Browse "Passes & Trails"
Dewdney Trail
The original Dewdney Trail was a 400 km trail route extending from Hope to Galbraith's Ferry on the Kootenay River. The trail was routed and constructed under the supervision of Edgar DEWDNEY, a civil engineer appointed by Frederick Seymour, the governor of the colony of BC, in April 1865.
Fur Trade Routes
Throughout the period of the historical fur trade, water routes were the natural “highways” of the voyageurs and coureurs des bois. Canoes (later boats — principally York boats) were the principal vehicles. The location of trading posts depended on the presence of Indigenous peoples willing and able to trade, and on the ease of transportation to and from them.
Grand Portage
Grand Portage was a fur-trade depot and route of the voyageurs at the western extremity of Lake Superior.
Great Divide Trail
Great Divide Trail is a long-distance hiking trail, paralleling where possible the CONTINENTAL DIVIDE of Canada's Rocky Mts range. Some 560 km of the trail lies within the boundaries of Banff, Kootenay, Yoho and Jasper national parks, extending from Palliser Pass in the S to Mt ROBSON in the N.
Mackenzie-Grease Trail
The Mackenzie-Grease Trail represents the final 350 km link which Alexander Mackenzie followed in the first recorded crossing of continental North America in 1793.
Portage
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.
Rogers Pass
During the summer of 1885 the railway was constructed over the pass at great expense. Over 6.4 km of snowsheds (31) were built to protect trains, trackage and workmen from AVALANCHES (the area receives up to 15 m of snow each winter).
Trans Canada Trail
The Trans Canada Trail is over 24,000 km of land and waterways connecting every Canadian province and territory. Construction began in 1992 as part of Canada's 125th birthday celebrations. It was completed 25 years later, in 2017, when Canada turned 150. The trail is now officially called the Great Trail; however, many people and media continue to use its original name.
Waskahegan Trail
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
West Coast Trail
West Coast Trail, on W coast of VANCOUVER I, follows the 72 km route of the historic lifesaving trail between the communities of Bamfield and Port Renfrew, BC.