Haines Junction, YT to Haines, Alaska
Haines Cut-Off 3
147 miles - 3 hours
Oceanside RV Park ($30.00)
Back-in, 30-amp, water, sewer, cable TV
Wi-fi ($), good cellular signal
Tesoro Fuel Station at entrance to Haines
When you do the Alaska trip you are cheating yourself if you don't experience the 150-mile Haines Cut-Off Highway 3 between Haines Junction in the Yukon Territory and the town of Haines, Alaska. Vicki and I have noticed that the roads leading to the coastal communities (Homer, Seward, Valdez, Skagway) seem to be the most scenic. But this road caps them all. The road itself is a wide, nicely paved, 2-lane highway with mostly easy grades and curves (there are a couple of long 6% grades). It takes you across gently rolling terrain, into the mountains and down to the coast. Snow and ice-covered mountains, emerald lakes, and winding rivers are constant companions. Every turn in the road, every crest of a grade reveals even more spectacular vistas. This was our first time on this road. On previous trips we had entered or exited Alaska through Skagway, and Haines just seemed an unnecessary 300 mile round trip. We will make a point of driving this highway again when we return to Alaska.
We stayed at the Oceanside RV Park in Haines ($30.00). It lives up to its name. The only thing between us and the water was a campground road. Our view was the Lynn Canal and the snow-capped mountains. We had 30-amp electric, water, sewer, and cable TV hookups. Paid wi-fi was also available. We had a good cellular signal. The 27-space campground filled up on all the nights we were there.
The next day, our first order of business was to go to the Alaska Marine Highway Ferry Terminal and purchase passage from Haines to Skagway for our rig and ourselves ($233.00). We determined that this one-hour ferry trip would save us 200 miles and one day of driving time. It would also allow us to drive inland from Skagway via the very scenic White Pass.
After making ferry reservations we decided to go bear hunting. We drove eight miles beyond the ferry terminal to Chilkoot Lake. And there, walking next to our side of the river, was a bear! He totally ignored us as he meandered along the shoreline and disappeared into the underbrush. Yes, we got pictures.
That evening we returned to the spot where we had seen the bear and there he was, swimming in the river. Actually, he would float downstream with the current allowing the fish to get used to his presence., then he would dip his head into the water and come up with a salmon. Smart bear.
Read more about the e-book: "RVing Alaska"
