AMHS Ports?

[kohldad]

Long lead planning here (2020). Was wondering which stops along the Alaska Marine Highway I should include along with how long?

Plan would be to start about Memorial Day as I would prefer to be just before the crowds get bad.

Current plan based on this year's schedule:
Right now just plan on:
Prince Rupert (depart Mon)
Ketchikan (depart Wed)
Wrangell (depart Fri)
Petersburg (depart Tue)
Juneau (depart Thu)
Haines

Am I missing a port that would show me more of the non-tourist Alaska. Side trips are fine. Or am I staying some place that I would be wasting my time.

I'm in a TC and only need a level place to park for the night, so no campground or hookups required. Boondocking is actually preferred.

This will be my last vacation combined with retirement party so willing to spend some $$$ since it will probably be my only trip on the AMHS.

Note: Not last trip, just last vacation since you don't get any vacations after you retire which I will do while on this trip.

[older_fossil]

We spent most of June 2012 traveling the AMHS from Prince Rupert to Haines, with side trips to Sitka (with the RV) and Glacier Bay (without the RV). I also highly recommend visiting Sitka and also recommend visiting Glacier Bay. We were able to schedule ferry hops in daylight hours. There are pictures of some of what we saw and did during that time on our blog starting wth:
http://arts-work.blogspot.ca/2012/06/clover-pass-eagles.html

Art

[PA12DRVR]

A few thoughts:

- One can stay longer than the ferry schedule dictates, just look for the next ferry to the next town;
- (having been in both places) I'd recommend going to Sitka and spending longer than currently shown in Ketchikan.
- One can get to Southcentral (vs. just Southeast) Alaska by taking the AMHS to either Valdez or Whittier....you're then on the road system and can go to Los Anchorage, Kenai, Homer, Fairbanks, etc.
- Out of the way, but might consider running across the Gulf to Kodiak....

[Tonijim]

In '05 we used the AMHS for our return. Leaving from Haines, we took our 28' Class C to two night stops in Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan disembarking in Prince Rupert. All were great stops, but Sitka was our favorite. R

[SideHillSoup]

kohldad wrote:


Plan would be to start about Memorial Day as I would prefer to be just before the crowds get bad..

Sorry, Canuck here, when is Memorial Day?
And if your not worried about cost, think about ferrying over to Vancouver Island from ither Wash State or from BC and if the BC ferry take the day time tripmfrom Port Hardy to Prince Rupert.
Soup

[fanrgs]

I have been going to Alaska since 1972 and have been from Chicken in the NE to Shemya Island near the western end of the Aleutians and from Hyder in the SE to Kotzebue above the Arctic Circle in the NW. Of all the places in Alaska I have been, Sitka is my favorite town. Don't miss it!

[Yeti_plus]

Kohldad,
that itinerary looks almost the same as we did last year, except we also went from Haines to Skagway.
Your stays in the ports are determined by the ferry schedule. There is not daily service. We got into Petersburg at 11 PM and left the next night at 9 or 10 PM, otherwise we would have been there for 4 or 5 days.
It seemed that we traveled a lot at night, so we booked a cabin as well. Then we were rested and showered and ready to start the day right off the ferry.
Your plan also sounds similar. She was already retired, my last day at work was May 27, and the truck and camper were on the road May 28, and we got home Sept. 28. We added in Yukon and Northwest Territories as well as some of Alberta and British Columbia.
We headed north on the AMHS to have the flexibility after we got off in Skagway to do as we pleased. However we did have reservations in Whitehorse for July 1st ( Canada Day) and Valdez for July 4th and all campgrounds were full in both places.
Brian

[PghBob]

On our next trip, we hope to get off the ferry at Whittier, opening up the Kenai Penn., Anchorage, Denali, and Fairbanks to us. When planning ferry trips, remember that the Ferry is operated by the State of Alaska, and year to year the schedule can change, with some trips eliminated based on state budget concerns. So, it's good to plan ahead, but don't finalize anything until you know for sure the ferry schedule in the year you are going.

[Trackrig]

Stay in all of them for a week or so depending on the ferry schedule. With a TC I'd stay in Wrangle a couple of weeks if you like boondocking. There's many many miles of forest logging roads there that are good enough for your TC.

Sitka is a great town. If I had to live on the coast in Alaska, that's where I'd live.

Don't forget Cordova if the ferry goes by there.

Bill

[rv2go]

I did all those you mention, plus Sitka. Then got off at Skagway instead of Haines.
Ketchikan...4 nights
Wrangell, 2 nights
Petersburg..2 nights
Juneau......4 nights
Sitka.......4 nights---one of my favorite stops
Skagway.....3 nights