We camped quite a bit when I lived in Alaska as a child. Clam Gulch was my parents' favorite place, mostly for the abundance of clams, but we had fun there, too. It was pretty much a big parking lot with pit toilets and didn't cost anything back then (mid 70's) but a quick search found that it's a state park now with all the fees that go along with that. We spent a lot of nights in the camper, just parked along some river in the middle of nowhere. Back then, there were so many quiet places to camp with no other people nearby, lots of fresh fish (even in the winter we went ice fishing), and beautiful scenery. Camping was a cheap and relaxing vacation for our family. I'm hoping someone can answer your question with more current information to see how much things have changed.
Wendy

Plf333,

I haven't camped in Alaska yet, but a fellow who contributes to the bmwbmw.org message page swears by a book that I've ordered from Amazon.com, The Milepost 2005. It's available in about a month and will be shipped to me then.

You might also get some ideas from his travelogue, at http://www.largiader.com/trip03/

And check http://www.travelalaska.com/

Brian

Here is a link that might be useful: The Milepost 2005

Here's part of Anton's Tips Page:

Get the Milepost. This book is worth carrying, period. Buy it almost anywhere in the north or order it online from themilepost.com. It's like a phone book 7/8" thick and costs $25.

Camping spots.

Throughout the North Country (AK, Yukon, and NWT), free roadside/wilderness camping is available nearly everywhere. Don't be afraid to do this, just learn the basic bear precautions and go for it. All gravel roads will have plenty of gravel yards used by the highway department; these would make excellent spots.

Dempster Highway: There are lots of good places along the road to pitch a tent, especially in the southern half. The campgrounds are nearly all in the northern section, and are likely to be mosquito-infested (specifically Rock River is) since they are located by rivers. In the northern part, I'd camp by the Arctic Circle or NWT border signs, on the gravel, or in one of the many highway maintenance gravel yards. Just find somewhere that's open with a bit of a breeze.

McCarthy/Kennicott: Camp on the river (free) just east of Chitina. After that, it's wooded and buggy until McCarthy, where you could camp on the river for $15. In the national park, you can camp for free and there is a GREAT spot about halfway up the trail to the Bonanza Mine, just above the treeline.

Dalton Highway: Just south of the Yukon River there's a clearing on the west side of the road that should be OK, and after that there are plenty of gravel yards. Just south of where the pavement starts (between Yukon Crossing and the Arctic Circle) there's one high on a hill to the west that would have a FANTASTIC morning view. Once you get within 80 miles of Deadhorse it will be buggy everywhere, but the area around Attigun Pass should be good. The southern part of the highway runs along a river, with numerous opportunities to pull off. If a side road is posted or gated by Alyeska, DON'T camp there. There are an incredible number of Alyeska security patrols everywhere on the Dalton. Contrary to the Milepost, you CAN camp in Deadhorse (find a corner of a parking lot somewhere).

Campbell Highway: definitely stay at Taro, if possible. $2 tent sites, free showers. There are probably decent spots to the east, but the road is usually pretty low and probably buggy. To the west, you should have no problem finding a good spot.

Camping at Radium Hot Springs (and maybe everywhere else in Banff) is $22!!! (I stayed in the parking lot of the Husky station for free). Provincial parks throughout Canada are $8 to $12, and firewood is usually provided free.

Mike Dwyer reports a free municipal campground at Burns Lake.

Thanks for all the info. Peg

Nope, never in Alaska, you lucky dog... I'm jealous...
Alaska would be unreal! What a treat! Maybe some day, I will take a cruise. Wife said I would have to go alone.
She absolutely hates cold weather. She won't even eat
"Baked Alaska" dessert.....lol

alaska camping is great. you can pretty much camp anywhere off the road as long as you're not on private property according to our friends we stayed with in seward.

we backpacked & camped in denali national park. we camped about a mile from the road on top of a ridge with a perfect view of denali (mt mckinley). we woke up to a young caribou walking through our camp which was the best part of of our trip. you have to use a bear canister which you can borrow at the information center. bears aren't the real problem, it's the moose. bears will generally avoid humans, but there have been some deaths by moose. in 35 years, there have been no deaths by grizzly and because of their strict bear canister policy the bears don't associate humans with food.

be wary of grizzly bears, but be afraid of moose. we visited our friend at the dorms in denali national park & they had a moose attack the week prior to our visit. we were moved from our backpacking grid because of a grizzly attack, but it turned out the idiot was trying to get close to a mother & her cubs to photograph them.

there's a cheap campground in palmer with a shower. we stayed at the eagle's nest hostel in ninilchik that was cheap & let us recharge my camera batteries, wash some clothes & take a hot shower. although camping for 3 weeks was great, we stayed at the anchorage international hostel on our last 2 days so that we could get our gear in order & act like tourists for a couple of days. it's located downtown & central to everything including train & bus station. we had some nice chats with some european backpackers in the lounge. avoid at all costs the other hostels, especially jason's. they are housing for korean cannery workers which means they are dirty, workers will wake you up in the early morning hours getting ready for work & don't expect a private room.

alaska is great for camping. i encourage you to go if you're considering it, but do your research. i also read about camping on deck of a ferry. there's a gorgeous picture of a bunch of tents duct taped to the deck of a ship in the february issue of backpacker magazine. they also have an article called ALASKA FOR PENNIES. the milepost was a great resource too.

Here is a link that might be useful: backpacker magazine

I'm in the "never have, but always wanted too" category myself. Had this day dream of pulling my little camper across country and then heading up the Alaskan highway and maybe returning to the lower 48 via the ferry. But the reality of this idea is that's a very long, long haul. Have about concluded that if I'm to see Alaska it had better be by airline and then renting whatever is needed when I get there.

Have made some fishing trips years ago into northern Canada including a couple of fly-ins. On one of these trips our group was using a couple of large canoes and they were powered by 7 hp Martin outboard motors. We had been warned that the number one threat to our saftey was big male moose who were very territorial. We rounded a bend on a very large river one morning and came onto a large moose that was standing in the shallow flats on the side of the river and in what looked to be water almost to the depth of his legs; we were to find out later that side and section of the river had a mucky bottom, too. That moose took out after us and we gave those outboards full throttle and just barely out distanced that big critter. What was amazing is how fast that animal could move out in that mucky bottomed water! I think the only thing that saved us from being over-run (besides the outboard motors) was the deeper water in the river channel where he had to start to swim. But one thing is for sure, I'm never going to forget just how intent and serious that big moose was about catching us!

Dale