As a child, most of my vacations were spent at home, watching television and reading comic books. My favorites were Disney comics, and during the holidays, there was always a special Christmas edition featuring Mickey, Donald Duck, and friends. I particularly remember one where Scrooge McDuck set off on a wild gold-hunting adventure, facing one absurd obstacle after another, and eventually reaching the remotest corners of Alaska, surrounded by reindeer, bears, and snow, lots of snow.
It was then that a desire to travel sparked in that little girl who had never left her country: ALASKA! The last frontier. The most distant place she could imagine.
Nostalgia aside, Alaska has always stayed on the list but never quite made the cut — it’s far, expensive, cold, and difficult, all at once.
However, there comes a time when you realize you can’t keep waiting. Life is short, and if you want something, you go out and make it happen. If we could manage a four-week trip to Japan, a two-week trip to Alaska shouldn’t be out of reach.
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First of all, follow me on Instagram @danae_explore – that’s where you can keep up with my trips, find lots of travel tips, and send me a DM anytime. I love chatting about travel!
From the start, I knew this would be a road trip. And why not make it an RV trip?
We had never traveled in a motorhome before. In fact, I had never even set foot in one. But Alaska practically calls for a motorhome experience, so that’s exactly what we did. I booked the flights, and the very next day, I rented the motorhome, still not entirely sure what we’d gotten ourselves into.
Follow along as I share the whole adventure of exploring Alaska for two weeks in a motorhome! And in this other post, you’ll find everything you need to know about RV travel in the U.S.
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Two-Week Alaska Itinerary Overview
I divided our Alaska motorhome trip into a few “blocks”, all of which start and end in Anchorage. As if it were an octopus, our road trip itinerary had its head in Anchorage and its tentacles heading south, east, and north, a sorry octopus with just three tentacles.
We arranged the blocks around the availability of the third one, but you can rearrange them however you prefer.
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- Anchorage: two days
- Seward and Kenai Peninsula: five days
- Glennallen and Wrangell-St. Elias: five days
- Denali and Fairbanks: four dias
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Two week Alaska roadtrip itinerary
First part: Anchorage – two days
We spent one and a half days in Anchorage, staying two nights at the Hyatt Place Midtown Anchorage. There’s plenty to do in and around the city, especially if the weather cooperates for outdoor activities. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for us, so we dedicated these first few days to recovering from the long flight and adjusting to the jet lag.
We visited the Anchorage Museum, which I highly recommend. Despite its relatively compact size, it offers everything you’d expect from an American museum: the history of Alaska and its native peoples, art, hands-on activities for kids, temporary exhibitions, a planetarium, a cafe, and a shop. The US$37 entrance fee is steep but worth it, and if you only visit one museum on your trip, this should be the one.
Next door is the 49th State Brewery, a must-stop on any visit to the city. It has a great atmosphere, classic American pub food done right, and a wide selection of beers at prices that’ll give you your first taste of Alaskan sticker shock — good preparation for what’s ahead. I found the Alaskan food, in general, is expensive and not particularly impressive.
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Second part: South – Seward and Kenai Peninsula – five days
We left Anchorage via the Seward Highway, heading south toward Seward. We spent five days exploring the Kenai Peninsula, with the following highlights:
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- Seward, the main tourist hub in the region and the base for visiting Kenai Fjords National Park. In addition to the visitor center located at the city’s port, we visited Exit Glacier and took a boat tour through the fjords that give the National Park its name . We also explored the Lowell Point area, which offers several coastal trails.
. - Whittier, on the shores of Prince William Sound, known for one of the quirkiest setups in the world: nearly every resident lives in the same building.
. - Cooper landing, a small town with no major attractions but set in a beautiful region, with scenic lakes and the emerald-green waters of the Kenai River. During summer, this area becomes a top spot for salmon fishing — possibly one of the best in the world. As tourists with no prior knowledge of fishing, we felt like fish out of water, which made for an entertaining detour into a world we knew absolutely nothing about.
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- Seward Highway itself is an attraction, so set aside a whole day to cover its 130 miles. Here are the main points of interest you’ll find along the way:
- mile 117,4 – Turnagain Arm, Potter Marsh (viewpoints)
- mile 110 – Beluga point (viewpoint)
- mile 104 – Virgin Creek Waterfall, Indian Valley Mine (we didn’t stop)
- mile 103,1 – Turnagain House
- mile 101 – Bird Creek
- mile 96 – Bird Point (viewpoint)
- mile 90 – Girdwood and Alyeska Resort – This resort has an aerial tram with stunning views, though, unfortunately, it was completely cloudy both times we visited, so we decided not to pay the US$43 fee. There are also several trails and other activities — you could easily spend a day (and a night) here. In winter, it’s a ski resort.
- mile 88,3 – Petrified forest (we only observed from the road)
- mile 79 – Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center – We stopped here to stretch our legs and see the rescued animals that call this place home. I thought it was overpriced for what you get (US$ 25).
- mile 79 – just after the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, there is the exit to Whittier, via Portage Glacier Road,which also takes you to the Portage Glacier and the Begich Boggs Visitor Center, with trails in the area and a boat trip on Portage Lake.
- mile 68,5 – Turnagain Pass
- From Mile 54 until you nearly reach Seward, there are several lakes along the road or within walking distance: Canyon Creek, Jerome Lake, Tern Lake, Kenai Lake, and others. You’ll also find some small villages, cafes, hotels, and lots of photo opportunities.
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This entire trip, including the return to Anchorage, covers about 300 miles, a 6-hour drive according to Google Maps. However, with local detours, we ended up driving a bit more. I didn’t track exactly how long we spent on the road, but given that we drove slower in an RV and made several stops along the way, the total time behind the wheel was much longer. But this was the shortest leg of the entire trip.
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Third part: East – Glennallen and Wrangell-St. Elias – five days
Glenn Highway
We left Anchorage via the Glenn Highway, which, as the name suggests, leads to the town of Glennallen. It’s about 180 miles and just over three hours of driving.
On the way, it is worth stopping at Matanuska Glacier for some glacier trekking. It’s a guided tour that lasts about 2-3 hours and hands down the kids’ favorite activity of the trip. The glacier is surprisingly accessible and the tour allows you to see several types of formations in a short walk. If you’re only going to do one glacier hike in Alaska, I recommend this one.
Glennallen itself doesn’t have many attractions, it’s more of a collection of houses at the junction of the Glenn and Richardson Highways. It serves primarily as a place to stock up on supplies, grab a meal, and spend the night. A few miles from this junction, known as “the hub,” is the visitor center for Wrangell–St. Elias National Park. Like all American park visitor centers, it features fascinating exhibits about the park, its history, and wildlife, along with friendly rangers and a few short trails and viewpoints.
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Kennicott – Wrangell-St. Elias
We continued to Chitina, where we took a bush plane flight to McCarthy/Kennicott. While it’s possible to drive the 60-mile gravel McCarthy Road, a journey Google Maps estimates at 2 hours, I would say it would take at least three hours in our motorhome, rattling around like loose change.
When planning the trip, I came across many online warnings about the rough road conditions, advising against driving it. Combined with my longtime curiosity about flying in one of those tiny Alaskan bush planes, it was an easy call. We flew round-trip with Wrangell Mountain Air in a plane that could accommodate five passengers plus the pilot, but it ended up being just the four of us on both the outbound and return flights.
We were very fortunate with the weather on the way there. It was a beautiful day, and our pilot, Laura, took us on a scenic route through the mountains, flying over the Root and Kennicott Glaciers, which was one of the trip’s highlights.
In Kennicott we stayed at Kennicott Glacier Lodge, the only accommodation available in the area, and I highly recommend staying there. The hotel is clean, comfortable, offers excellent food, and has a friendly and helpful staff. But the real standout is the unbeatable view of the glacier and mountains, set amidst the old Kennicott copper mine.
We spent three days in Wrangell St. Elias National Park, staying two nights at the lodge, and it was one of, if not the best, parts of our trip to Alaska.
During this time, our motorhome was parked at Chitina Airport (free of charge), and we found it safe and sound upon our return. We then retraced our route back toward Palmer before heading north for the next leg of our journey.
To learn more about this part of the trip, check out our post about Wrangell-St. Elias: all you need to know to explore America’s largest National Park
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Fourth part: North – Denali National Park and Fairbanks – 4 days
Talkeetna
From Glennallen, we took the Glenn Highway to Palmer and then followed the Parks Highway to the small but lively town of Talkeetna. It was our longest single-day drive of the trip so far: 220 miles. Although Google Maps suggests it takes about 4 hours, we spent the entire day, making several stops along the way.
Talkeetna, located 115 miles north of Anchorage, is roughly halfway to Denali National Park and offers some of the best views of Mt. Denali.
They say only 30% of visitors actually see Denali. I’m still not sure if we’re part of that select group. We did manage to glimpse the mountain, straining to see it through the clouds, but it was far from a clear view. Call me ungrateful, but truly seeing Denali remains on my bucket list for my next visit to Alaska.
Another great spot for Denali views is Denali State Park, with two main viewpoints along the Parks Highway: Denali South View and Denali North View. Unfortunately, the weather had other plans, zero visibility both times.
The best view we had of Denali was on the day we arrived in Talkeetna, in the late afternoon at the Susitna River’s edge in Talkeetna Riverfront Park. Even if Denali is hiding behind clouds, it’s still worth the visit.
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Denali
We then continued to Denali National Park, where we spent two nights at a campground within the park (a heads-up: you need to book as soon as possible). Denali is unique among U.S. national parks because you can’t explore it with your own vehicle. Private cars are only allowed up to mile 15; beyond that, you must take a park bus or hike in.
We took two guided bus tours in the park: the Denali Natural History Tour, which focuses on the park’s history and native peoples and goes up to mile 17, and the Tundra Wilderness Tour, which is all about wildlife sightings.
The Tundra Wilderness Tour typically runs the entire 89-mile length of Denali Park Road, the only road through the park. However, since 2014, small landslides have been occurring at mile 45, in an area called Pretty Rocks, leading to the road’s closure at that point in 2021. Construction of a bridge began in 2023, with completion expected in the summer of 2027.
As a result, until the bridge is completed in 2027, all park buses go no further than mile 43. It’s a shame because the most stunning landscapes and the best chances of seeing Denali from within the park are beyond that point. I knew this when planning the trip, but it didn’t stop us from going to Alaska.
Our third and final day in Denali National Park was supposed to be spent hiking with the park rangers. There are several options; you just need to sign up the day before at the Visitor Center. However, the weather forecast called for heavy rain, and it was accurate. Exhausted from the rain and unwilling to endure any more discomfort on the last days of our trip, we decided to wrap up our Denali adventure and head to Fairbanks — the farthest north I’ve ever been on this planet.
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Fairbanks
We made an early start to Fairbanks, a 123-mile drive. We visited the Museum of the North, a compact but fascinating museum. It has exhibits on Alaska’s different regions, covering its geological, historical, and wildlife characteristics, an excellent collection of local art, a small children’s area, and a video about the Northern Lights — since we couldn’t see them during this time of year, we settled for experiencing them on screen.
After lunch and a stroll around the city, we headed south. The distance from Fairbanks to Anchorage is 360 miles, which Google Maps estimates at six hours. Our flight home was set to depart the next day at midnight, and we didn’t want to cover such a long stretch of road on the final day, just in case.
We left Fairbanks in the mid-afternoon and drove as far as we could toward Anchorage. We spent the night shortly after Talkeetna, and the next day we arrived in Anchorage just in time to return our motorhome at 1 p.m., an hour late, though the rental company didn’t charge us extra.
We spent our last afternoon in Alaska in Anchorage. During the long summer days, there’s always a festival happening in the city. We enjoyed one at Town Square Park, soaked up the late afternoon sun at Elderberry Park, and then headed to the airport, already pondering whether our next visit to Alaska will be in summer or spring.
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Day-by-Day Itinerary for a 2-Week Alaska Road Trip by Motorhome
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Our two-week road trip through Alaska in an RV started and ended in Anchorage. Here’s how we spent each day and where we stayed each night:
Day 1: arrival in Anchorage, overnight at Hotel Hyatt Place Midtown.
Day 2: Anchorage Museum, picking up the motorhome, stocking up on supplies, overnight at Hotel Hyatt Place Midtown.
Day 3: Road trip begins — Seward Highway, with a stop at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, continuing on to Whittier and overnight in Seward at the Seward KOA Journey.
Day 4: Exit Glacier, overnight in Seward at Millers Landing Campground & RV Park.
Day 5: Scenic boat ride through Kenai Fjords National Park, overnight in Seward at Millers Landing Campground & RV Park.
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Day 6: Alaska Sealife Center, drive to Cooper Landing, lunch at Cooper Landing Brewery, overnight at Kenai Princess RV Park @ Cooper Landing.
Day 7: Return to Anchorage, overnight at Ship Creek RV Park.
Day 8: Matanuska Glacier, overnight at Grand View Café & RV Park. (Originally, we planned to do the bear watching tour in Lake Clark National Park on this day, but it was canceled due to bad weather.)
Day 9: Go to Chitina, overnight at Wrangell View RV Park.
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Day 10: flight to Kennicott, visit Wrangell St-Elias National Park, overnight at Kennicott Glacier Lodge
Day 11: Full-day glaciar hike at Root Glacier, overnight at Kennicott Glacier Lodge
Day 12: visit to Kennicott Copper Mine, flight back to Chitina, overnight in Glennallen at Northern Lights Campground RV.
Day 13: drive to Talkeetna, stop at Reindeer Farm, lunch in Palmer at Matanuska Brewing Company, overnight at Talkeetna Camper Park
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Day 14: Drive to Denali National Park, join the Natural History Tour in Denali, overnight at Riley Creek Campground.
Day 15: whale-watching tour? Tundra Wilderness Tour, overnight at Riley Creek Campground.
Day 16: Drive to Fairbanks, visit to the Museum of the North, return trip to Talkeetna, overnight at Mat-Su RV Park & Campground.
Day 17: Return to Anchorage, drop-off the motorhome, afternoon in Anchorage, evening flight back home.
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Total Distance: we covered 1.630 miles (2.623 km) over 15 days on the road.
Duration: Although the trip took 17 days in total, it can easily be done in 14 days or extended to 19 or 21 days, depending on how much time you have.
To stick with the “2 weeks” theme, you could start the road trip on Day 2 (instead of Day 3), skip Fairbanks, and combine days 8 and 9 into a single day (a long drive, but doable), resulting in exactly 14 days of travel.
There’s plenty of flexibility to adjust the itinerary based on your interests and availability. I hope this helps you plan your own road trip (by car or motorhome) through Alaska!
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Map of our two-week Alaska trip
Our 1.630-mile journey across Alaska by motorhome is detailed on the map below. Simply click and save it to your Google account. When planning your next trip to Alaska, you’ll already know where to start! 😉
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How to use this map: Click the menu tab in the upper left corner of the map to access different layers, including points of interest and routes. You can toggle layers on and off by checking the corresponding boxes. To see details about specific locations, click on the icons on the map.
To save this map to your Google Maps account, just click the star icon next to the map title. To access it later on your phone or computer, open Google Maps, tap the menu button, go to “Your Places”, select “Maps”, and you’ll find this map saved there.
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Here are the websites I always use to plan my trips:
– 🛌 Accommodation: Booking
– ☀️ Tours & activities: Civitatis & Get Your Guide
– 📱 eSIM for mobile data: Airalo e-SIM – use promo code DANAE2375
– 🚗 Car rental: RentCars – use promo code DANAE
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All our posts about traveling in the United States of America:
- Christmas in New York: a complete guide to making the most of the season
- 4 days in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
- 2-week Alaska RV roadtrip itinerary – The best of the last frontier
- Wrangell-St. Elias: all you need to know to explore America’s largest National Park
- Everything you need to know to travel in a motorhome across America
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Looking for more polar destinations? I think you’ll also enjoy these:
- Norway itinerary: what to do in 7, 10, 12 days or more
- Preikestolen – what the most beautiful hike in Norway is like
- Iceland: complete itinerary for 5 to 9 days
- What to do in Iceland: the best of the south and east
- Best of Ushuaia: a 4-day itinerary for spring and fall
- Sapporo: complete guide and tips for skiing in Hokkaido
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Comments or questions? Contact me on social media.! I love to chat about travel 😉
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