As the crow flies she counts close on 777 kilometres between Hope, British Columbia, and Medicine Hat, Alberta. The most direct route on the ground is the Crowsnest Highway, the No. 3, which, by its shortest configuration, uncurls 1167 kilometres (730 miles) across the varied topography of south-western Canada, using the storied Crowsnest Pass to breach the blue Rocky Mountains between Alberta’s high plains and the mountains and lakes of British Columbia’s “Interior.” By its longest configuration it meanders more than 1300 historic, scenic and culturally diverse kilometres. Known also as the Southern Inter-Provincial Route or, lately, the “Southern Corridor,” the Crowsnest Highway is Western Canada’s old road between the Pacific and the Prairies. ‘Tis a traveller’s delight, and to that Delight this site is dedicated.
The Reader of any extended portion of this text should bear in mind that it was originally intended as a cyclist’s travelogue, from west to east, with the prevailing wind.
To access specific communities along The Highway, refer to the INDEX MAP or select from the list below. For convenience, a small Google search engine has been included to search the entire site for keywords. After following the Google link to the relevant page, tap your mouse’s pointer on the text-portion of the Page and do a Control “F” search for your keyword.
Please note that, as 2009 begins, the B.C. portion of The Highway is complete and requires only constant revision. Slowly the author is writing his way eastward into Alberta, the City of Lethbridge being the last added. Coaldale is next.
PS: The Virtual Crowsnest Highway was honoured and delighted to receive the British Columbia Historical Federation’s 2006 B.C. History Website Prize. Thank you very much.