Florida to Alaska

[Zoco]

Hello, I'm planning to make a big trip, but I don't have the experience to do it.

I want to start in Florida cross to California and go up to Alaska. I have 6 months to do this trip. 

Whats the best season to go up from California to Alaska, I don't have experience with snowy weather and the traps of slip roads. 

I will travel with my wife and two children 10 and 7 years old, I'm looking to buy a Diesel Class "A" RV and tow a car, please leave comments about it, I really 

want to choose the right RV and a Safety season to do the trip.

Thank you! 

[2gypsies]

It's best to cross the Canadian border May 15 or after. Many things don't open up any earlier.  You're lucky you have 6 months for the trip.  Begin your return from Alaska by Sept 15 or earlier.  You really shouldn't have to deal with snow during the summer but freak storms can occur. They won't last but a day or two and it will melt fast. Just plan to stay put. Don't try to drive.

Driving all the way to California will put on a lot of miles. Any reason to do this?  Your excess time could be spent in some of the western national parks such as Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Zion, Grand Canyon, Arches, etc.

The only reference you need for the Alaska portion are the Milepost - for history and maps; Mike & Terri Church's book, 'Alaskan Camping' which includes Canada and the Yukon, and the 2/1 coupon book 'Toursaver'. All can be bought online.

The trip is a long one when you think of it as a whole. Break it up into smaller destinations.  It will also be an expensive one.  Also remember to drive on the top 1/2 of your tank because fuel is spaced out longer distances than in the lower 48.

As far as what RV to purchase - you'll see everything along the way. Get one that you will be comfortable living in for the long period of time.  If you buy used you might consider replacing all the tires if older than 5 yr.  Oregon would be a good place to do it as there is no sales tax.

Have fun planning this awesome trip!  Your children are lucky!!

[Kirk W]

Welcome to the Escapee forums!

To travel from Miami, FL to Los Angeles, CA, and then to Fairbanks, AK is 6,000 miles(9656 Km).  If you bypass California and cut across the US that will make it 4,800 miles(7725 Km). Either way, this is a very long trip but unless you plan to tour the US as you go, I strongly suggest you not travel there by way of California. With only 6 months for your trip, I think that you need to make this a shorter distance. That is particularly true if you are thinking of a round trip where you return to your starting point as the distances that I have shown are only one way. 

Are you familiar with the process of buying and licensing a motor vehicle in the US? Your email address makes me suspect that you live in the UK. You will be required to have a US address to do this so you need to find a way to do that first. I suggest that you read this article that was written by a British couple who have done what you are thinking for a long time. If you were to share more information about yourself and your plans, we can offer you better advice. 

[sandsys]

Kirk,

I didn't find a link to the article in your post.

Linda

[Kirk W]

2 hours ago, sandsys said:

I didn't find a link to the article in your post.

 

It seems it didn't take the first time but I just fixed the link. Thanks for pointing that out. 

[Zoco]

21 hours ago, 2gypsies said:

It's best to cross the Canadian border May 15 or after. Many things don't open up any earlier.  You're lucky you have 6 months for the trip.  Begin your return from Alaska by Sept 15 or earlier.  You really shouldn't have to deal with snow during the summer but freak storms can occur. They won't last but a day or two and it will melt fast. Just plan to stay put. Don't try to drive.

Driving all the way to California will put on a lot of miles. Any reason to do this?  Your excess time could be spent in some of the western national parks such as Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Zion, Grand Canyon, Arches, etc.

The only reference you need for the Alaska portion are the Milepost - for history and maps; Mike & Terri Church's book, 'Alaskan Camping' which includes Canada and the Yukon, and the 2/1 coupon book 'Toursaver'. All can be bought online.

The trip is a long one when you think of it as a whole. Break it up into smaller destinations.  It will also be an expensive one.  Also remember to drive on the top 1/2 of your tank because fuel is spaced out longer distances than in the lower 48.

As far as what RV to purchase - you'll see everything along the way. Get one that you will be comfortable living in for the long period of time.  If you buy used you might consider replacing all the tires if older than 5 yr.  Oregon would be a good place to do it as there is no sales tax.

Have fun planning this awesome trip!  Your children are lucky!!

2

Hello, I don't have an exact route, this will be my first long trip in the US, no reason to go to California, I can go straight to western national parks, which were on my plans after California. When you sad about May 15 or after is to enter in Canada, or Canada to Alaska? I'm planning to buy a used RV in Florida, and I will follow your recommendation about the tires. Would you recommend a site to get a route, to help plan my trip?

 

Thank You Very Much!

[Zoco]

14 hours ago, Kirk Wood said:

Welcome to the Escapee forums!

To travel from Miami, FL to Los Angeles, CA, and then to Fairbanks, AK is 6,000 miles(9656 Km).  If you bypass California and cut across the US that will make it 4,800 miles(7725 Km). Either way, this is a very long trip but unless you plan to tour the US as you go, I strongly suggest you not travel there by way of California. With only 6 months for your trip, I think that you need to make this a shorter distance. That is particularly true if you are thinking of a round trip where you return to your starting point as the distances that I have shown are only one way. 

Are you familiar with the process of buying and licensing a motor vehicle in the US? Your email address makes me suspect that you live in the UK. You will be required to have a US address to do this so you need to find a way to do that first. I suggest that you read this article that was written by a British couple who have done what you are thinking for a long time. If you were to share more information about yourself and your plans, we can offer you better advice. 

 

Hi, you are right about travel Miami to LA, is too far, I am replanning, if it is possible to recommend a route, it will be very welcome, it would help me a lot to plan the trip.

I'm from Brazil,s and I know a bit about the process of buying and licensing, I have a small office in Coral Springs - Florida, and I'm thinking to use this address to do the process and make the drivers license.

With great pleasure, I share more information about us and our plans. Like I said, we're planning a trip from Florida to Alaska, we have no commitments. I'm really starting to plan the trip if the period is too short, we do not need to go to Alaska, but we'll try to fit an entire trip in 6 months, since we do not need to rush.

 

Thank you very much.

[2gypsies]

If you purchase the three recommended items I gave in my above post, the Milepost includes a nice Alaska map for use when you're there.  Before that I'd recommend a mapping program such as Google Maps or Bing. It will take some work to put in the stops that you would like or to alter your route. You'll just have to play around with it to include places you want to see.

Since May is early for mountain driving and the western U.S. national parks, I'd recommend heading straight to Alaska in May and tour the U.S. parks on your return from Alaska in  September for easier mountain touring.  Also, you don't want to wear yourself out touring the lower U.S. before even getting to Alaska.

Roughly, I used Google Maps and entered a beginning of Miami with the first destination of Dawson Creek, British Columbia - the start of the Alaskan Highway. The shortest route it gave was 3375 miles through Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and crossing into Canada at Portal, North Dakota. (Google the Canadian border crossings for a list and their hours of operation. Some smaller ones close at night or have limited hours.)  So... if you plan to drive 300 miles a day it would take you roughly 11 days to get to Portal, North Dakota.  If traveling 400 miles a day it would take 9 days of driving.  To cross the border approximately May 15 you'd leave Miami around May 4 - 6.

Google Maps then says from Portal you would head to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada then to Edmonton, Alberta and on to Dawson Creek, British Columbia and continue north to Alaska on the Alaskan Highway. You can't get lost from there! 

Returning from Alaska perhaps mid-August to September or earlier if you wish you could take the Cassier Highway at Watson Lake, Yukon for a little different route and then I'd recommend heading to Jasper & Banff National Parks, Alberta, Canada.  Then pick up Hwy 93 south taking you to the Roosville border crossing at Montana.  It would then be good timing weather-wise for touring Glacier Nat'l Park, Montana near Whitefish, Montana & the Going to the Sun Road in the park will still be open which is a must do.

From Glacier continue south to the following national parks in Wyoming, Utah and Arizona:  Yellowstone, Grand Teton & then take Hwy 191 south to Arches, Capitol Reef, Bryce, Zion and into Arizona at the Grand Canyon.  From there you could begin working your way back to Miami however you want to travel.

As stated, this is a very big trip.... best of luck and enjoy!

[SWharton]

Make sure you plan stops along  the way, drive a few days, then stop for a day. You don't want the memories of this trip to be the long drives.

You also need to plan a couple of weeks in the beginning of the trip to find a rig, get insurance and DL, supply the rig.

[Kirk W]

8 hours ago, Zoco said:

I'm from Brazil,s and I know a bit about the process of buying and licensing, I have a small office in Coral Springs - Florida, and I'm thinking to use this address to do the process and make the drivers license.

I can see no reason that the office there should be any problem with the use of that address, particularly if they would be willing to forward any mail that you might receive there. It probably would be very little, unless you wish to have some way for friends to contact you, in which case you might want to get a mail forwarding service. Just depends on the office staff.

8 hours ago, Zoco said:

I'm really starting to plan the trip if the period is too short, we do not need to go to Alaska, but we'll try to fit an entire trip in 6 months, since we do not need to rush.

If you have never traveled in the US before, you may want to consider some priorities before you plan too far as there is far too much for anyone to see everything in 6 months. I have lived here for 75 years and owned RVs here for more than 40 years with nearly 12 years of fulltime living and traveling in one and yet we are not even close to running out of things to see. I would suggest that you start by looking through the major national parks in the lower 48 states and set some priorities. A visit to Alaska would be a spectacular trip, but it would be impossible to travel from FL to AK and back again in much less than 4 months of your time. Most RV folk plan to cross into Canada no later than June and to then spend at least two or three months on the trip up and back while most spend longer than that. On the other hand, with 6 months to travel, you could make a loop around the lower 48 states and experience a reasonably good sampling of a far wider variety of things than would be possible traveling to AK and back again. 

If you do plan for Alaska, then I would plan the trip based on setting a date for arrival at the Canada border, then work forward to AK from there and backward to FL to determine what date to start the trip. In weighing where to go as an alternative to the AK trip I have some suggestions, but your interests should also plan a part in the choices. If you have an interest in US history, there are many historic sites from our reveloutionary history, the Indian wars, our civil war, the westward migration, the gold rush, and a long list of other possibilities. In terms of scenic national parks that i think should be considered, I'll try to list some in the order of a route that may help in planning. In FL for your first or your last national park the Everglades NP is a must see and while there you should also visit Biscane Bay NP. A good place for you to get a sampling of the wide and very diverse range of our national parks is the National Parks Foundation, Explore Parks website.

If you trave. north from FL you should probably plan to visit Great Smokey Mountain NP as you go. Mammoth Cave NP would be my next suggestion, followed by Shenandoah NP and then Acadia NP which takes up into the state of Maine. From there if it were me, I'd cut across Canada and make a stop at Quebec City, the only walled city in North America. And you should really visit Niagra Falls i=in western NY. I would then head west across Canada to Detroit, MI and stop to see the Ford Museum complex for a couple of days. Next, I would tour about MI and MN a bit selecting from their state tourism suggestions which are readily available by internet, then heading for the Black Hills of South Dakota. There is a great deal to see here from Mt. Rushmore National Monument to Custer State Park, Wind & Jewell Caves, NP.  Next gi west to Wyoming with a short stop at Devil's Tower National Monument, and on the Yellowstone & Grand Teton NP's.  Glacier NP should be your next stop and then on to Mt. Ranier NP and the city of Seattle. While in Washington state make a stop or two in Olympic NP then head south to Crater Lake NP and then to Redwood NP in northern California. After a visit to the San Fransisco area, I would suggest going to Yosemite NP and Sequoia NP. Turning east again consider Joshua Tree NP and then move to Arizona for Grand Canyon NP followed by Bryce & Zion NP's.  Traveling to the northeast you can then visit Mesa Verde NP, Great Sand Dunes, Capital Reef NP, then travel through the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and on to visit Rocky Mountain NP. If you then travel east to the Tallgrass Prarie National Preserve and see middle America much as the early immigrants did. Down on the TX, Mexico border is the Big Bend NP and east in Arkansas is Hot Springs NP. 

If you check out these parks and scenic areas it should begin to give you an idea of what is available. Every state that you would pass through will have a tourism website that can help you to discover a long list of things to visit that may be of interest to you and your family.  I mostly listed national parks but each state has a range of interesting state parks as well and there are hundreds of museums and other attractions scattered along the suggested route. Whether you choose to travel to Alaska or just make a large loop around the lower states, there is far more to see and do than anyone could complete in 6 months, or even in 6 years.

[accumack]

Good Sam's has a good trip planner for RV's. I use it all the time.

[rynosback]

3 hours ago, Kirk Wood said:

I can see no reason that the office there should be any problem with the use of that address, particularly if they would be willing to forward any mail that you might receive there. It probably would be very little, unless you wish to have some way for friends to contact you, in which case you might want to get a mail forwarding service. Just depends on the office staff.

If you have never traveled in the US before, you may want to consider some priorities before you plan too far as there is far too much for anyone to see everything in 6 months. I have lived here for 75 years and owned RVs here for more than 40 years with nearly 12 years of fulltime living and traveling in one and yet we are not even close to running out of things to see. I would suggest that you start by looking through the major national parks in the lower 48 states and set some priorities. A visit to Alaska would be a spectacular trip, but it would be impossible to travel from FL to AK and back again in much less than 4 months of your time. Most RV folk plan to cross into Canada no later than June and to then spend at least two or three months on the trip up and back while most spend longer than that. On the other hand, with 6 months to travel, you could make a loop around the lower 48 states and experience a reasonably good sampling of a far wider variety of things than would be possible traveling to AK and back again. 

If you do plan for Alaska, then I would plan the trip based on setting a date for arrival at the Canada border, then work forward to AK from there and backward to FL to determine what date to start the trip. In weighing where to go as an alternative to the AK trip I have some suggestions, but your interests should also plan a part in the choices. If you have an interest in US history, there are many historic sites from our reveloutionary history, the Indian wars, our civil war, the westward migration, the gold rush, and a long list of other possibilities. In terms of scenic national parks that i think should be considered, I'll try to list some in the order of a route that may help in planning. In FL for your first or your last national park the Everglades NP is a must see and while there you should also visit Biscane Bay NP. A good place for you to get a sampling of the wide and very diverse range of our national parks is the National Parks Foundation, Explore Parks website.

If you trave. north from FL you should probably plan to visit Great Smokey Mountain NP as you go. Mammoth Cave NP would be my next suggestion, followed by Shenandoah NP and then Acadia NP which takes up into the state of Maine. From there if it were me, I'd cut across Canada and make a stop at Quebec City, the only walled city in North America. And you should really visit Niagra Falls i=in western NY. I would then head west across Canada to Detroit, MI and stop to see the Ford Museum complex for a couple of days. Next, I would tour about MI and MN a bit selecting from their state tourism suggestions which are readily available by internet, then heading for the Black Hills of South Dakota. There is a great deal to see here from Mt. Rushmore National Monument to Custer State Park, Wind & Jewell Caves, NP.  Next gi west to Wyoming with a short stop at Devil's Tower National Monument, and on the Yellowstone & Grand Teton NP's.  Glacier NP should be your next stop and then on to Mt. Ranier NP and the city of Seattle. While in Washington state make a stop or two in Olympic NP then head south to Crater Lake NP and then to Redwood NP in northern California. After a visit to the San Fransisco area, I would suggest going to Yosemite NP and Sequoia NP. Turning east again consider Joshua Tree NP and then move to Arizona for Grand Canyon NP followed by Bryce & Zion NP's.  Traveling to the northeast you can then visit Mesa Verde NP, Great Sand Dunes, Capital Reef NP, then travel through the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and on to visit Rocky Mountain NP. If you then travel east to the Tallgrass Prarie National Preserve and see middle America much as the early immigrants did. Down on the TX, Mexico border is the Big Bend NP and east in Arkansas is Hot Springs NP. 

If you check out these parks and scenic areas it should begin to give you an idea of what is available. Every state that you would pass through will have a tourism website that can help you to discover a long list of things to visit that may be of interest to you and your family.  I mostly listed national parks but each state has a range of interesting state parks as well and there are hundreds of museums and other attractions scattered along the suggested route. Whether you choose to travel to Alaska or just make a large loop around the lower states, there is far more to see and do than anyone could complete in 6 months, or even in 6 years.

I agree with Kirk that 6 months is really not enough time.  There is SO MUCH to see.  We researched and planned when we had 3-6 weeks in our class C 15 years ago and most of the time we later found out that we missed something.  Take your time and enjoy the areas you travel and enjoy the local people also.  You need to also account for bad weather, breakdowns and just need to some down time.  Alaska is on my list of places to go to.  My plan would be to be there during there summer.  Best of luck planning your trip of a lifetime.  Make some great memories for you and your family.

[2gypsies]

I disagree that 6m is not enough time.  You can easily drive to Alaska from the Canadian/lower U.S. border in 3 months very leisurely.  That's what most Alaskan travelers do.  Some do it on less time.

That leaves 3 months to do some touring of the lower 48 states.  No... you're not going to see everything but in 3 months you can certainly take in a lot.  Millions do the big western parks in less than a month's time; some fit multiple parks in within their 2-3 week vacation time.  Three months is a very big chunk of time. 

I would not advise you to give up your initial thought of Alaska.  It can be done.

[RV_]

We went up following the thaw in 99. We started in Louisiana, went by way of the HitchHiker factory in Kansas where we met our travel buddies, another couple with a HitchHiker 5th wheel. We were too early so diverted to the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, We went up by way of Yellowstone and Glacier National Park, and when it was defrosted we headed up 93 north to Roosville to cross into Canada to see Banff park and Lake Louise, then the Jasper Ice fields before heading over to Prince George, where everyone has to decide whether to go up to head up to Dawson Creek, and across the Alaskan Highway to Tok and then go north and around to Fairbanks, Denali, Anchorage, then down the Kenai to Seward, and over to Valdez. We fished all along the Kenai taking our time, fished Seward, then to Valdez and fishing for our last month in Alaska. We left Valdez and Eagle's rest campground (great place) on 5 September, went on up the Richardson Hwy to Tok. From Tok we retraced our route almost to Watson lake but then turned South on the Stewart Cassiar Highway. There is the largest Jade mine in the Western hemisphere on that route. Do stop and look at the finished goods and get a piece of rough cut jade for 50 cents. Now fearing ice we did head back fast and made it from Tok to Sumas Washington State in 5 days of pushing and driving a lot more than normal for us. Then we headed to Coronado and the Strand between San Diego Bay and the Pacific, and then meandered our way back to Louisiana. So you can take a month up sightseeing, four months in Alaska, then a month getting back, which leaves adjustment time for any unexpected issues on the road, like repairs and waiting for parts. YMMV. Very doable.

[sandsys]

Bring winter coats, hats, mittens, etc. Nights (and some days) will be cold on this trip. If you go to http://www.noaa.gov and put in various locations you can learn about the weather at each of them.

Linda Sand

[sandsys]

Another point: we've mostly been focusing on the Alaska part of your trip. You also need to know about the southern part. In the winter here most of us try to stay south of Interstate 10 because you run the risk of the RV's pipes freezing if you get north of there. If you come spring through fall you can see a lot more of our country but the south gets really hot in the summer. BTW, it took us three years to at least drive through all 48 of the contiguous states sightseeing along the way. So choose your priorities then plan to come back another time if that's possible.

If you do decide to tour the national parks, get a park's passport at the first one. It's not like a regular passport; it's just for fun. You get it stamped at each park you visit as a souvenir. Also enroll your kids in the junior ranger program. There are special activities for kids that make these visits more fun for them.

Linda Sand

[trostberg]

I just left Florida a week ago Sunday for Alaska via California.

There was a winter weather warning in Redding CA so made sure I delayed one day before heading up there but high winds across TX all the way to AZ was the only weather issue I encountered and I managed to stay ahead of the worst of that.

I am now stopping a couple weeks in Washington at my RV lot to take a break and change my FL clothes for AK clothes since I travel in a small Class B.  I had decided that by the time I drive from FL I am going to be tired of driving (no other driver but me).  So I am putting my 20.5 ft RV on the ferry in Bellingham to Haines next week and then will still have almost 1000 miles of driving to Seward where I will be workamping for the summer. I will drive the return trip.

When I googled the mileage and travel time from FL to WA it was about the same number of hours driving but half the distance as driving from Port Townsend to Seward which confirms the slow travel in AK and Canada.  And with it still being winter driving conditions I am sure it will be much slower than google.   The RVing to Alaska 2018 facebook page may be something you want to subscribe to and see what others are doing to prepare for your future trip.

[Zoco]

21 hours ago, 2gypsies said:

If you purchase the three recommended items I gave in my above post, the Milepost includes a nice Alaska map for use when you're there.  Before that I'd recommend a mapping program such as Google Maps or Bing. It will take some work to put in the stops that you would like or to alter your route. You'll just have to play around with it to include places you want to see.

I Ordered in Amazon ! Nice guide and maps.

21 hours ago, 2gypsies said:

Since May is early for mountain driving and the western U.S. national parks, I'd recommend heading straight to Alaska in May and tour the U.S. parks on your return from Alaska in  September for easier mountain touring.  Also, you don't want to wear yourself out touring the lower U.S. before even getting to Alaska.

I had not thought about going straight to Alaska, and then visiting the national parks on the way back, but it sounds like a good idea, I could use all the time left. I'll think about this hypothesis.

21 hours ago, 2gypsies said:

Roughly, I used Google Maps and entered a beginning of Miami with the first destination of Dawson Creek, British Columbia - the start of the Alaskan Highway. The shortest route it gave was 3375 miles through Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and crossing into Canada at Portal, North Dakota. (Google the Canadian border crossings for a list and their hours of operation. Some smaller ones close at night or have limited hours.)  So... if you plan to drive 300 miles a day it would take you roughly 11 days to get to Portal, North Dakota.  If traveling 400 miles a day it would take 9 days of driving.  To cross the border approximately May 15 you'd leave Miami around May 4 - 6.

I think I will need more time to do it, because the kids have a lot of energy and can get bored with the trip, maybe stay for 1 or 2 days in a fun place, every 2 days traveling to them is enough.

21 hours ago, 2gypsies said:

Google Maps then says from Portal you would head to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada then to Edmonton, Alberta and on to Dawson Creek, British Columbia and continue north to Alaska on the Alaskan Highway. You can't get lost from there! 

Returning from Alaska perhaps mid-August to September or earlier if you wish you could take the Cassier Highway at Watson Lake, Yukon for a little different route and then I'd recommend heading to Jasper & Banff National Parks, Alberta, Canada.  Then pick up Hwy 93 south taking you to the Roosville border crossing at Montana.  It would then be good timing weather-wise for touring Glacier Nat'l Park, Montana near Whitefish, Montana & the Going to the Sun Road in the park will still be open which is a must do.

From Glacier continue south to the following national parks in Wyoming, Utah and Arizona:  Yellowstone, Grand Teton & then take Hwy 191 south to Arches, Capitol Reef, Bryce, Zion and into Arizona at the Grand Canyon.  From there you could begin working your way back to Miami however you want to travel.

This plan sounds good !!! As I said, I'm starting to make the route and will use all the information provided by you and other forum travelers.

21 hours ago, 2gypsies said:

As stated, this is a very big trip.... best of luck and enjoy!

Thank you very much

[Zoco]

14 hours ago, Kirk Wood said:

If you have never traveled in the US before, you may want to consider some priorities before you plan too far as there is far too much for anyone to see everything in 6 months. I have lived here for 75 years and owned RVs here for more than 40 years with nearly 12 years of fulltime living and traveling in one and yet we are not even close to running out of things to see. I would suggest that you start by looking through the major national parks in the lower 48 states and set some priorities. A visit to Alaska would be a spectacular trip, but it would be impossible to travel from FL to AK and back again in much less than 4 months of your time. Most RV folk plan to cross into Canada no later than June and to then spend at least two or three months on the trip up and back while most spend longer than that. On the other hand, with 6 months to travel, you could make a loop around the lower 48 states and experience a reasonably good sampling of a far wider variety of things than would be possible traveling to AK and back again. 

Wow, you have a lot of experience about RV travel and lifestyle.

I'll try to explain, my 6 months are to stay in the US because of my visa. Let's suppose I stay a month in Canada, that period does not count with my stay in the USA, and my trip can be add a month.

14 hours ago, Kirk Wood said:

If you do plan for Alaska, then I would plan the trip based on setting a date for arrival at the Canada border, then work forward to AK from there and backward to FL to determine what date to start the trip. In weighing where to go as an alternative to the AK trip I have some suggestions, but your interests should also plan a part in the choices. If you have an interest in US history, there are many historic sites from our reveloutionary history, the Indian wars, our civil war, the westward migration, the gold rush, and a long list of other possibilities. In terms of scenic national parks that i think should be considered, I'll try to list some in the order of a route that may help in planning. In FL for your first or your last national park the Everglades NP is a must see and while there you should also visit Biscane Bay NP. A good place for you to get a sampling of the wide and very diverse range of our national parks is the National Parks Foundation, Explore Parks website.

I have interest in all these places, I want to learn about the history of the United States and to know the historical places, and mix with some National Parks. I believe the kids will like it.

14 hours ago, Kirk Wood said:

If you trave. north from FL you should probably plan to visit Great Smokey Mountain NP as you go. Mammoth Cave NP would be my next suggestion, followed by Shenandoah NP and then Acadia NP which takes up into the state of Maine. From there if it were me, I'd cut across Canada and make a stop at Quebec City, the only walled city in North America. And you should really visit Niagra Falls i=in western NY. I would then head west across Canada to Detroit, MI and stop to see the Ford Museum complex for a couple of days. Next, I would tour about MI and MN a bit selecting from their state tourism suggestions which are readily available by internet, then heading for the Black Hills of South Dakota. There is a great deal to see here from Mt. Rushmore National Monument to Custer State Park, Wind & Jewell Caves, NP.  Next gi west to Wyoming with a short stop at Devil's Tower National Monument, and on the Yellowstone & Grand Teton NP's.  Glacier NP should be your next stop and then on to Mt. Ranier NP and the city of Seattle. While in Washington state make a stop or two in Olympic NP then head south to Crater Lake NP and then to Redwood NP in northern California. After a visit to the San Fransisco area, I would suggest going to Yosemite NP and Sequoia NP. Turning east again consider Joshua Tree NP and then move to Arizona for Grand Canyon NP followed by Bryce & Zion NP's.  Traveling to the northeast you can then visit Mesa Verde NP, Great Sand Dunes, Capital Reef NP, then travel through the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and on to visit Rocky Mountain NP. If you then travel east to the Tallgrass Prarie National Preserve and see middle America much as the early immigrants did. Down on the TX, Mexico border is the Big Bend NP and east in Arkansas is Hot Springs NP. 

Wow again, you really impress me with your travel knowledge. As I said above for 2gypsies, I'm starting to do a road map, and I'll use everything I can learn from you Kirk and other users who can help me here. I will make a route and post here, so you and other travelers can give you an opinion about the route. I will study about all the places you mentioned above, and include in the route, what our family has more interest in.

14 hours ago, Kirk Wood said:

If you check out these parks and scenic areas it should begin to give you an idea of what is available. Every state that you would pass through will have a tourism website that can help you to discover a long list of things to visit that may be of interest to you and your family.  I mostly listed national parks but each state has a range of interesting state parks as well and there are hundreds of museums and other attractions scattered along the suggested route. Whether you choose to travel to Alaska or just make a large loop around the lower states, there is far more to see and do than anyone could complete in 6 months, or even in 6 years.

I'm with you, about all the places to see, maybe a lifetime is not enough to visit everyone. But, unfortunately I have only 6 months, as I told you above. Let's make a good route and have an amazing trip.

 

Thank You very much Kirk

[Zoco]

4 hours ago, trostberg said:

I just left Florida a week ago Sunday for Alaska via California.

There was a winter weather warning in Redding CA so made sure I delayed one day before heading up there but high winds across TX all the way to AZ was the only weather issue I encountered and I managed to stay ahead of the worst of that.

I am now stopping a couple weeks in Washington at my RV lot to take a break and change my FL clothes for AK clothes since I travel in a small Class B.  I had decided that by the time I drive from FL I am going to be tired of driving (no other driver but me).  So I am putting my 20.5 ft RV on the ferry in Bellingham to Haines next week and then will still have almost 1000 miles of driving to Seward where I will be workamping for the summer. I will drive the return trip.

When I googled the mileage and travel time from FL to WA it was about the same number of hours driving but half the distance as driving from Port Townsend to Seward which confirms the slow travel in AK and Canada.  And with it still being winter driving conditions I am sure it will be much slower than google.   The RVing to Alaska 2018 facebook page may be something you want to subscribe to and see what others are doing to prepare for your future trip.

thank you to share your travel, I subscribed on the Facebook.

[Zoco]

9 hours ago, sandsys said:

Another point: we've mostly been focusing on the Alaska part of your trip. You also need to know about the southern part. In the winter here most of us try to stay south of Interstate 10 because you run the risk of the RV's pipes freezing if you get north of there. If you come spring through fall you can see a lot more of our country but the south gets really hot in the summer. BTW, it took us three years to at least drive through all 48 of the contiguous states sightseeing along the way. So choose your priorities then plan to come back another time if that's possible.

I had not imagined the pipes freezing. Thank you to remember me about that issue.

9 hours ago, sandsys said:

If you do decide to tour the national parks, get a park's passport at the first one. It's not like a regular passport; it's just for fun. You get it stamped at each park you visit as a souvenir. Also enroll your kids in the junior ranger program. There are special activities for kids that make these visits more fun for them.

Linda Sand

Very nice tip, the kids will love it.

 

Thank you 

[Zoco]

Let me ask something for everyone .

Is it a good idea tow a car ? If yes, what car type you recommend ?

thank you 

[Kirk W]

7 hours ago, Zoco said:

I believe the kids will like it.

Your children are one of the key reasons that I'm not sure that I can recommend the Alaska trip. That is a spectacular trip and some beautiful country, but it requires a lot of long travel days and a major share of your time. Part of the decision to make it or not should also be if you expect to do this more than just one time. The route around the US to visit national and state parks would be far more varied than a trip to AK and the travel times would be much shorter for your kids. The trip to and from AK is going to be a repeat of must of the same thing, while the route that I suggested will be constantly changing with very different things to see and do at every stop. is

On 4/3/2018 at 10:22 PM, Zoco said:

I will travel with my wife and two children 10 and 7 years old,

We traveled by RV when our children were growing up and have done so more recently with grandchildren. It has been my experience that most children get very tired of travel if you spend more than a few days closed up in the RV traveling all day long. My concern over the AK is partly from the children tiring of the days and days of travel through forests and also that if you believe that this will be a one time trip, there is far more that could be experienced in the lower 48 states route that I am suggesting than you could cover on the Alaska trip. The lower states change in terrain and appearance very rapidly with seashore, to rolling mountains, to historic sites, to prairies and farms, to hardwood forests, to the great lakes, to high mountains, and even deserts. Unless your children are much different than those I have experience with, the tolerance that they have for watching countryside out the window of a moving RV is going to wear very thin after a month or two and new things that are different from the last stop will become very important if they are to enjoy the trip. I have been to Alaska and it is wonderfully scenic and not to be forgotten, but it isn't even close in variation to what you could see and experience in traveling the same time/distance around the lower 48 states. We have worked with children in many capacities and we do a lot of volunteer work with kids in parks and other places that we travel through and it is a rare child that has the attention span that would be needed to happily make the trip to AK and back. I believe that if you want children to have fond memories of a trip, you should always leave each stop before the children are quite ready to so do, thus allowing them to look forward with anticipation to the next stop, and you do not want to travel too long before each stop.

7 hours ago, Zoco said:

Is it a good idea tow a car ? If yes, what car type you recommend ?

With a trip of this length and children on board, I definitely would do so if practical. I would choose a car of the van or SUV type which can be towed on its wheels and there are several of them. That way you do not have to unhook and rehook up the RV each time to go exploring while stopped in the same location. The Good Sam RV organization has several years of towing guides available on the internet and that would be a good way to see what your best choices may be. 

[Al F]

I have to totally agree with Kirk about the AK trip.  With young children, a more leisurely travel time in the lower 48 states of the US is better.  Lots of driving going to/from AK.

As someone else said, most attractions don't open until after the 21-25th of May in Canada and Memorial Day in AK.  As far as weather goes in Canada & AK, you just take your chances with weather.  We crossed into British Columbia on April 27th and had good to decent weather all summer.  Others who crossed in late May and June had snow and floods which washed out the roads.  Weather happens, you just have to deal with it.  More info about the problems others had with the snow around May 28th and floods June 15-16 in my blog from 2016:  http://downtheroadaroundthebend.blogspot.com/2016/11/start-of-2016-alaska-trip-hillsboro-or.html

More info if you continue following our blog of our AK trip in the link above.

 

[sandsys]

Living history sites are another way for kids to enjoy traveling in the USA. Learning how to make ropes then ending up with a free jump rope was an amazing experience. As were many other experiences at living history sites. This link will give you a place to start researching them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_open-air_and_living_history_museums_in_the_United_States

Linda Sand