The Epic Alaska and Arctic Ocean Road Trip 2019

I’m excited to announce the plans of my longest road trip yet – to the Arctic Ocean, including Washington, British Columbia, Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Alaska!  It’s my first trip to Alaska so I’m super excited to visit the vast wilderness.

A rough map of my route (excluding a few shorter detours and backtracking I will need to do), I will be putting 9,000 on my camping van.

Alaska Road Trip
The grand plan – Source: Google Maps

These plans are subject to change, but right now the plan includes:

  • A small town rodeo and camping in Williams Lake, BC
  • Celebrating Canada Day in the location of the very first Canada Day
  • Celebrating the 4th of July in the quirky Alaska town that is closest to the continental USA to witness their 4th of July parade, glaciers, and bears
  • Swinging back south to spend a few days in Prince Rupert, Canada with a trip to a Grizzly Bear wilderness and maybe even some sea fishing.  I’ll hopefully get to meet a few friends I made at the Fountain of Youth in California
  • Drive the Cassiar Highway
  • On to Dawson City for a sourtoe cocktail and watch the dancing cancan girls. 
  • Embark on the most challenging part of my trip… a journey up the Dempster Highway to cross the Arctic Circle and go to the Arctic Ocean
  • Craft making and watching Inuit arts, musicians, and athletes at the Great Northern Arts Festival
  • Drive up and spend a night on the Arctic Ocean in Tuktoyaktuk, a village that only connected by road to the rest of Canada in late 2017.
  • Hike to a glacier or two.
  • Take a whole day boat trip to see whales and glaciers in Kenai Fjords National Park
  • Search for wildlife including bald eagles, bears, and salmon.
  • Take a trip into Denali national park to see the tallest mountain in North America
  • See some sights in Fairbanks and North Pole, Alaska
  • Driving up the Dalton highway, crossing the Arctic Circle for a second time.
  • Hopefully see caribou and musk ox in the Arctic. 
  • Sleeping at a man’s camp in Prudhoe Bay. 
  • See some waterfalls.
  • Do some kayaking. 
  • Maybe see the Northern Lights – may not be possible due to twilight. If I do see them, it will be toward the end of the trip. I saw them once in Canada in late August, so hopeful for this trip too.
  • Travel south on the Al-Can Highway, stopping to see the signs in Watson and stop at a famous natural hot springs.

Watch this page, where I will like to the blog posts for the various activities above!