Travel Planning
With over 589,400 square miles and 33,000 miles of coastline, lets face it — Alaska is a big state and in fact the largest in the union. And though our road system doesn’t reach every spectrum of these vast lands, there is still so much to see and experience while on the road. But because of the size of Alaska, I am often asked by people what are the best possible resources when it comes to trip planning and getting out and seeing Alaska.
There are of course two things that come to mind. One is considered the road “bible” for Alaska - i.e. the Milepost. The Milepost has been around for many years and is published on an annual basis. It is a guide to the highways and roads of Alaska and includes a detailed breakout of Alaska’s roads including lodging, recreational opportunities, attractions and services along every corridor. Quite frankly it is something that I am never without. Nor is it uncommon for me to pull out my Milepost just for reading purposes. It was essential to me in planning my 2,000 mile road trip around Alaska last fall and will be even more instrumental in my travel this summer.
Perhaps another strong resource is one that I only recently discovered while on a drive. I happened to go to the Musk Ox Farm out in Palmer and while waiting for my tour to begin, my eyes caught on a series of visitors guides. Published by an independent company here in Anchorage, the Bearfoot Travel Guides are broken down into different locations and are free for your chosing. One focuses on Eastern Alaska including the Glenn and Richardson Highways. The second focuses on Interior Alaska with an in-depth exploration of the Parks Highway and Denali National Park, while the third focuses on Southcentral Alaska including Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula. Their website is chock full of information including maps, community spotlights, and local businesses.Whether you are traveling for just a few short days or several weeks, these guides will assist in your journey to experiencing the Great Land.
OH I will DEFINATELY have to check them out. Thanks so much for the heads up.
The Milepost is definitely a little more expensive, but I still use mine from last year and didn’t feel the need to buy this years version. Of course last years version is pretty dog eared and filled with my notes.
But I think you would enjoy the Bearfoot Guides. I was pretty impressed with it. Even better is its free.
I pick up the Bearfoot Guides everywhere we go. They are definitely a great resource for travel in Alaska. As for the Milepost, we did finally break down and buy one this year. It’s our thirds since arriving in 2003. Our first one is tattered, the pages are no longer attached to the binding, and there are notes written in the margins as we made our way to AK from the Lower 48. The second one was the 2005 version and the pages are falling out of it too.
We resigned ourselves to the fact that our Milepost never makes it past the two year mark. I think we’re easier on it than many.
It doesn’t surprise me you of all people know about the Bearfoot Guides Susan. I think you know just as much about Alaska if not more than I do and you have lived here a shorter time.
My Milepost is actually holding up pretty well, though by next year I’ll need a new one.
Oh and sidenote - don’t attempt Petersville Road until at least the end of August. I know someone that attempted it last weekend and said it was akin to a mud bog. And she got stuck. Not once but 3 times.
I read in the Milepost that Petersville Rd shouldn’t even be thought of as a trip until the end of June. We didtn’t have time this past week to even explore the paved portion. We won’t this upcoming week either, as our main goal is getting to Homer and back.
By the way, I think you’ll enjoy Seldovia. There’s not much to do there, except walk around and enjoy the sights (which you can see in a matter of hours), but I enjoyed watching the locals fish the slough for salmon, and there were a lot of eagles. It was worth the water taxi trip out there for an afternoon.
We haven’t done Halibut Cove yet. If the bear trip goes off as scheduled, we talked about taking the Danny J over there on Friday next week. I know it’s a small little community, but I’m always game for new exploration.
I didn’t hear about Liberty Falls. We enjoyed our visit back in 2004, although the mosquitoes were voracious! We only stayed long enough to get some photos and hike halfway up to the top of the falls before being eaten alive.
I think when my kids come, we’re going to spend three days in Valdez. Steve might be working then, so we’ll have to hotel it. There will be four of us, and lodging is limited in Valdez. I’d like to just cram the four of us into one room (with two double beds), but I’m worried about availability. Were you satisfied with the Totem Inn when you were there? I just want a roof over our heads.
Well you know some people Susan.
The first hints of summer come and they want to attempt areas that shouldn’t even be attempted that early in the season. I know I’m patiently waiting for more snow melt to hit Girdwood before I venture out in the back country there. It still had a bit of drying out to do last time I was there.
There was an article in the Daily News this morning about the road to McCarthy. Apparently the road upgrades are supposed to happen this summer. It has been under EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) the past 5 years. My friend Jennie told me last week that she was down there mid-May and thought the road was better than the Denali Highway, which she drove last fall at around the same time I did.
One of my co-workers is from Seldovia and I’ve hit her up about what she thinks of it. She said the same thing - it’s a good place for a day visit and it’s good place just to sit and relax. I’ve been to Halibut Cove 4 times and love it. The Danny J is always the day trip I have done. It’s a little artist community and there is a lot to see by walking around the different galleries there. Plus the Saltry has pretty good food from what i remember. They seat people for dinner in 2 different settings. You stop by a bird rookerie on the way over. You can pretty much do what you want. I.e. just walk around and have a picnic or walk around the galleries and then go to the Saltry.
As for the Totem Inn and Valdez. It was very no-frills when I was there. But it was clean and comfortable, so I had no issues with it. At least the floor didn’t sink 3 feet front to back like the cabin I stayed at up at Denali.
Plus the Totem Inn had free wireless.