Bicycling the Trans Canada Trail in Northeast BC along the Alaska Highway
Distance

DISTANCE

1033km - 1061km
GPS

GPS DOWNLOADS

Distance

MAP

About the Journey

Entering from Alberta near the small community of Clayhurst, the trail follows rural roads south for 67 kms, crossing the Peace River, passing through Rolla, and arriving to Dawson Creek. At this point, the TCT joins Dawson Creek’s Rotary Trail through the city, bypassing all the city traffic. The trail route joins the Alaska Highway for most of its 968 km – through Fort St John, Fort Nelson, and various other communities before arriving to the Yukon border between Lower Post and Watson Lake – the only exception is a short detour at Kaskatinaw Provincial Park between Dawson Creek and Fort St. John; the highway bridge is narrow and the route uses the original highway bridge which lies further north.

The Alaska Highway was constructed during World War II for the purpose of connecting the contiguous U.S. to Alaska through Canada. Though the highway was completed in 1942, it was only opened to the public in 1948. The surface is now paved along its entire length.

Canada’s great open wilderness lines the road and travelers are sure to encounter some interesting wildlife. Be sure to rest up along the beautiful shore of Muncho Lake and even take advantage of the opportunity to explore some of the abandoned stretches of the “old Alaska Highway” which have been bypassed as the current highway continues to be improved and straightened over the years.

When you finally reach the border after about 1000 kilometres, there’s no doubt you’ll realize why Yukon’ers refer to the rest of the country as “the Outside”!




Staging Areas:

GPS INFORMATION:

  • KML/KMZ files can be opened in Google Earth, and many smartphone apps.
  • GPX files can be opened by most GPS software apps when KMZ cannot. Note, GPX files do not contain custom colours and icons that we use on our maps; all tracks and icons will appear the same colour and styles. We recommend using KMZ instead of GPX if possible.

The files below include data for only this specific area. For all of our Trans Canada Trail data for the entire province (including features, campsites and alternate routes), download our BC.kmz master file (1.2 MB)

Visit our GPS & Navigation page for instructions of how to use your smartphone as a GPS device (even when outside of data coverage) or how to import data to your Garmin unit.


GPS DOWNLOAD (KMZ FILE)
GPS DOWNLOAD (GPX FILE)
DOWNLOAD INFORMATION SHEET

Staging Areas:

Washrooms:

Route Highlights:

Normally, a strong cyclist (making minimal stops and experiencing no delays) will be able to ride this route in 7 days. But why rush? The following table may help you calculate your stopping points, based on distances between campsites:

From To KM
Alberta Border Blackfoot Park 13
Blackfoot Park Dawson Creek 57
Dawson Creek Kaskatinaw Park 29
Kaskatinaw Park Charlie Lake 55
Charlie Lake Inga Lake 60 (+2)
Inga Lake Duhu Lake 101 (+5)
Duhu Lake Buckinghorse River 31
Buckinghorse River Minaker River 40
Minaker River Prophet River (closed) 32
Prophet River (closed) Andy Bailey 77 (+11)
Andy Bailey Fort Nelson 30
Fort Nelson Beaver Lake 26 (+10)
Beaver Lake Tetsa River 68
Tetsa River Stone Mountain 43
Stone Mountain Muncho Lake 107
Muncho Lake Liard River Hot Springs 58
Liard River Hot Springs Hyland River 167
Hyland River Watson Lake, YT 39

“+” indicates that campsite is located a short distance off the highway, which will add on a small number of kilometres.


DOWNLOAD INFORMATION SHEET

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