We will be driving Anchorage/Fairbanks via rts 3 and 2 (circle route) during the first week of July. Ideally we would just like to drive, and stop at wherever we happen to be, then book our room for 1-2 nights at that time. Is this doable, or asking for trouble this time of year??
While the first week of July has relatively less traffic than the weeks surrounding Solstice and the latter half of July, it's still summer tourist season in Alaska, and it can be
very difficult to find available rooms at the last minute.
Unfortunately, with the extremely peaked tourist season we have here, the typical go-without-a-plan travel style [that I am personally a fan of] is not safe. At least bring a tent as a back-up.
Also, I think you may not have a sense of the scale of Alaska. "Stop wherever we happen to be" is not like it is in the Lower 48. "Where we happen to be" may be 100 (or more!) miles from the nearest outpost of civilization, and that nearest outpost of civilization may just be a gas station and quickie mart, with the nearest lodging another 100 miles beyond that. Unless you're in an RV, you can't just stop wherever you want.
Here's a rough guide to distances between lodging options between Prudhoe Bay (Deadhorse) and Homer:
Prudhoe Bay (2 hotels)
-- 241 miles --
Coldfoot (1 motel)
-- 254 miles --
Fairbanks (several dozen loding options)
-- 113 miles --
Healy (2 motels)
-- 10 miles --
Denali Park (Glitter Gulch; several high-priced options)
-- 10 miles --
McKinley Village area (2 options)
-- 20 miles --
Cantwell (a couple of options)
-- 78 miles --
Denali Princess (one option)
-- 90 miles --
Wasilla (a couple of options)
-- 45 miles --
Anchorage
-- 45 miles --
Girdwood (Alyeska Prince Resort and a few B&Bs)
-- 45 miles --
Summit Lake Lodge (one option)
-- 20 miles --
Cooper Landing (Kenai Princess, one option)
-- 45 miles --
Soldotna/Kenai (a few options)
-- 75 miles --
Homer, AK (a few options)
You can see that the distances between the options are a bit larger than in the Lower 48, and when you do get somewhere, there's often only one or two options. You could find yourself driving 200 miles before you find a place with an open room.
Not to scare you, but I just wanted to make sure you had a sense of the size of this place and the sparseness of the population.
Also, I'd highly recommend obtaining a copy of
The Milepost to help you plan your road trip and see exactly what is along each road.