Yellowhead Highway - highway in Canada

The Yellowhead Highway, part of the Trans-Canada Highway system, is in western Canada (the Prairies and British Columbia). It is not the Trans-Canada mainline (which originates in Victoria in the west) but an alternate, northern route through Edmonton with Prince Rupert as its western endpoint.

Understand

The 2660 km Yellowhead Highway is one of multiple highways which compose the Trans-Canada Highway system; in all four western provinces (BC, AB, SK, MB) it is numbered as provincial Highway 16, with exception of the easternmost 100 km which follows Manitoba Highway 1. The route leads through remote and sparsely-populated areas due to its more northern alignment, including many native First Nation communities; in BC it is known as the Highway of Tears due to a number of hitchhikers missing or dead over the years.

In the prairies, the Yellowhead Highway begins in Winnipeg (population 700,000) and passes through two large cities: Edmonton (metro population 1.1 million), Saskatoon (population 250,000). Prince George is accessible from the BC Lower Mainland via BC Highway 97 (which extends US 97) but further west the route is isolated. In Terrace, the only other highway (BC 37) runs north through mountainous terrain to the Alaska Highway in the Yukon; in Prince Rupert, the only access is by coastal ferry, by air or by following the Yellowhead Highway's path by road or rail. No road follows the rugged BC coastline north from Powell River to Prince Rupert. While this itinerary describes travel by road, it is possible to make the same trip by rail by taking the main Vancouver-Toronto train, The Canadian, in Winnipeg to the town of Jasper (in Jasper National Park) and transfer to the two-day Jasper-Prince Rupert train.

The Southern Yellowhead Highway (BC Highway 5), is a spur route which runs from Tête Jaune Cache, a small village west of the Alberta border, south to Kamloops and the Lower Mainland, and is the shortest highway route between Edmonton and Vancouver. The section south of Kamloops is a 4-6 lane freeway known as the Coquihalla Highway, which also functions as the preferred route to the 2 lane Trans-Canada Highway between Kamloops and Hope.

Prepare

This is a northern route which leads through isolated communities and through the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia. It requires at least thirty-two hours of continuous driving and road conditions may be treacherous in winter. Be sure that your vehicle is in top mechanical condition; do not set out on this route in winter without snow tires and emergency equipment for winter driving.

By bus

Intercity buses operate along the Yellowhead Highway portions in Saskatoon and to the west. To the east of Saskatoon, the only portion of the Yellowhead Highway that intercity buses operate on is between Winnipeg and the junction between Highways 1 and 16, located about 12 km west of Portage la Prairie.

• BC Bus North. Service between Prince Rupert and Prince George, and between Prince George and Valemount. 2021-08-23
• Rider Express. Service between Vancouver and Calgary including stops in Hope and Kamloops. Service between Edmonton and Saskatoon. Travel between Winnipeg-Saskatoon is only possible via the southern Trans-Canada, through Regina. 2021-08-23
• Ebus. Service between Vancouver and Kamloops including a stop in Hope. 2022-03-19
• Thompson Valley Charters, +1 877-769-3287. In partnership with Ebus, operates twice per week service between Kamloops and Edmonton including a stop in Valemount. 2022-03-26

Get in

While the majority this route may be taken from either endpoint and incorporated as part of a longer Trans-Canada trip, the westernmost 830 km is very difficult to get to by car without taking the Yellowhead Highway itself. This route can be joined at any intermediate point (such as by taking Alberta Highway 2 from Calgary to Edmonton or Saskatchewan Highway 11 from Regina to Saskatoon), so this itinerary describes a trip from east to west, starting in Winnipeg and ending at Masset. The Southern Yellowhead Highway can be accessed Trans-Canada Highway in either Hope or Kamloops before it continues north to the main Yellowhead route.

See Trans-Canada Highway for a description of the main route.

Prince Rupert, as BC's northernmost seaport, is accessible by ferry from Port Hardy, from Alaska or from Haida Gwaii (the Queen Charlotte Islands). BC Ferries operates the Northern Expedition (dead link: January 2023), a car ferry from Port Hardy on north Vancouver Island which costs $450/car + $200/passenger for a 520 km, seventeen-hour journey.

The distance from Prince Rupert to Ketchikan, Alaska by sea is less than 200 km; Hyder is about 320 km from the Yellowhead Highway by road.

Go

Winnipeg, Manitoba is the eastern terminus of the Yellowhead Highway and the provincial capital, beginning at historic Portage and Main in the city's downtown. Nearby at The Forks, there is a display commemorating the Yellowhead Highway at Johnston Terminal. The Yellowhead Highway travels west on Portage Avenue, with Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway mainline) joining route a few blocks to the west, leaving Winnipeg to Portage la Prairie (population 13,000). Portage la Prairie was built around 1838 fur trade post Fort La Reine (now a 25-building museum); canoes were carried overland from Lake Manitoba to the Assiniboine River. The city became a railway crossroads; between 1942-1992, a military base trained fighter pilots. As passengers left the rails to take to the open road, Trans-Canada Highway 1 followed the Canadian Pacific rails, while Yellowhead Highway 16 followed the Canadian National line west to Prince Rupert. The Yellowhead Highway leaves the four-lane divided highway and joins Trans-Canada Highway 16, passing through Neepawa (population 4,600) and Minnedosa (2,400), with Riding Mountain National Park 30 minutes north of Minnedosa on Highway 10 for those wanting to make a detour. The highway continues through Russell (population 1,400) before crossing the Saskatchewan border.

The highway continues into Saskatchewan to Yorkton (population 15,000), and agricultural community and regional service centre that's home of the Yorkton Film Festival. The highway passes through Wynyard, Lanigan, and north of Watrous-Manitou Beach, located on Little Manitou Lake which is known as the "Dead Sea of Canada". It becomes a four-lane, divided highway and passes through Saskatoon (pop. 325,000), the province's largest city located on the banks of the South Saskatchewan River and home to the University of Saskatchewan. The highway continues to The Battlefords, consisting of North Battleford (population 14,000) and Battleford (population 4,000) which are separated by the North Saskatchewan River, to the provincially-divided city of Lloydminster, where the Alberta-Saskatchewan border runs right down 50th Avenue (Meridian Avenue) in the centre of town. Unlike other twin cities, such as Niagara Falls Ontario/New York or Kansas City Missouri/Kansas, Lloydminster is legally one city (pop 30,000) despite being in two provinces. Its primary industries are petroleum refining and agriculture.

It continues west through Vermilion (population 4,000) to Vegreville (population 5,700), an agricultural community with strong Ukrainian immigrant heritage and home of the world's largest Ukrainian Easter egg. The road continues through Elk Island National Park, home of aspen wilderness parkland and protected wildlife which is less than an hour from the sprawling city. It leaves the park and passes through the bedroom community of Sherwood Park to Edmonton, the provincial capital. The northernmost city of at least one million people in North America, Edmonton was founded for the fur trade in 1795; it became an oil boom town after prospectors struck black gold in nearby Leduc County in 1947. The city is home to the University of Alberta and the West Edmonton Mall, which is the largest shopping centre in North America.

It leaves Edmonton and passes through bedroom communities of Spruce Grove and Stony Plain, the recreational lakeside village of Wabamun, and the twin communities of Entwistle and Evansburg before entering the Rocky Mountain foothills at Edson (population 8,400). The road passes over Obed Summit (elevation ), the highest point on the Yellowhead Highway mainline despite not being in the mountains, and through Hinton (population 9,900) on eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains. The road becomes a two-lane highway west of town and enters Jasper National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Jasper National Park covers , containing more than of hiking trails, glaciers, mountains, valleys, meadows, forests and rivers; the town of Jasper (population 5,200) is inside the park and is the northern terminus of the iconic Icefields Parkway. The route then crosses Yellowhead Pass (elevation ) into British Columbia. Upon entering British Columbia, the passes though Mount Robson Provincial Park (also a UNESCO World Heritage Site), home of its namesake mountain which is the tallest peak in the Canadian Rockies. The highway meets up with its southern branch at Tete Jaune Cache and then continues west through McBride to Prince George (popuation 72,000), the main northern service centre and forestry community on the confluence of the Nechako and Fraser Rivers. It continues to Vanderhoof (population 4,500), a farming town on one of the few flatlands in the area; Smithers (population 5,800), an alpine-themed town with lakes and a ski hill; as well as New Hazelton. The highway continues on to Kitwanga, the highway intersects with Highway 37 (Stewart-Cassiar Highway) for travel up to the Yukon. Further along the Yellowhead Highway is Terrace (population 12,500 people), which features significant Indigenous culture. The highway arrives at Prince Rupert, a small port city of 13,000 people, many of them Indigenous. It serves as a connection point for BC Ferries, Alaska Marine Highway System, Air Canada, Hawkair and seaplane operators to offload passengers and cargo onto road and rail, but also hosts various museums (railway, First Nations, canneries) and provides a port of call to cruise ships.

From Prince Rupert, BC Ferries offers a 6½-hour ferry to Haida Gwaii (formerly known the as the "Queen Charlotte Islands"); the sparsely populated islands lie off the coast of British Columbia and are the westernmost point on the Trans-Canada Highway system. The ferry lands in Skidegate and travels north on Graham Island to the western terminus of the Yellowhead Highway at Masset.

South Yellowhead/Coquihalla Highway

The Southern Yellowhead Highway (Highway 5) leaves the main branch of the Yellowhead Highway at Tete Jaune Cache and heads south Valemount (population 1,000) and Clearwater (population 2,300), which is the access area to the Wells Gray Provincial Park. The highway continues to Kamloops (population 90,000), billed as the Tournament Capital of Canada, passing the turnoff to Sun Peaks ski resort at its northern boundary. It joins Trans-Canada Highway, and continues as the Coquihalla Highway where the Trans-Canada Highway branches west. The highway passes over Surrey Lake Summit (elevation ) and through Merritt (population 7,000) in the Nicola Valley, where travellers can detour onto BC Highway 97C and connect to the Okanagan, a popular vacation region. The highway continues through Cascade Mountains, through Coquhalla Pass (elevation ), to its southern terminus in Hope (population 6,100) on the far eastern boundary of BC's Lower Mainland, where the Trans-Canada Highway (BC Highway 1) continues along the freeway towards Vancouver. A scenic alternative to the Coquihalla Highway (freeway) between Kamloops and Hope is to take the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) through the Fraser Canyon.

Stay safe

Cellular telephone coverage in the mountains is sporadic, with countless dead spots in each valley. Along portions of the route in northern areas of British Columbia, there are several coverage gaps along segment of the highway of up to 100 km long per area without coverage. Do not assume that roadside assistance will be just a telephone call away when needed. In adverse winter conditions, portions of the road may be closed in order to clear snow or due to avalanche risk.

Despite the Coquihalla Highway being a modern freeway, extra precautions should also be taken. The highway was constructed through mountainous terrain and is subject to sudden weather changes, especially the section between Hope (located around sea-level) and the Coquihalla Pass. Travellers can experience clear weather at lower elevations but heavy snow at the higher elevations. The section of highway has gained notoriety for its winter collisions and is the backdrop for Discovery Channel's TV series Highway Thru Hell (dead link: January 2023).

This is sparsely-populated country and not without risks when hitchhiking. Use public transit as an alternative, if it is available.

Go next

Take the Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway mainline) from Vancouver, through Calgary and Winnipeg, to Ontario.

Take the Highway 37 (Stewart-Cassiar Highway) from Kitwanga to Watson Lake, and continue on to the Alaska Highway. To travel the entire Alaska Highway, travel north on Highway 97 from Prince George up to the eastern end of the Alaska Highway in Dawson Creek.