Bringing a motor home on the Alaska Ferry is not just possible a but pretty common
practice too. See the Alaska many RV owners never see; you will be in awe as the best of Alaska
is discovered from this totally different perspective. Be the first in your group to experience
Alaska from the calm protected waters of the Inside Passage. It's a great way to combine your
Alaska camping trip with the popular scenery from Alaska Cruises.
Alaska Marine Highway
Theresa Soley
February 21, 2013
Alaska has an enormous coastline and a large quantity of the state's most spectacular places
to visit lie along the water. Many are difficult or impossible to access by road, making the
Alaska Marine Highway a wonderful way of traveling Alaska. The Alaska Marine Highway is just
what its name indicates, a highway system connecting cities in Alaska by ferry boats on waterways
rather than cars on roadways. The marine highway also runs between Bellingham, Washington and
Alaska, connecting the state with the rest of the country.
Most visitors to Alaska travel the Inside Passage by cruise ship, but the marine highway system
offers an alternative way of traveling liquid Alaska. One can either walk or drive onto the
ferry boats by foot, bicycle, car, truck or RV. The ferry system is a popular way in which locals
travel to remote places in Alaska. One of the only complaints about the ferries are the prices;
both transporting a vehicle and passenger fares are pricey. Unfortunately this is one of the
costs of living in Alaska, as all prices are high in the far north. The price is worth it, and
drivers can travel free accompanying their vehicle between November and April.
The Inside Passage needs a marine highway because so many of its cities are located on remote
islands without connection to the road system. Alaska's state capital, Juneau, is accessible
only by boat and plane because it lies between mountains and coast. Other cities disconnected
from the road system and rather connected by marine highway include Sitka, Hoonah, and Petersburg.
Some refer to the Alaska Marine Highway System as a poor-man's cruise. While not a terrible
nickname, it more so offers an alternate way of traveling Alaska for adventurous souls. The
boats are comparable to a cruise-ship because you can rent a cabin, eat in the cafeteria, converse
in a bar, and watch movies, but of course the ferries are much smaller than cruise ships. Alternately,
one can also decide whether or not to rent a cabin room. Many ferry travelers choose instead
to sleep on the top deck of the boat where a solarium warms the happy community that forms there.
If you elect to camp on the boat deck a warm sleeping bag, tent and duct tape are recommended.
In addition to connecting the waterways of the Inside Passage, the Alaska Marine Highway System
also ventures farther north. One may travel across the Gulf of Alaska to the Prince William
Sound, onward to the Kenai Peninsula, south to Kodiak, and along the Aleutian Islands all the
way to Dutch Harbor. From the deck of the ferries one may see whales, birds, and porpoises.
One will certainly be mesmerized by coastlines and mountain ranges Alaska has to offer.
Information about driving your RV on the Alaska Ferry between Bellingham WA and Alaska's Inside Passage.