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Crowsnest Pass, elevation 1357 m, is situated in the Rocky Mountains, on the BC-Alberta border.

Eagle Pass, elevation about 550 m, provides a corridor through the Gold Range in the Monashee Mountains between Shuswap Lake and the ​Columbia River, 12 km southwest of ​Revelstoke, British Columbia.

Today the trail has been somewhat improved and restored by US and Canadian park officials and offers designated campsites and other amenities. However, for the some 2000 people yearly who seek its adventure, it still represents a challenging 4-5 day hike.

Chilkoot Pass, elevation 1,067 m, is situated on the British Columbia-Alaska border.

Athabasca Landing Trail was established 1875 by Hudson's Bay Company between Edmonton and Athabasca Landing to improve and expand northern transportation.

Athabasca Pass, elevation 1,748 m, is situated on the extreme southwest boundary of Jasper National Park, on the ​British Columbia-​Alberta border.

Kicking Horse Pass is a route through the Rocky Mountains. At an elevation of 1,627 m, Kicking Horse Pass straddles the Continental Divide on the border between Alberta and British Columbia in Yoho National Park. In 1971, Kicking Horse Pass was designated a National Historic Site for its importance as a transportation corridor in Western Canada, first for Indigenous peoples, then the Canadian Pacific Railway, and finally the Trans-Canada Highway.

Jumbo Pass, elevation 2,270 m, is situated in the central Purcell Mountains of British Columbia.

See PORTAGE LA LOCHE.

Pine Pass, elevation 874 m, crosses the continental divide northwest-southeast in northeastern BC. The Pine River rises southwest of the pass then flows northwest to meet the Peace River, near Fort St John.

White Pass, elevation 888 m, sits on the Alaska-BC boundary, approximately 125 km south of Whitehorse, YT. In 1887 the federal government sent William OGILVIE to survey the 141st meridian national boundary where it crosses the Yukon River; members of his party found the pass.

Allison Pass, elevation 1,352 metres, is located at kilometre 60, the highest point on the Hope-Princeton Highway (opened 1949) through the Cascade Mountains of southern British Columbia.

Vermilion Pass, elev 1651 m, is situated between Boom and Storm mountains on the BC-Alberta border, 42 km W of Banff. It takes its name from the mineral springs of iron oxide located along the VERMILION R, 9 km SW of the pass, where Indians gathered material for war paint and decoration.

Waskahegan Trail is a regional hiking trail of more than 300 km developed in and around EDMONTON, Alta. It began as a Canadian Centennial project (1967) to promote hiking opportunities in Alberta's capital region. Similar in

Portage is a way by land around an interruption in a water route. Until the early 19th century most inhabitants of what is now Canada travelled mainly by water. Alexander Mackenzie and Simon Fraser demonstrated that it is possible, by portaging 100 times, to canoe from the St Lawrence to the Arctic or Pacific oceans.

The Bruce Trail is a continuous, 740 km footpath on the Niagara Escarpment

Yellowhead Pass, elev 1133 m, crosses the continental divide between Alberta and BC, 25 km W of JASPER. The Miette R flows E from the pass to meet the Athabasca R at Jasper. Yellowhead Lk, on the W side, empties into the Fraser River.

Portage La Loche (Methye Portage), in present-day northern Saskatchewan, was the longest portage (20 km) in the regular fur trade, traversing the height of land between the Hudson Bay watershed and the Arctic watershed.

Canada was founded along the many waterways utilized by Indigenous peoples, early explorers, fur traders and pioneers. As Canada became a more developed nation, the automobile and roads began to dominate the landscape. Trails were almost forgotten, except in parks and other protected areas. Today, however, Canadians are using trails in increasing numbers. Trails are either managed by organizations such as parks, municipalities and First Nations, or unmanaged. As of 2010, there were 278,576 km of managed trails in Canada. This distance is roughly the equivalent of traversing the country, from Cape Spear, Newfoundland and Labrador, to the Yukon-Alaska border, 50 times. The province with the largest managed trail network is Quebec. Just over 27 per cent of all managed Canadian trails (77,030 km) are found there.

This article is from our Toronto Feature series. Features from past programs are not updated.