Crowsnest Pass, Alberta

To generalize, the Crowsnest Pass can be described as a low mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Canadian Rockies on the Alberta–B.C. border. It serves as a low-elevation route through the mountains, connecting the two provinces:

The Pass got its name from the Cree and Blackfoot Native languages, where “crow’s nest” translates to “nest of the crow” or “nest of the raven”. The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) built the Crowsnest Route line from Lethbridge, Alberta, to Kootenay Landing, British Columbia, through the Crowsnest Pass between 1897 and 1898.

The Crowsnest Pass area on both sides of the provincial boundary is rich in coal deposits, which were quickly developed after completion of the rail line. All the mines on the Alberta side were closed by the end of the 20th century as cheaper and safer open-pit mines opened on the B.C. side of the Pass.

There are four small mining towns in the Crowsnest Pass which are of interest to us: Bellevue, Frank, Blairmore and Coleman. On this whirlwind day trip we were only able to visit three of them (briefly, at that), saving Coleman for a return visit at some point:

Driving the Cowboy Trail

One of the most scenic drives you could ever take from Calgary is The Cowboy Trail (and yes, it’s actually called that), also known as Highway 22. This 700-kilometre route runs from Mayerthorpe in the north to Lundbreck in the south, along Highway 22.

Twisting its way through Canada’s Rocky Mountain Foothills the Trail showcases Alberta’s western heritage and ranching lifestyle. Along the Cowboy Trail you will find horseback trail rides, farm and ranch vacations, guest ranches, western-themed attractions, accommodations, adventures and historic sites. Just don’t run out of gasoline on the journey because there are no pumps anywhere (at least none that we could see).

We went past the Bar U Ranch along the Cowboy Trail, but did not drop in. The Bar U Ranch is a National Historic Site where you can discover ranching life from the late 1800s.

The gently rolling hills, alternating with the flat prairie and Rocky Mountains in the distance, were a marvellous sight:

Bellevue

The first little prairie village on our stop was Bellevue. Bellevue was founded in 1905 on the flat land above the Bellevue Mine operated by West Canadian Collieries. An explosion in the Bellevue Mine during a work shift on December 9th, 1910 killed 30 miners. In 1917 a fire destroyed most of Bellevue’s business section, followed by smaller fires in 1921 and 1922.

Bellevue incorporated into a village in 1957, and elected Alberta’s first female mayor. In 1979 the communities of Coleman, Blairmore, Bellevue, Hillcrest, and Frank amalgamated to form the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass, Alberta.

Our Bellevue visit was simply weird. To be honest, the place kind of gave me the creeps: it was like a zombie apocalypse had just taken place and there were no humans left – just empty cars and buildings. I couldn’t understand it – there were several empty cars lining the streets but not a single soul around… anywhere. Every door/cafe/store on the main street we tried to enter was locked. No action anywhere… where was everyone??!! Were they in hiding? Had the zombies picked the village clean?

Vince had done some research on the little towns in the Crowsnest Pass area, and some of their highlights. For Bellevue, one of the top things to visit (at least for me, the ice cream gourmand) was The Old Dairy Ice Cream Shoppe, which apparently serves inter-stellar ice cream and milkshakes. Alas, we searched and searched but could not find the aforementioned dairy. It, too, must have been swept away during the chaos of the recent Bellevue zombie apocalypse:

We actually did come upon a little cafe called Ophelia (with one or two people inside who just stared at us), but it was only serving precious little cakes and sweets, and we were ravenous after our early start and three-hour drive from Calgary, in need of a decent meal. We had planned to have lunch at the well-reviewed Bellevue Cafe (green building in pic below), but it was locked up tighter than a drum, so that idea was out:

Frank

Abandoning the disappointing Bellevue, we moved on. The main focus of this day trip to the Crowsnest Pass was to visit the Frank Slide Interpretive Centre, and the actual site of the Frank slide – this is where we spent the bulk of our day.

What was the Frank Slide, exactly? On April 29, 1903, at 4:10AM around 44 million cubic metres/110 million tonnes of limestone rock broke off Turtle Mountain above the town and slid down. Witnesses reported that within 100 seconds the rock reached up the opposing hills, obliterating the town of Frank, the Canadian Pacific Railway line and the coal mine. It was one of the largest landslides in Canadian history and remains the deadliest, as between 70 and 90 of the town’s residents died, most of whom remain buried in the rubble to this day.

[Note, if the Frank Slide interests you, feel free to do a Google search on the slide. There are practically hundreds of websites dedicated to the event and its aftermath.]

Scientists are now able to detect that the mountain is still “moving”, and a second slide is predicted to occur at some future point in time. Turtle Mountain has always been unstable – the Blackfoot and Kutenai Peoples knew the peak as “the mountain that moves” and wouldn’t camp near it. Very wise.

We parked with the spectre of Turtle Mountain glowering over us, and made our way up to the Frank Slide Interpretive Centre:

After spending a good amount of time in the Interpretive Centre absorbing as much of the info as we could, we set out on a self-directed tour through the actual site of the buried town (and people). The Interpretive Centre supplied an excellent guidebook for the 1.4km trail loop, which was numbered as to points of interests along the path.

Devastation almost as far as you could see…

As a child, I remember Mom and Dad driving us through the wasteland and rubble that is the aftermath of the Frank slide. The images from that visit have really stuck with me over the years; this recent one will too.

Blairmore

Our next stop after Frank was Blairmore, not much farther up Highway 3. As one of the major commercial centres of the Crowsnest Pass, Blairmore is located near the Crowsnest Formation – a unique geological configuration with unusual minerals.

The area’s significance as a business centre goes back long before the modern town it is today – Blairmore was originally a Canadian Pacific Railway stop, known as the Tenth Siding or The Springs (for the cold sulphur spring to the east) and served as an industry focal point for the region’s growing coal mining and lumber industries.

Prior to 1907, lumber represented the town’s primary economic engine until the Greenhill mine – located just north of Blairmore – became an economic mainstay of the community after opening in 1908. Blairmorite, a rare volcanic rock of the Crowsnest Formation, is named after Blairmore.

In keeping with the region’s economic determination, Blairmore was also home to an illegally operating alcohol import business which brought in alcohol from British Columbia during Alberta’s short-lived Prohibition phase.

Today, Blairmore is home to more than 2,000 people.

While there, we were trying to locate the much-touted and highly-rated Stones Throw Cafe to have a short break and a drink but, like Bellevue earlier in the day, we simply could not find the cafe. Again, every door we tried to open was locked and there was not a soul around. At least in Blairmore, though, there were signs of life as the odd car or truck would pass by on the town’s main street.

Back to Calgary

After a full day of exploring just a little bit of the awesome sights in the Crowsnest Pass, we had to get back to our hotel in Calgary. I really don’t like driving at night on unfamiliar roads so we were also trying to get back before nightfall. Alberta has a very long evening, though, and the sun tends not to set until 9:30 or later, so we still had quite a bit of time.

If you’ve never been to the Foothills or southern Alberta, you have not experienced the powerful wind forces there. This section of Alberta is extremely windy and, in high winds, it’s potentially unsafe to drive.

For the trip I had rented an SUV the size of a large school bus, and even with that vehicle size I was getting pushed all over the highway much of the way back to Calgary – a very unsettling feeling.

Speaking of winds, it was very interesting to drive past all the wind farms on our way back to the city. Alberta is a major hub for wind power in Canada, with numerous wind farms providing a significant portion of the province’s renewable energy needs. Alberta has 2,663 turbines, or about 40 per cent of Canada’s total. Southern Alberta is one of Canada’s windiest regions, with Calgary being the windiest large city in Canada. At any rate, we enjoyed the views of the massive wind turbines gently spinning as we passed by:

For next time…

We were so pushed for time that day and also had the Frank slide as the main item on our agenda. As we were on a day trip from Calgary (three hours drive each way), we were more or less forced to short-change ourselves with regard to other sites in the area. Regrettably we missed visiting several fascinating things we should not have passed up: The Burmis Tree, the Hillcrest Mine near Bellevue, the Bellevue Underground Mine Tour and the Leitch Collieries Historic Site, to name a few.

Should you visit the Crowsnest Pass I’d highly recommend a one-night stay at one of the small towns there; this will provide the necessary time to see more attractions and areas of interest in and around the Pass. As mentioned, Calgary is a three-hour commute each way, so that really cuts down on the potential sites one could see in the run of a day.

Vince found this excellent blog post about the Crowsnest Pass and the surrounding little towns, published by a Calgarian who visits the area regularly. The post features delicious and sweet food which can be found in and around the Pass.

Date visited: May 29, 2025