Touring Alaska by RV and Ferry

Each year tens of thousands of people take a cruise ship up Alaska’s Inside Passage to enjoy the magnificent scenery and wildlife. Maybe you have taken one yourself. Next time, how about bringing your house with you and making your own schedule. You can do that by using your RV and the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS). The ferry system serves as the bus linking all the port towns along the coast.
The route extends about 1,000 nautical miles north from Bellingham, Washington, to Skagway, Alaska, covering the entire Inside Passage, then continues west all the way out to the Aleutian Islands. Not only do the ferries stop in the major cruise ship ports like Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka, and Skagway, they also stop at small port towns like Wrangell, Petersburg, and Haines. These are working towns that do not rely on tourism. Visit them and you get to see the real Alaska.

Taking a cruise ship to Alaska is more about eating than it is about Alaska. The place is billed as “the last frontier” and “the last great wilderness,” but cruise ships drop you off in a port town like Ketchikan to go shopping with 12,000 of your closest friends! Not exactly a wilderness experience, unless you count combat shopping. After six to eight hours in port, you get back on the ship and head to the next town. The cruise ships do offer shore excursions for fishing, whale watching, helicopter tours, etc., but you just don’t have enough time to see what the places are really like. A cruise is an inexpensive, quick, and easy way to see the Inside Passage. It will give you a taste of Alaska, but leave you want-ing more.

Leisurely Trip

Traveling by the AMHS Ferry is a much better way to see this great state. The ferry will take you to Ketchikan too, but instead of getting off the ship to sightsee for just a few hours, you can drive your RV or car, take a bicycle or even walk off the ferry and stay for two days or two weeks! You make your own schedule. And after all the cruise ships leave port at about 6 p.m., you can almost have the place to yourself. Each town has at least one campground and some have several. There are also plenty of B&Bs and motels.

We spent two summers riding the ferry system while shooting a video and are now convinced that there is no better way to see Alaska. There are no dance shows, gambling, or more-than-you-should-ever-eat buffets on board. All the ferry offers is relaxation and an up-close look at some of the most beautiful scenery on the planet. At times you’re so close to shore you feel as if you could reach out and touch the trees.

The official start of the Inside Passage is at Bellingham, Washington. The first stop in Alaska is Ketchikan. This is also the most expensive leg of the trip. For our 47-foot fifth- wheel combination the fee was $1,800 one-way!

We did some research and found out that we could drive through British Columbia past Vancouver to the port town of Prince Rupert. From there, the cost to Ketchikan would only be about $300! We saved $1,500 by starting our journey a little farther up the coast.

No Reservations

On its Web site, the AMHS suggests that you make reservations on the ferry six months in advance. We found that wasn’t necessary. We rode the ferries for over four months shooting the video and we were never on one that was more than half-full. If you did start your trip in Bellingham (which we don’t suggest), you might need one, but we never did. Making reservations makes your trip too structured. You will never know how long you want to spend in a town until you get there.

I would suggest driving to Prince Rupert and buying a ticket only as far as Ketchikan. Get off the ferry and hang around as long as you like. When you get tired of Ketchikan, head over to the ticket office and buy a ticket to Wrangell for the next day. There are usually several ferries coming into each port every day. When you get tired of Wrangell, do the same thing. Don’t tie yourself down with reservations.

You are not allowed to live in your RV while on board the ferry. While staying in your home would seem like a good idea, we all know that old Uncle Joe would get up in the middle of the night, turn on his propane to cook some eggs, and blow everybody up! Once you drive your RV on board, you lock it up and head upstairs to the deck. You can rent a stateroom but that will cost extra. You can also sleep out on the deck in a tent or deck chair, but most of us are too old for that. Again I get back to the idea of taking the trip in short hops.
Most runs between ports are only four to eight hours. Get off the ferry and spend the night on dry land, then head out again when you are ready. The ferry system does make allowances for pets. If you travel with a dog, there will be announcements every few hours letting you know you can go downstairs to walk Fido. I suggested they also rent you a small piece of Astroturf.

Things to Do

Here is a short list of some things you can do, see or find in each port town:

Ketchikan: Taquan Air flight-seeing tour of Misty Fjord; visit the town of Saxman to see the world’s largest collection of totem poles; fishing, and a side trip on inter-island ferry to Prince of Wales Island where there are over 1,500 miles of logging roads to explore and few tourists

Wrangell: Alaska Waters’ tour to the AnAn Bear and Wildlife Observatory; the Stikine River; rainforest tours; beach petroglyphs, and Chief Shakes Community House.

Petersburg: La Conte Glacier tour; whale watching, and the largest fish processing plants in Alaska. This is a Norwegian heritage town with friendly people and few tourists.

Sitka: Tlingit culture; Russian heritage; dancers; Allen Marine Wildlife Quest tour for otters and other wildlife; St. Michael’s Cathedral; Mt. Edgecumbe extinct volcano, and the Alaska Raptor Center.

Juneau: Alaska’s Capitol; gateway to Glacier Bay; awesome orca whale-watching tour: Adventure Bound Cruise to Tracy Arm; gold rush history; Mendenhall Glacier; Northstar helicopter glacier treks; Red Dog Saloon, and a mountain tram.

Pelican: Spectacular ferry ride from Juneau; small boardwalk town; fishing industry; Rosie’s Bar, and no tourists (except you).

Skagway: Gateway to the Yukon; Gold Rush of 1898; one of the best historic sites in Alaska; White Pass/Yukon Railway Tour, and the Red Onion Saloon.

Haines: River Adventure’s Wildlife Tour; one-hour fast ferry to Skagway, and Chilkat State Park autumn bald eagle gathering. Haines is a better place to stay, less congested than Skagway. It connects the Inside Passage with the Alaska Highway; drive northwest to explore the rest of Alaska.

To find out prices and schedules for the AMHS, go to www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/index.html.