Old Highway Three

We’re looking at a section of old Number Three, the Crowsnest Highway, in its namesake locale, the Crowsnest Pass of Alberta. Along here we’re a stone’s throw from the British Columbia border and it’s just behind our shooting position. This stretch is still paved and can be driven after being bypassed in the 1970s, but doesn’t really go anywhere once it branches off from the current alignment. It simply dead-ends down by the train tracks after about a kilometre and that’s it.

This section skirted around a lake, whereas the newer right of way does so on the opposite side.

This is one of a few disconnected pieces of Highway Three in the general area. Another can be found not far away, just across the railway line and incorporated into a campground/recreation site. A third, a bit more to the east, can be used as access for back country camping and some of this old road above a deep lake and by steep cliffs has been blocked off to vehicular traffic, but open to walk. Lots of falling rocks here and ice in the winter. This section makes an appearance in a movie: Then and now – Wild Horse Hank.

All these bit and pieces were bypassed and either pinch-points, too narrow and winding, or due to hazards and/or issues relating to maintenance. Highway Three along here dates back to at least the 1920s and did not get paved until sometime post World War Two. The hazy sky in the photo is due to forest fires burning in BC and the States.

From the immediate area…
Crowsnest Ridge and Crowsnest Power Plant (now gone).

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Date of adventure: August, 2021.
Location: Crowsnest Pass, AB (but almost in BC).

A section of old Highway Three near the BC border.