The Yellowhead Highway stretches from Manitoba to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, but The MILEPOST logs only the western portion from Edmonton to the coast. This east-west highway stretches through incredible country, including Jasper National Park. Even outside that jewel, there are plenty of historic and noteworthy stops on Yellowhead Highway 16.
Stony Plain
Art lovers must stop in this Alberta town of 15,000. Stony Plain has 41 outdoor murals, eight public art sculptures, and a curated Public Art Gallery at the Multicultural Heritage Center.
Take a horse and wagon tour to learn about the town’s history and the more than 20 artists from around Canada who painted the murals. Most tours leave from the Multicultural Heritage Center, which is housed in three facilities on six acres in the heart of the town.
Stony Plain is also home to Crooked Pot Gallery & Parkland Potters’ Guild. The guild started in 1976 and now has more than 60 members. See the talented potters’ work displayed at the crooked Pot Gallery.
Mount Robson Provincial Park
One of the most scenic stops on the Yellowhead Highway, this provincial British Columbia park just west of Jasper is home to the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. Mount Robson is 12,972 feet tall and towers over surrounding mountains.
The park is mostly undisturbed wilderness and is home to mule deer, whitetail deer, elk, moose, and black bear. It’s great for sightseeing and adventurous outdoor activities like canoeing, caving, fishing, and hiking.
Fort. St. James National Historical Site
This completely restored Hudson’s Bay Company post gives visitors the chance to experience the fur trade era. Take a self-guided tour of the fort using your phone to listen to stories.
Interpreters in each building are dressed in era clothing. The staff provide information and organize fun activities like the “Escape the Fort Challenge” and a daily chicken race.
Visitors can also help build a fur warehouse, see drying fish, and dress up as a fur trade pioneer.
‘Ksan Historical Village and Museum
Experience this reconstruction of a traditional Gitxsan village. Located near an ancient village site at the confluence of the Bulkley and Skeena rivers, the historical village includes traditionally styled cedar longhouses and an assortment of totem poles and dugout canoes.
The Gitxsan have 8,000 years of history. They used this location as an important fishing and transportation site.
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