From Denali to the Kenai Peninsula, departing from Anchorage and Fairbanks
Campervan hire in Alaska opens up landscapes that few roads in the world cross: the Alaska Range crowned by Denali, the fjords and glaciers of the Kenai Peninsula, the boreal forests of the Interior and the mountains plunging into the Gulf of Alaska. Our rental partners await you in Anchorage and Fairbanks, from vans to 4x4 truck campers and motorhomes sleeping five.
The road network comes down to a handful of major highways, which keeps planning simple but makes the stages long: Anchorage is the base for Kenai and the south, Fairbanks for the Interior, and the Parks Highway links the two cities along the edge of Denali. The season is short and vehicles are booked early.
Choose your departure city: the map shows where rental companies hand over their vehicles.
Alaska's main highway runs up the Susitna Valley to Talkeetna, the village where scenic flights to Denali take off, then crosses Broad Pass and skirts the national park before descending to Fairbanks. On clear days, North America's highest peak appears from several viewpoints, but clouds often hide it.
Allow at least two nights near the park entrance, at the Riley Creek or Savage River campgrounds, to devote a full day to wildlife and trails. Healy and Nenana are the last stops before Fairbanks.
South of Anchorage, the Seward Highway follows Turnagain Arm, an inlet with spectacular tides where beluga whales are sometimes spotted, then crosses the mountains of Chugach National Forest to Seward. This is where cruises depart for the glaciers of Kenai Fjords, and Exit Glacier can be reached on foot from a car park accessible by motorhome.
The Sterling Highway then passes through Cooper Landing and its salmon rivers before reaching Homer, at the end of its long sand spit facing Kachemak Bay.
Alaska's first major road runs from Fairbanks towards the Gulf, following the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, which is visible in several places. After Delta Junction it crosses the Alaska Range, skirts the Wrangell Mountains near Glennallen, then climbs over Thompson Pass past Worthington Glacier before dropping down to the port of Valdez, ringed by mountains.
From Valdez, an Alaska Marine Highway ferry crosses Prince William Sound to Whittier, about a hundred kilometres from Anchorage: check the timetable and book a place for the vehicle.
North-east of Anchorage, the Glenn Highway leaves the farming valley of the Matanuska, around Palmer, and climbs between the Chugach and Talkeetna Mountains. Matanuska Glacier reaches almost down to the road, and a private, fee-paying access lets you walk to its foot. Further on, the visitor centre near Copper Center introduces Wrangell-St. Elias, the largest national park in the country.
On the way back, Hatcher Pass and the old Independence gold mine can be reached from Palmer on a mountain road whose upper section is unpaved.
Alaska's full season: roads, campgrounds and excursions are all running, wildlife is active and night barely falls in Fairbanks around the solstice. It is also the busiest period, from the Kenai Fjords cruises to the Denali buses, and August brings a noticeably wetter end of summer around Anchorage.
The shoulder months, quieter and often drier in Fairbanks. In May, snow is still retreating from the passes and several services, including the Denali buses, generally only start at the end of the month. In September, the tundra turns red and gold and the first northern lights appear over the Interior.
The Arctic winter: snow and ice on the roads, very short days in December and intense cold in the Interior, milder on the Anchorage coast. It is the prime season for the aurora in Fairbanks, but the choice of motorhomes shrinks sharply, as many rental companies only operate in summer: most available vehicles are cars and SUVs.
Anchorage for the Kenai Peninsula, Valdez and the widest choice of vehicles, with a depot at the international airport; Fairbanks for the Interior, 4x4 truck campers and the northern lights of late summer.
Look at the miles included, the kitchen and bedding kit, heating for chilly nights, insurance and the excess, then run a search with your dates to display the exact price of each vehicle.
Once the vehicle is secured, book the Denali buses, the Seward glacier cruises and any ferry crossing: these limited places often dictate the order of the stages for the whole trip.
Gather your licence, a credit card in the main driver's name and the documents required to enter the United States, note the pick-up time and plan a night in a hotel if your flight lands after the depot closes.
Outside the towns, petrol stations can be more than a hundred kilometres apart, and some close in the evening or out of season, especially on the Glenn and Richardson Highways. Fill the tank before every remote stretch and keep a margin, as a motorhome burns fuel quickly on long climbs.
Moose often cross the roads, especially at dawn and dusk, and a collision with an animal that size is serious, even in a motorhome. Slow down in signposted areas, keep your distance from bears and never stop on the carriageway to take photos: use the pull-outs.
Many contracts prohibit unpaved roads: the Dalton Highway to the Arctic Circle, the Denali Highway between Paxson and Cantwell or the McCarthy Road to Kennecott. Damage there is rarely covered. If these roads tempt you, choose an offer that expressly allows them and check the excess that applies.
Whittier, the departure port for Prince William Sound, can only be reached by road through a single-lane tunnel shared with the railway, subject to a toll and open at set times in each direction. Check its timetable before booking a cruise or ferry: miss the last evening opening and there is no other way through.
In Anchorage, Cruise America, GoNorth Alaska, Indie Campers and Star RV all have depots, Indie Campers' being at the international airport. In Fairbanks, GoNorth Alaska rents out 4x4 truck campers and motorhomes from South Lathrop Street. The exact address and pick-up time appear in your booking confirmation.
Rental companies present in both cities, such as GoNorth Alaska, may offer it, which saves driving the roughly 580 km of the Parks Highway twice. A supplement may apply depending on the company: enter a different return city in the search to see the vehicles concerned and their full rate.
Only the first few kilometres of the park road, as far as the Savage River, are open to private vehicles, with exceptions such as a booked stay at Teklanika campground. Beyond that, you explore the valley aboard the park buses. A landslide has limited the accessible part of the road for several years: check the park website before setting off.
A truck camper, a living unit mounted on a 4x4 pick-up like those offered in Fairbanks, sleeps three, has good ground clearance and handles well on narrow roads. For families, an MC4 or MC6 type motorhome sleeping four to five provides more living space, welcome on rainy days.
One week is enough to link Anchorage and Fairbanks via Denali, or to tour the Kenai Peninsula. With two weeks you can combine both; three weeks let you add Valdez, the Glenn Highway and the Prince William Sound ferry without covering several hundred kilometres every day.
Very good The rental perfectly met our expectations.
The rental in the US went well. Although I had some trouble reaching people to clarify a few points once on site, there were no issues in the end. The RV on-site was great, spacious, fully equipped, and met our expectations.
Everything went well with Cool Drive!
A standard car driving licence is generally enough for rental motorhomes and truck campers. If your licence was issued outside the United States, add an International Driving Permit, recommended and sometimes required, especially if yours is not written in Latin characters. Minimum age and years of driving experience vary by company: read the conditions of the offer.
Campgrounds in the state parks and Chugach National Forest, simple and set in the wild, sit alongside well-equipped RV parks in Anchorage, Seward, Homer and Fairbanks. On the Kenai Peninsula, pitches along the salmon rivers go fast in July. Roadside pull-outs do not always allow overnight stays: follow the signs.
By road, the Alaska Highway crosses Canada over thousands of kilometres: check that the rental company allows you to cross the border. Alternatively, Alaska Marine Highway ferries link Bellingham, a departure city for our rental companies in Washington State, with the ports of Southeast Alaska, from where you still need to cross Canada's Yukon to reach Anchorage.
Traffic drives on the right, with distances and speed limits in miles. On two-lane roads, slow vehicles must pull into a turnout as soon as five or more vehicles are following them. Drive with headlights on during the day, which is compulsory on certain signposted stretches, and make sure every passenger wears a seatbelt.
The winter before for June, July and August: rental companies have small fleets and the best dates go quickly. For May or September, a few weeks may be enough, but check that your chosen depot is already open, or still open, on your pick-up and return dates.
Warm, waterproof clothing, even in July, as rain and wind quickly chill the air near the glaciers. Add mosquito repellent, as mosquitoes are plentiful in the Interior in early summer, an eye mask to sleep despite the light, binoculars for wildlife and a paper map for the long stretches without mobile coverage.
Alaska is one of the last great wildernesses you can explore by motorhome: a handful of roads cross mountains, glaciers and forests where you meet more moose than villages. The vehicle becomes a shelter as much as a means of transport: you stop beside a salmon river, wait for Denali to emerge from the clouds and eat dinner in broad daylight at ten in the evening.
Departing from Anchorage and Fairbanks, the trip takes shape around a few big choices: the Kenai fjords and the port of Homer to the south, the glaciers of Valdez and the Matanuska to the east, the boreal Interior to the north. The season is brief, but an Alaskan summer offers a rare intensity of light and nature, whether you travel for a week or a month.
