Driving the Alaska Highway from its start in Dawson Creek, British Columbia to its termination in Alaska is a bucket list item for many RVers. We’ve had plans to make this epic journey since 2019 when we bought our first camper but the COVID pandemic closed the Canadian border for the last two years. Finally, 2022 was our year! In spite of crazy high diesel prices, we’re doing this!

From Jasper we headed north, stopped in Grande Prairie for provisions (Costco!) and finally made our way to the official start of the highway at Mile 0 in Dawson Creek. The first stop is the big sign that marks to beginning of the journey and a photo stop is required!

We also enjoyed poking around the adjacent museum to learn more about the history of the road.

When Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941, it was clear that a military supply road between the lower 48 and Alaska was necessary to defend the United States against the Japanese. The 1,523 mile highway took eight months and 12 days to build at a cost of $140 million. In that short time 11,000 American troops and 16,000 civilian workers built 133 major bridges, 8,000 culverts with over 7,000 pieces of machinery. The speed at which the road was built, considering the rough terrain, is one of our country’s greatest achievements. 

We took our time along the way, traveling less than 200 miles in a day. Some days we stopped at full hook up campgrounds and other days we stopped at no-frills, yet beautiful provincial park campgrounds. At Buckinghorse River Wayside Provincial Park we camped on the banks of the river, so close that the guys could fish right out our back door. They didn’t catch anything but they enjoyed the challenge.

We are a bit early in the season for traveling the ALCAN. We’ve hit all kinds of weather along the way and the rivers and lakes are still frozen in many places. While that put a damper on the fishing and exploring, it just added to the beauty of the area. We’re also at the peak of road repair season.

In Fort Nelson we just happened to cross paths with our friends Christine and Paul who we met at the Tampa RV show earlier this year. They were on their way to visit their daughter in Valdez and we happened to be staying in the same RV park.

We had a fun night and were grateful for our Clam screen room as the mosquitos have begun to make their 2022 appearance.

Tetsa River Lodge has been a popular stop on the ALCAN since the 1940s and we weren’t going to pass up their cinnamon buns. This is a must-do stop on the Alaska Highway.

Driving this remote highway means we’ve had many opportunities to see wildlife. In fact, in one day, from Fort Nelson to Muncho Lake we saw a bear, a bald eagle, at least a half dozen caribou, deer, and a beaver.

Other days we’ve seen more bison than we can count. We didn’t get photos of everything but we’ll keep trying!

Our stop at Muncho Lake was much anticipated. We were a bit disappointed when we arrived to find the turquoise blue lake was still frozen over and the nearby trails were snowed in. We enjoyed one night at the Northern Rockies Lodge in a campsite that overlooked the lake and then moved on.

It worked out, however, as we headed to our next stop, Liard Hot Springs Provincial Park, and spent two days luxuriating in the springs, walking the boardwalk, looking for moose, and just chilling out. What an incredible place, high in the Northern Canadian Rockies.

Our journey along the Alaska Highway continues and we’ll post more when we finish the trek and get back into cell service. Most of our stops along this route have been completely off the grid so we’re a little slow to post. There’s more to come!