Visiting Alaska

[Charley and Donna]

Looking at our map program, it appears that you cannot get to Juneau without using the Marine Hwy ... has anyone here traveled on the Alaska Marine Hwy??

Planning a summer trip from Washington state to Juneau ... the map program says to drive to Skagway and take ferry from there.

Would it be best to leave the RV at a campground when traveling to Juneau? or take it with you? (safety/theft concerns)

any tips/advice appreciated

 

[Barb]

Visiting Alaska

We visited Juneau Alaska during the summer of 2003. It is well worth the time to visit. You can only access Juneau by water, either from Skagway or Haines. Juneau is a very "compact" type of place and it would likely be best to leave your RV in Skagway. Skagway is a beautiful place in its own right, but also very busy and the streets are narrow. There are several campgrounds.

We travelled from Haines and left our RV behind and took a one-day trip to Juneau, which included free time for lunch and shopping and a bus tour of local sites and the Mendenhall Glacier. The tour company we travelled with was Fjord Express To Juneau - http://www.alaskafjordlines.com/ We found it worthwhile and it was enough time to see and do what we wanted in Juneau. The same trip is available from Skagway. By taking the day trip, we avoided all concern about leaving our RV behind, but there really wasn't any indication that it would be unsafe to leave your RV overnight, if you so wished.

However, having said all this, if you are not planning to drive from Washington to Skagway and are taking the ferry for the whole distance, I believe you stop in Juneau. We saw Alaska marine Hwy ships while there. This site should tell you what you need to know: http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/schedres/index.html

We chose to drive as we had an extended period of time for the trip and we wanted to see all of Alaska and Yukon Territory.

Enjoy your trip to Alaska! We did!

 

[Charley and Donna]

Visiting Alaska

thanks for the tips! :laugh:

 

[dougyb]

Visiting Alaska

Don't miss Juneau...and dont leave your r v behind!!! there is and outstanding state campground with huge private sites right on mendenhall lake in the shadow of the glasier....we used the himarine highway from skagway south...skagway was way too touristy for us but haines was great!!we were there at state fair time and stayed for two weeks...if you want more info contact me ...dougyb

 

[Butch]

Visiting Alaska

This is a bit old and most likely to late, but, the best way to reach Juneau is by air. Wether by the many airlines that service the state capitol or by air taxi. Quite a few folks leave their RV's behind when taking in juneau or other cities not reachable by road. Never really heard much about theft.

 

[racinghoss]

Re: Visiting Alaska

I know I am gravedigging here, but my reply might help someone who reads this thread later.

I traveled the Marine Highway from Bellingham, WA to Seward, AK. We stopped at Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Juneau (I had a 4 day layover waiting for the next boat), Valdez and then Seward.

In my opinion, it is among the greatest things I have done in AK. I have lived in Anchorage for 3 years now. Flying in would be a waste. However, a long RV will be expensive to get on the ferry. They charge by the foot, basically. It is possible though. You can rent a stateroom on board, or you can crash in the lounges onboard. You CANNOT sleep in your RV. If you have pets, they must stay in the RV or your vehicle. You get to walk them at each stop or at least 2 times per day in the vehicle hold. You are required to clean up after them.

The trip was awesome. Fantastic scenery, and you get to behold all of it since you are not driving. It is very relaxing and well worth it. The Inside Passage has very calm waters, so seasickness (for almost all people) is nonexistant.

There are campgrouds in Juneau, but not many roads to drive on. If Juneau is your only desitination, leave the RV at home. If Juneau is just one stop on a larger adventure, then bring it along.