but basic Forest Service Campgrounds or Campgrounds from BLM (Bureau of Land Management) or Alaska State Parks. These campgrounds typically have toilets, but no water, no electric. www.recreation.gov is an online platform where you can find most of the forest service campgrounds. www.Reserveamerica.com lists most Alaska State Park campgrounds. BLM campgrounds typically cannot be reserved ahead of time and are walk in only. Please keep in mind that on the booking engines you usually do not find all the sites available. Oftentimes you are lucky to find a space or an overflow camping are with the bigger campgrounds.
Some basic campgrounds have a dump station, most do not. Chevron gas stations usually have a dump station, most allow free dumping. Most also have water to fill up.
An easy way to travel is to spend 1-3 nights in cheaper, scenic, basic campgrounds and then go to a full hook-up one for a night or two to stay on electric, dump, fill up water, enjoy a nice strong shower.
While private campgrounds can be as expensive as $90 if they offer full service and prime scenery, the more simple campgrounds are between $20 – $30.
Please also keep in mind that remote basic campgrounds do not have an office for check in, but instead all are self-check in. They are not set up for credit card payment. You will need cash to put in an envelope that’s dropped in a secure collection bin.
Along the roads you will also find a lot of nice pull outs. While directly at the road, they oftentimes are a good place to camp as well. You are not required to stay at a campground in Alaska and the Yukon. There are a lot of great places where you can camp, especially if you drive a truck camper, which with 4WD and high clearance is easy to maneuver on forest roads. With motorhomes you will be a bit more restricted but will generally try to not include gravel roads anyways.
The GoNorth team compiled a list of campgrounds that we personally like, and hope they will be useful suggestions for you.
Please note this list does not include all campgrounds along the way. It also only lists campgrounds along the main highways. You will find many more suggestions in The Milepost.
Click on the respective highway and you will find a pdf with suggestions
Firewood
In Alaska firewood is for sale at supermarkets, gas stations, basic campgrounds and oftentimes on private properties along the roads.
At Government of Yukon campgrounds firewood is free for campers.
Use existing fire pits, keep campfires small and thoroughly extinguish unattended fires.
Always check if there’s a fire ban in place for the area you are in before you light the fire.
And don’t forget to borrow an axe with your vehicle!
Supermarkets – Grocery stores
Please keep in mind that you should do your shopping in the larger towns, as there are no or very limited shopping facilities in the small villages or around secluded accommodations.
Well known Supermarkets at bigger locations are for example: Fred Meyers or Carrs/Safeway. In smaller communities you might find “Three Bears” or even a local favorite.
Also, don’t forget to check out the local farmer markets to get fresh vegetables and fruits.
Gas stations
In Alaska, all gas stations are self-service. Almost all require the zip code for your credit card to be entered, which only works with American cards. With all foreign credit cards you need to bring the card to the cashier, let them know up to what amount you like to be authorized to fill up, and usually leave the card with the cashier while filling your tank. You then go back to the cashier who at this point will make the final charge to your card (they may or may not put a hold on the card for the amount authorized when you bring the card in initially).
In Yukon, some gas stations are self-service, others have an attendant gassing up for you.
Driving an RV
You will love exploring Alaska and the Yukon with your own home on wheels. Road lanes in Alaska are wide and so are parking spaces, oftentimes you will find designated parking fields for Motorhomes. And to be honest – once you leave Anchorage there is not too much traffic.
But you should always be prepared for road users of a different kind – such as a moose that steps out of the bushes onto the road.
Truck Campers are easy to navigate and fit almost everywhere. With the high clearance and 4WD if necessary, they are perfect for Gravel roads. Motorhomes on the other hand are recommended on paved roads.