Crown of the Continent - National Geographic Travel

Page 1
What Is Geotourism All About?
According to National Geographic, geotourism “sustains or enhances
the geographical character of a place—its environment, culture,
aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents.” Geotravelers,
then, are people who like that idea, who enjoy authentic sense of
place and care about maintaining it. They find that relaxing and
having fun gets better—provides a richer experience—when they get
involved in the place and learn about what goes on there.
Geotravelers soak up local culture, hire local guides, buy local
foods, protect the environment, and take pride in discovering and
observing local customs. Travel-spending choices can help or hurt, so
geotravelers patronize establishments that care about conservation,
preservation, beautification, and benefits to local people.
Learn more at www.CrownoftheContinent.net.
Map Key
er
w
ID
DIV
H
ig
h
w
P
22
u
i
d
(BLOOD
I.R.)
6
Road closed in winter
k
Mil
9080 ft
Chief Mountain K
2767 m
10466 ft
3190 m
Babb
h
R
McDonald
Creek
a
N
HE-SU
-T
-TO
GOING
Logan Pass
P A R K
6646 ft
2025 m
g
U
n
e
IVIDE
UN
NT
IN
EN
TAL
D
49
M
Triple Divide Peak
This spire is the three-faceted jewel in
the Crown, dividing Rocky Mountain
waters among the Saskatchewan
River’s amble to the Arctic Ocean, the
Missouri-Mississippi’s slide to the Gulf
of Mexico, and the Columbia’s plunge
to the Pacific Ocean.
t
t
h
T
d
id
M
e
(photo below)
la
th
Sun
Weed Wacker
Rodeo
FOREST
ea
Augusta
The Old West lingers in Augusta’s cow
country saloons such as the Buckhorn
Bar, where backcountry wranglers
swap tales with cowboys and visitors.
But mosey over to the Latigo & Lace
cappuccino bar and art gallery, and
you’re in a different era, pardner.
d
W I L D E R N E S S
Holland Lake Lodge
Una Mt.
K
Holland Since 1924, log resort has
Lake been a scenic base for boating
and nature hikes to Holland Falls.
8580 ft
2615 m
NATIONAL
Missoula Carousel and
EArlee
Caras Park
Ride one of 38 wooden ponies
carved to restore this 1918 carousel,
while hearing a 400-pipe organ play
notes directed by perforations in
continuous paper rolls. From here,
explore funky downtown Missoula or
stroll trails along the Clark Fork River.
Seeley Lake
Gus, the world’s largest larch tree,
dominates hiking and cross-country ski
trails at Girard Grove near Seeley Lake.
In town, Littlebird’s Schoolhouse Café
serves up a health-minded menu—and
indigenous art—within log walls axed
and adzed just a century ago.
E
Seeley Lake
Tamarack Festival
E
Seeley
287
9202 ft
2805 m
WILDERNESS
ot
ckfo
113°
F
or
k
93
Race to the Sky
90
EClinton
Lincoln
E
200
141
ar
k
HELENA
FOREST
200
E
Missoula
114°W
2868 m
BOB MARSHALL WILDERNESS COMPLEX, MT
By horse or by backpack, explore these 1.5
million acres (607,000 hectares) of roadless,
wild nature. Forty-five outfitting businesses
provide backcountry adventures under Forest
Service permit. The complex includes three
separate wilderness areas—the Great Bear,
the Bob Marshall, and the Scapegoat.
Helmville
Lolo E
Scapegoat Wilderness
This area was added to the Bob Marshall
Wilderness Complex through citizen advocacy. The massive limestone cliffs of
Scapegoat Mountain anchor “the Bob’s”
Chinese Wall. 9411 ft Red Mountain
K
NATIONAL
E
Ovando
G
Cl
Scapegoat Mountain
K
BLACKFOOT-CLEARWATER
WILDLIFE
MANAGEMENT
AREA
Bla
International
Wildlife Film Festival
SCAPEGOAT
Blackfoot Challenge
Blackfoot Challenge interpretive center
in tiny Ovando shows you how ranchers,
anglers, and public agencies allied to
save 80,000 natural acres (32,000
hectares) from exurban sprawl. Next
door, learn about the old days at the
Brand Bar Museum.
Lake
Double Arrow
Resort
Frenchtown
MISSOULA INTL.
AIRPORT
American Legion Rodeo and Parade
FOREST
E
Missoula Aerial Fire Depot and
Smokejumper Visitor Center
“Winter surprises the human senses with sometimes
deceptive sights and sounds. The roar of a low-flying jet
turns out to be the sound of an avalanche plowing its way
through dense, cold air. What looks like an approaching
swarm of bugs resolves into a synchronized swirl of vividly marked bohemian waxwings, eyes masked in black, tails
fringed in yellow, and wings tipped as though dipped in
bright red sealing wax.”
— David Thomas, Fernie, BC
WILDERNESS
Seeley
Lake
RATTLESNAKE
93
“Winter is when mountain ecosystems rest and recharge.
Snow is next summer’s habitat for fish and waterfowl, and
January's deep freezes limit colonies of insect pests hiding
under the bark of pine trees.”
— Environmental scientist Erin Sexton, Hungry Horse, MT
Augusta
S
LOLO
Ignatius
Winter
LOBBY OF LAKE MCDONALD LODGE, GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, MT
CHUCKHANEY.COM
MONTANA SCENIC LOOP
Circumnavigate the Bob Marshall
Wilderness on 400 miles (644 kilometers) of two-lane highway studded with
hospitable towns and stunning views,
including those in the heavily forested
valleys between Seeley and Swan
Lakes, where you can explore hundreds
of lakes and streams.
e
E
St.
ERavalli
12
Gibson
Reservoir
g
Fk
.
Holland Peak
K
F
rk
OOP
n
Cl
ar
k
NATIONAL
S. Fo
a
NATIONAL
BISON
RANGE
KAYAKER AT THE BIGFORK WHITEWATER FESTIVAL, MT
CHUCKHANEY.COM
V ID
L DI E
TA
EN
N
e
A SCENIC L
NTAN
MO
e y
l l
V a
R
E
Dixon
CLARK
g
n
9356 ft
2852 m
WILDERNESS
WILDERNESS
E
Moiese
at
he
ad
CONTIN
B O B
n
o
MOUNTAIN GOATS
MICHAEL MELFORD
I
9289 ft
2831 m
a
ot
ro
er
MOUNTAINS
Ninepipe Res.
RESERVATION
200
90
Swan Peak
K
R
r
v e
R i
i
itt
Fl
TRIBAL
Sun River Wildlife Management Area
The Sun River Canyon reverberates in
late fall from the clash of bighorn rams
knocking heads for the right to pass
their genes through to next spring’s
lambs. Below the canyon, in the
wildlife management area itself, watch
in winter for herds of stately elk and
swift and elegant pronghorn antelope.
M A R S H A L L
ECondon
MISSION
212
LEWIS AND
F O R E S T
MTS.
ERonan
9392 ft
2863 m
83
s
Wild
Hor
s
B
tle
L it
INDIAN
Teton
n
s
Polson
A
N A T I O N A L
a
E
48°
Pine Butte Guest Ranch
The Nature Conservancy runs this
ranch resort to share Rocky Mountain
Front views and biodiversity and to
fund additions to the 100,000 acres
(40,500 ha) of ranchland already
protected from development along
Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front. Rocky Mountain
K
w
i
35
RED BUSES OF GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, MT
Board one of Glacier National Park’s fleet of 33
soft-top tour buses introduced in the 1930s to
shuttle sightseers over the Continental Divide.
The original red buses built by White Motor
Company were restored as a gift by Ford Motor
Company, which fitted them with stronger
chassis and clean burning propane engines.
S
M
Flathead Lake
Mack Days
Mission Mountains Wilderness Areas
Ragged peaks jut 7,000 feet (2,134
meters) above valley floors in adjoining
wilderness areas managed by the Forest
Service and Confederated Salish and
Kootenai Tribes. Portions of the tribal
wilderness are closed to humans when
grizzlies congregate to feed on alpine
insects. You can find access permits at
stores on the Flathead Reservation.
CROSS-COUNTRY SKIERS NEAR GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, MT
DIGITAL VISION / ALAMY
B E A R
W I L D E R N E S S
Swan Ecosystem Center
The Swan River Valley preserves its
uncommon beauty thanks in part to
the Swan Ecosystem Center in Condon,
where residents support public agencies
and private property owners in sustainable management of their lands. Trail
maps and wildlife information are available at the visitor center.
MISSION
FESTIVALS & EVENTS
E
Flathead
Lake
S
Arm
E
Pablo
Symes Hot Springs Hotel
Mission-style Symes Hot Springs
Hotel remains contentedly stuck in
the 1940s with neither room phones
nor televisions. Several nearby businesses also offer mud and mineral
baths to soothe away the anxieties
of modern times.
Dupuyer
g
ESwan
S w a wann
Lake
E
Pablo
Reservoir
382
Overnight in a centenarian
homestead house
dl
eF
or
k
n
Swan
Lake
E
Main Street and
Cherry Festival
Music, Crafts, Sports & Nature
To
Great Falls
F L A T H E A D
Woods Bay E
FLATHEAD
From Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, you can glimpse the results
of a vast wildfire in the superheated summer of 2003.
Further west along Highway 3 in British Columbia, red
swaths of dead, fire-prone forest map the invasions of
windblown pine beetle swarms.
Inn Dupuyer Bed and Breakfast
Bigfork
Check out the artists and actors in
Bigfork, a walker’s delight of galleries,
eateries, and Bigfork Summer Playhouse
on the north shore of Flathead Lake.
Stroll the Swan River Nature Corridor
on your own or in a group guided by
the Flathead Audubon Society or the
Montana Native Plant Society.
93
Lonepine E
Four Horns
Lake
RED BUSES ON GOING-TO-THE-SUN ROAD
CAROL POLICH
“Once we had 150 glaciers in this park. Now, there are only
26 left, and we expect them all to be gone by 2030.”
— Dan Fagre, U.S. Geological Survey’s resident
climate watcher
a
s
209
Flathead
28
Hot Springs E
89
G R E A T
R
n
Bigfork E
E
Lakeside
EBig
Glacier Park
(photo below)
a
i
Elmo
e
e
a
Somers
E
2
How This MapGuide Was Made
The people of the Crown of the Continent helped build this MapGuide by
nominating the places and telling the stories of this region. A diverse regional
alliance, the Crown of the Continent Geotourism Council, has formed to
engage visitors and residents in strategies that sustain and enhance the
special qualities of this transboundary region.
n
ici
E
Essex
82
Rollins
ed
2
M O N T A N A
Flathead Lake
Preserving the clarity of Flathead
Lake from contamination by industry,
agriculture, or careless recreation
is a Montana obsession. The state
maintains 12 parks and anglers’
access points to the largest body
of fresh water in the contiguous
western United States.
EEast
M
P
OO
5220 ft
1591 m
o
Tw
Climate Change
“The glaciers and snow packs supplying water for
large, dry areas of both nations are rapidly shrinking.
Significantly less water will flow from the Crown in the
near future. The frequency and intensity of forest fires
and the spread of mountain pine beetle can be expected
to increase with the warming climate.”
— U. of Alberta Professor David Schindler, Alberta’s
preeminent authority on climate change
L
a
OOP
IC L
EN
SC
l
Marias Pass
Arts in the Park
FLATHEAD
NATIONAL FOREST
E
Browning
IC L
C EN
AN A
NT
MO
F
n
Echo Lake Café
Join the Swan Rangers here for
breakfast before the hiking club’s
Saturday outings by boot, snowshoe, or ski.
Hungry Horse
Reservoir
Bigfork Whitewater
Festival
48°
R E S E R V A T I O N
Blackfoot
S
NA
u
Hungry Horse
Kalispell
E
Somers Cajun
Street Dance
A
TR
AM
E
A
NT
MO
E
G
Kila
K
464
Road closed in winter
Red Buses of Glacier
National Park
N
o
E
Coram
GLACIER PARK
INTL. AIRPORT
E
eek
k Cr
Cut Ban
3091 m
Hike the cliffs above Kalispell to
view the Flathead Valley and
Glacier National Park.
EMarion
47°
Glacier Park Boat Company
Little Chief has plied the windblown waters of St. Mary Lake
since 1925, and has been joined
by four younger wooden tour boats
on Glacier’s deep-blue lakes. Join
your captain for a 2-mi (3-km) hike
to St. Mary Falls.
Rafting for Refuse
206
Ashley Lake
I N D I A N
West Glacier E
2
Little
Bitterroot Lake
ALBERTA
BRITISH COLUMBIA
MONTANA
including
Waterton-Glacier
International
Peace Park
89
Mt. Stimson K
10142 ft
Learn conservation forestry
from Roy, Ben, and their mom.
Sawdust covers the floor
but, please, no spitting.
Park Café
You might have to wait on the porch
for your turn at a slice of homemade pie and a milkshake. You
might also try the nearby Johnson’s
Family-Style Restaurant or Two
Sisters Café. In Babb, chow down
at the Cattle Baron Supper Club.
A
RO
Jackson
Glacier
T
O-T
NG
I
GO
Columbia Falls E
93
B L A C K F E E T
Mary
St. Mary Lake
St. Mary
Falls
Lone Pine State Park
Whitefish Winter Carnival Whitefish, MT (first weekend in
February) Parades, fireworks, guided art walk, hockey
tournament, musical performances, and the Penguin Plunge
benefit for Special Olympics
Race to the Sky Lincoln/Seeley Lake, MT (mid-February)
Longest sled dog race in the lower 48, featuring over 20
teams from the U.S. and Canada; many volunteers needed—no experience necessary
Fernie Griz Days Fernie, BC (March) Parade, carnival,
sporting events, and parties to celebrate the season’s snow
Flathead Lake Mack Days Polson, MT (spring and fall)
Months-long, semi-annual fishing derby to restore native bull
trout by removing introduced lake trout
International Wildlife Film Festival Missoula, MT (second
weekend of May) Headquartered at the Roxy Theater in
downtown Missoula and includes a “WildWalk Parade”
Family Forestry Expo near Columbia Falls, MT (mid-May)
Logging sports, mill tours, nature trail, bird watching, and
native plants
Bigfork Whitewater Festival Bigfork, MT (end of May)
Kayaking races on the Class V “wild mile” of the Swan
River for hundreds of competitors, weekend of competition
and festivities
Waterton Wildflower Festival Waterton Park, AB (mid-June)
Celebration of Waterton Lakes National Park’s wildflowers,
which make up more than half of all wildflowers in Alberta;
guided hikes, workshops, and activities for all ages
Rafting for Refuse West Glacier, MT (third Saturday in June)
Guides and free rafts available for volunteers to pick trash
along two forks of the Flathead River, followed by volleyball
and barbecue
Coal Miner Days Sparwood, BC (third weekend in June)
Community festival with a parade, games, and dances
Kite Festival Near Pincher Creek, AB (third weekend in June)
Public kite-flying (free kites while supplies last), professional
flyers, and plenty of activities for kids
American Legion Rodeo and Parade Augusta, MT (last
Sunday in June) One of the largest one-day rodeos in the
area, Old-Time Wild Cow Milking, and a parade
International Old Time Accordion Championships Kimberley,
BC (second week of July) Contests for cash prizes among
musicians of all ages, dance floor for spectators
Weed Wacker Rodeo Sun Canyon, near Augusta, MT (midJuly) Fun weed pull, education about the noxious weeds that
threaten the Rocky Mountain Front
Somers Cajun Street Dance Somers, MT (third Saturday in
July) Cajun food, music, and dancing to raise funds for
Somers Volunteer Fire Department
Main Street and Cherry Festival Polson, MT (third weekend
of July) Flathead Lake’s famous cherries and other local
goods from over 100 vendors
Arts in the Park Kalispell, MT (end of July) Arts and crafts
fair organized by Hockaday Museum of Art, food, entertainment, children’s activities, and local and national artists
Seeley Lake Tamarack Festival Seeley Lake, MT (midOctober) Celebration of golden tamarack trees,
performances, interpretive center, bike race, fun run,
dance, barbecue, maps to the best trees, and Alpine
Artisans’ self-guided Tour of the Arts
Peigan Friends Along the River Fish Rescue Near Fort
Macleod, AB (early October) Volunteer gathering to rescue
trout from irrigation canal that quickly dries up when its
supply is shut off for the season, responsible for the rescue
of over 250,000 fish in event’s first 17 years
Santa Claus Parade Fort Macleod, AB (end of November)
Largest Santa Claus parade in western Canada, floats,
marching bands, horse-drawn carriages, and of course,
Santa Claus himself
ESt.
213
2
RO
AD
s
Alpine section of
road closed in winter
RBM Lumber Mill
Moose’s Saloon
Crown of the
Continent
Lower St. Mary
Lake
Take a day climb to a receding
ice field, one of several good hikes
in Many Glacier Valley
Grinnell
Glacier
D
O
Road closed in winter
Grinnell Glacier Hike
N AT I O N A L
CO
Family Forestry Expo
Whitefish
WATERTON-GLACIER
INTERNATIONAL PEACE PARK
Local Rotary Clubs on each side of the 49th
parallel inspired the U.S. Congress and
Canada’s Parliament to establish the world’s
first International Peace Park in 1932.
Rotarians, park managers, and school children
reaffirm the peace with an annual hands
across the border pledge. The conjoined park
is now a United Nations World Heritage site.
Duck
Lake
E
Lake Sherburne
PEACE PARK
Lake
McDonald
E
Montana Coffee Traders
Tenderfoots might prefer these
organic, fair-trade, shade-grown
roasts to grounds boiled over a
campfire, cowboy style.
49°
E
89
G L A C I E R
i
h
(photo below at left)
Whitefish Winter
Carnival
FOREST
115°
Carway
Whitefish
Lake
NATIONAL
Copyright © 2008 National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C.
HANDS ACROSS THE BORDER EVENT
CHRIS PETERSON
Mountain View
INTERNATIONAL
FOREST
40
Visit www.CROWNOFTHECONTINENT.net to learn more about the
Crown of the Continent and this spectacular landscape.
Take your time at this river-rock restaurant
and B&B, meticulously constructed over
39 years beginning in 1889.
KAINAI
GLACIER
K
Going-to-the-Sun Road
An engineering marvel completed in
1932, the cliff-hugging Going-to-theSun Road traverses the Continental
Divide. If you’re there in spring, when
snowplows clear the higher passes,
cycle or walk the traffic-free lower
sections. See harlequin ducks ride the
riffles of McDonald Creek, and spot
grizzly bears emerging amid the avalanche chutes.
Trumbull Creek Educational Forest
See examples of Montana’s native
conifers and learn about sustainable
forest management while walking
this short and easy trail.
Tally Lake
62
Cobblestone Manor
Goat Haunt E
West Glacier
Change is glacial in this gateway
village, where you can enjoy the
same general store, saloon, restaurant, and service station that have
served park visitors since 1938.
Whitefish Lake City Beach
Downtown Whitefish
DOWNTOWN WHITEFISH, MT
The smoky tang of steam locomotives once
filled the air. Now inhale the sweeter perfume
of craft beer and gourmet coffee in this railroad
frontier town transformed into a recreation hub
with nightlife and an array of top restaurants.
Pescado Blanco and Tupelo Grille serve locally
grown foods with an ethnic twist.
Cardston E
IL
TRA
OY
WB
O
C
he Crown of the Continent—spanning
corners of Alberta, British Columbia, and
Montana—provides visitors with 42,000
square kilometers (16,000 square miles)
of spellbinding scenery and a good chance to
spy bighorn sheep, mountain goats, elk, or, with
luck, the monarch of the Crown—the grizzly
bear. The region includes two United Nations
World Heritage Sites. One, Waterton-Glacier
International Peace Park, protects headwaters of three continental
river systems, and affirms the wisdom of transcending political
boundaries in the management of shared ecosystems. The second,
Alberta’s Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, attests to the region’s 6,000
years of human economy derived from the diversity of the landscape
and its wildlife.
Not long ago, visitors to remote mountain valleys were likely to be
horse-mounted hunters seeking hides and heads as trophies. Today’s
backcountry trekkers are most often birders, fly casters, photographers, or snowshoers. Many of today’s year-round residents first
came as tourists who, smitten by the mountain vistas, returned with
their professions or savings—and their urban tastes and expectations. While ranching and woodcutting continue to define some small
communities, demographics are changing rapidly as builders cater to
migrants and weekenders who may not be aware of how their choices
impact the ecosystems they came to enjoy. Along timbered valleys
and across open foothills, landowners, conservationists, and many
of the newcomers themselves, are joining to sustain working ranchlands, clear streams, and free-ranging wildlife. Increasingly, those
fortunate enough to visit or live in the Crown of the Continent are
seeking less to dominate the landscape than to find a personal
harmony with it.
— David Thomas, writer, Fernie, BC
Highest peak in park
Bowman Lake
FLATHEAD
DOWNTOWN WHITEFISH AFTER SEASON’S FIRST SNOW
CHUCKHANEY.COM
Spring
Upper
Waterton
Lake
Kintla Peak
K
10101 ft
3079 m
f
EOlney
Travel at dog speed on a snow
sled pulled by ten Alaskan Huskies.
AK
E
L
Flathe
a
e
BYWAY
k
WATERTON-
e
t
LAKE KOOCAN
USA
SCE
NI C
Par
Waterton
s
Dog Sled Adventures
e
KL
OOP
EP
AR
PE
AC
g
i
FARMERS MARKET, MISSOULA, MT
PAM VOTH / GLACIER COUNTRY
M
n
h
i
LO
OP
St. Mary
Reservoir
Choose lenient meadow loops or
bottom-punishing day rides to
ridgelines and high-country lakes.
Waterton
Wildflower
Festival
M.V. International
Kilmorey Lodge
Mt. Cleveland
8036 ft
2465 m
l
37
PEACE PARK LOOP
tle
West Cas
a
NAT. PARK
Comfort her in eiderdown
at this romantic inn.
Magrath
E
R E S E R V E)
Mountain Meadow Trail Rides
Canoe rentals for
shoreline bear spotting
NATIONAL
EP
AR
K
lly
E
5
I N D I AN
E
WATERTON LAKES NATIONAL PARK
Hike across wildflowered hills or drive
to Red Rock Canyon and be alert for
bears. The park is the only protected
corridor for Rocky Mountain wildlife
moving between Canada and the
United States.
6
Cameron Lake
Nasukoin Mountain
K
EStryker
B
HE
-S
OR
s
e
AD
l
g
IS
l
n
R
9645 ft
2940 m
Kintla Lake
EHill
Waterton
Reservoir
WATERTON LAKES
Mt. Blakiston K
Fortine E
NATIONAL FORESTS
Millions of acres of public land guarantee
freedom to roam. Many state, provincial,
and federal agencies care for these lands,
but the U.S. Forest Service manages
the greatest acreage by far. Across five
national forests, visitors can find solitude
and discover nature. Ideal for raft or
kayak, three forks of the Flathead River
are congressionally protected as Wild
and Scenic Rivers.
Glenwood
Red Rock
Canyon
e
FLATHEAD
FOREST
R
AMT
National Geographic and the people of Alberta, British Columbia, and Montana
present this Geotourism MapGuide to the Crown of the Continent region.
Lead project partners include the National Geographic Center for Sustainable
Destinations, National Geographic Maps, and Crown of the Continent Geotourism
Council, with regional coordination provided by the National Parks Conservation
Association and the Chinook Institute for Community Stewardship.
sustains or enhances the
geographical character of a
place — its environment, culture,
aesthetics, heritage, and the
well-being of its residents.
i
a
d
NATIONAL
Lake Koocanusa
This transboundary reservoir fills and
flushes according to demand for
power at Libby Dam and the downstream needs of endangered
Kootenai River white sturgeon. The
name of this 90-mile (145-kilometer)-long impoundment is an amalgam of Kootenay, Canada, and USA.
PEA
C
Libby
Dam
“More and more of our customers demand fresh local food, such
as grass-fed local beef steaks. For us, that’s an important part of
the wilderness pack trip. It just tastes better.”
— Corlene Martin, Bob Marshall Wilderness
camp cook, Choteau, MT
geo.tour.ism (n): Tourism that
stle
g
a
“Who's your farmer? People want to know. Family farms are central to the culture and beauty of the Flathead Valley. This area is
well known for wild foods like huckleberries, morel mushrooms,
whitefish, and venison, but we also have the right soil and
climate to grow cherries and plums, pork and beef, and all kinds
of vegetables. Local farmers have developed a marketing
network to provide local food to restaurants, markets, bakeries,
and a bed and breakfast. Our FarmHands map guides you to 60
Flathead farms and 28 businesses that serve local food.”
— Pam Gerwe, Purple Frog Farm, Whitefish, MT
We gratefully acknowledge funding support from the following: Alberta Ministry
of Tourism, Parks, Recreation and Culture; Alberta SouthWest Regional Alliance;
Glacier National Park with the Glacier Natural History Association; Henry P. Kendall
Foundation; Kootenay Rockies Tourism, British Columbia; The Sustainability Fund;
Trail of the Great Bear; Travel Montana geotourism consortium, including the
Montana Department of Commerce, the regional tourism commissions of Glacier
Country, Russell Country, and Gold West Country, and the visitors bureaus of
Flathead Valley and Whitefish; U.S. Department of the Interior-Bureau of Land
Management; U.S. Forest Service with Montana Scenic Loop; University of
Montana Public Policy Research Institute; Waterton Chamber of Commerce;
Waterton Lakes National Park; Wilburforce Foundation; and Yellowstone to
Yukon Conservation Initiative.
Text by David Thomas and Steve Thompson; David Jeffery, editor.
Ca
n
GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
Lace up your boots and explore this
backcountry wilderness woven with
700 miles (1,100 kilometers) of hiking trails. While just a few glaciers
remain, the park’s majestic landscape is the product of massive ice
sheets sculpting ancient sea beds
into rugged mountains and emerald
valleys starting two million years ago.
S
Eating Local
H
R
l
Yaak
E
a
AKAMINA-KISHINENA
W
Eureka
E
508
M.V. International
Built at Goat Haunt, Montana, the
wooden-hulled International never
motors far from home. Climb
aboard the vessel that since 1927
has shuttled 1.5 million visitors
across the liquid border shimmering between its port of birth and
Waterton Park townsite in Alberta.
RESERVE
PROVINCIAL PARK
KOOTENAI
93
e
e
a
ERoosville
E
(B L O O D
y
ar
E
The Great Canadian Barn Dance
and Family Campground
d
n
TOBACCO
PLAINS
INDIAN
RESERVE
Port of
Roosville
n
n
a
o
Grasmere
Lake
Koocanusa
R
West Castle River Valley
Spring wildflowers draw botanists
and photographers to West Castle
Wetlands Ecological Reserve. In the
surrounding valley, trout stalkers
prefer late summer when rivers
flow low and clear over multihued
cobbles. Cross-country skiers like
mid-winter best, while birders are
happy anytime.
E
CANA DA
UNITE D STATE S
o
e
8566 ft
2611 m
d
AREA
a
W
Stand Off
ton
ter
Alberta beef and prairie potatoes,
with side of stomp
Mt. Haig
K
93
49°
p
t
h
CONSERVATION
c
OLD GROWTH COTTONWOODS, BC
Veloured in dense green moss, 400-year-old
black cottonwood trees congregate on the
side of the Elk River at Morrissey Bridge.
A nature walk steers you around wet spots
and avoids sensitive cottonwood roots.
s
t
Y
HERITAGE
a
E
Elko
5
Creek
The Nature Conservancy of
Canada's Waterton Park Front
Prairie and mountain ecosystems clasp
like fingers where ranches border the
national park. A visitor centre and
nature trail at Waterton Springs
Campground describe how ranchers
and Nature Conservancy of Canada
saved 11,878 hectares (29,350 acres)
of grasslands for grazing and wildlife.
FOREST
G
KAI N AI
Peigan Crafts Mocassin Factory
Bloomin’ Inn
Beauvais Lake
Provincial Park
LETHBRIDGE
COUNTY AIRPORT
2
RESERVE
Brocket E
E
Pincher
T
Lethbridge E
Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden
Experience artful blends of vegetation,
rock, and water in the Nikka Yuko
Garden’s celebration of Japanese
culture, which was originally rooted in
southwestern Alberta by compulsory
wartime migration from coastal areas.
3
NORTH AMERICA’S
ROCKY MOUNTAIN MAJESTY
NATION
Oldman River
Reservoir
Lebel Mansion and
Allied Arts Council
M O U N TA I N S
M
BROADWOOD
Macleod
Santa Claus Parade
PIIKANI
Crown of the
Continent
113°
Oldman River Valley Wilderness Park
E
Fort
Peigan Friends Along
the River Fish Rescue
Kite Festival
Buy Local
Patronize businesses that support the community and its conservation
and preservation efforts. Seek out local products, foods, services, and
shops. When you support the people who support the place, they’ll
usually reward you with a richer, more memorable trip.
Volunteer
A great way to get to know a place—and the people who work to
protect it—is to lend a hand. Options abound: Repair hiking trails, pull
invasive weeds, restore streamside habitat, catalog historical artifacts.
Roll up your sleeves with the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation or
the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
Take a Hike
The region features thousands of miles of hiking, biking, and horse
trails. Local volunteers lead various nature groups on educational
day hikes to watch birds, identify wildflowers, and explore public wildlands. Outings are free, but your donation will support conservation.
Visit First Nation and Tribal Lands
On a First Nation Reserve or American Indian Reservation, you are a
guest where people live and work. Taking photos and video can be a
sensitive issue, so ask permission first. A great time to visit is during
traditional pow wows.
Dirt Roads
Many of the roads between towns and public recreational lands are
not paved. Take it slow, keep the dust down, and give the wildlife a
brake. Don’t drive off road, and please respect private property.
Bears, Cougars, and Wolves
With one of North America’s wildest landscapes come many animals
that can eat you. Don’t let them. Hike in groups, lift your voice,
photograph from afar. (Actually, history records no people-eating
wolves in North America. As they recolonize historic territory, let's keep
it that way.)
Step Away from Your Car
Travel options abound so you may better appreciate the scenery and
meet others. Glacier National Park provides a free shuttle service
across the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Drivers double as cultural guides
on the Blackfeet-run Sun Tours, or try the elegant convertible-top red
buses. Amtrak provides passenger service along Glacier’s southern
border. For muscle-powered transport, pedal the unpaved Great Divide
Mountain Bike Route on both sides of the border.
Leave No Trace
Take only photographs and leave only footprints. Travel on existing
trails and camp on hard surfaces. Keep campfires small in established fire pits. Pack out garbage if no trash receptacles are nearby.
Let animals eat natural foods rather than yours.
Thinking of Moving Here?
If you plan to relocate, live in town or close by. The fragmentation of
working farms and forests into rural subdivisions and small ranchettes
harms water quality, wildlife habitat, native plants, and traditional
livelihood. With global warming, the risk of dangerous forest fires has
soared along the valley fringes and forested foothills.
Crossing the Border
Enhance your adventure by exploring both countries. We value
our cross-border visitors. Please check for current border crossing
requirements.
Watch Piikani Blackfoot artisans make
moccasins, mukluks, and mitts.
Bellevue Underground Coal Mine
Chill in the Bellevue Underground
Coal Mine where the tunnel’s
breeze stays a constant 7°C (45°F).
Back on the surface, slurp a shake
through a straw, or race melting
ice cream around the lip of a crisp
waffle cone, at the Old Dairy ice
cream shop.
ROCKY
MOUNT
Island Lake Lodge
Visit an uncut remnant of an ancient
interior rainforest in Cedar Valley. Oldgrowth western red cedar trees were
spared by logging company executives
who preferred a wilderness setting for
their retreat at Island Lake Lodge.
Now a resort, forest and lodge are
open to you for rigorous hiking, crosscountry skiing, and refined dining.
LUCASIA RANCH
Traded for a horse in 1881, this former
Blackfoot grassland camping site treats
you and other bunking dudes with a taste
of roping, branding, and rounding-up.
ALBERTA
t
es
Crowsn
Continental Divide
Pacific and Arctic air masses clash
over the Continental Divide at
Crowsnest Lake, funneling furious but
warm winter winds through mountain
gaps and causing abrupt transitions
in species of trees, wildflowers, and
birdlife. Water from Crowsnest Lake
flows east to Hudson Bay. Adjacent
Summit Lake empties westward
towards the Pacific Ocean.
Moyie Lake
116°
g
lk
E
Granum
Crowsnest River
Shallow riffles, deep pools, and runs
too rocky for drift boats make the
Crowsnest River above Lundbreck Falls
a treasured preserve for traditional
dry fly anglers who prefer to walk and
wade, sometimes casting with rods
hand-crafted from Chinese bamboo
and silk lines braided in France.
ELundbreck
E
(photo at left)
E
Galloway
Ol
dm
an
ECowley
Old Growth
Cottonwoods
3
OLD GROWTH COTTONWOODS
STEVE SHORT
n
3
Ko
o
te
93
Isadore Canyon Trail
na
A link in the national Trans Canada
Trail system, Isadore Canyon Trail
will give you an easy mountain-biking
E
Wardner
route along a right-of-way abandoned
by the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Chris’
Restaurant
Fresh cut fries authenticate
Fifties’ menu and decor.
Fernie Griz Days
E
Crowsnest
EPass
a
3
Fernie
50°N
LCrowsnest Pass
l
95
Bull
Bull River
Guest Ranch
Allison/Chinook Lake
Cross-Country
Ski Trails
E
Hosmer
y
Girls Bugle Band
Catch, if you can, the Cranbrook
Girls Bugle Band blowing their
vintage brass bugles—as they have
at regional events since 1941.
DIVIDE
L
i
L
NTINENTA
AI
E
IDE)
DIV
EAT
(GR
TR
RO
A
D
YO
N
E
RANGELAND
The Gap
F
E
AN
Cranbrook
LE
E C
HERITAGE
“The Continental Divide is the high
vertebrae of the West. It is there that
the soul of the Westerner resides.”
— Ian Tyson, singer, songwriter,
ranch owner
Michel
4452 ft
1357 m
Claresholm
c
v
CO
95A
CREEK
Crowsnest Mountain
9138 ft K
2785 m
K
93
BLACK
FOREST
RESERVE
E
Wardner-Fort Steele Road
Take the Wardner-Fort Steele
byway for intimate close-ups of
mountains rising sharply from flat
ranchlands, herds of foraging elk,
flocks of wild turkeys, sand cliffs
densely colonized by swallows, and
the chance of finding a gold nugget
in Wild Horse Creek.
TE
TS
OR
R-F
NE
RD
WA
E
Wycliffe
Steele
EStavely
r
i
an
C
Cr.
E
Fort
Coal Miner Days
Sparwood
E
Frontier Western Shop
Saddles, duds, and horse feed
draw cowboys, working and
wannabe, to ranch country’s
emporium of Western ware.
o
m
ld
L
O
O
Mark
Three Bars Cattle
& Guest Ranch
Shoot skeet, fish with
a fly, sit a saddle, or
soak in a spa.
Bob Creek Wildland
Bob Creek Wildland protects
Whaleback Ridge and one of Alberta’s
most important elk ranges. At the
southern limit of this backcountry
preserve, which has no visitor facilities,
the Oldman River breaks free of the
mountains through a narrow slot
locals call “The Gap.”
lo
il
ROCKY
W
GUESTS ON HORSEBACK AT LUCASIA RANCH
RENÉ VAN BAKEL
Fording
El
k
Motorboat fishing and RV
camping on the Cowboy Trail
Coal Mine Tours
Mountains are moved in sky-high,
open-pit coal mines. Join tours from
visitor centres in Elkford or Sparwood.
Stroll Sparwood’s mining mural trail.
E
Wasa
G
o
B
IL
RA
OY T
C OW B
Mt. Lyall
K
9684 ft
2952 m
Former fish camp for First
Nations still attracts anglers
Marysville Falls
w
Chain Lakes Provincial Park
Tornado Mountain K
10167 ft
ST.
MARY’S
INDIAN
RESERVE
le
tt
Li
2
93
Kimberley
MAP DATA DERIVED FROM: DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL
RESOURCES CANADA; MIISTAKIS INSTITUTE FOR THE
ROCKIES; MODIS/TERRA VEGETATION CONTINUOUS
FIELDS, NASA; NASA EARTH OBSERVATORY; NATURAL
RESOURCES CANADA, CANADIAN FOREST SERVICE PACIFIC FORESTRY CENTRE; OAK RIDGE NATIONAL
LABORATORY LANDSCAN 2004™/UT-BATTELLE, LLC;
SRTM DATA, INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR TROPICAL
AGRICULTURE (CIAT); UMD GLOBAL LAND COVER
CLASSIFICATION, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
Chimney Rock B&B
Bed down at a working ranch
where a stewardship ethic makes
home on the range for wildlife as
well as livestock.
Livingstone Falls
FISHER PEAK
A vigorous hike to the spire of Fisher Peak
offers a stunning view of two provinces and
three states. National Hockey League’s local
hero Scott Niedermayer used his champion’s
right to a day with the Stanley Cup and hoisted the trophy at the top of Fisher Peak.
10
10
0 km
2542 m
Elkford E
BRITISH
COLUMBIA
0 mi
8340 ft
Mt. Burke K
M O U N TA I N S
SCOTT NIEDERMAYER WITH STANLEY CUP ATOP FISHER PEAK
ALAN MAUDIE PHOTOGRAPHY
International Old Time
Adminstered by UNESCO, the World Heritage
List recognizes the most significant cultural
and natural treasures on the planet.
Albers Conic Equal-Area Projection
Standard Parallels 47° and 50°
Longview Jerky Shop
95
EAccordion Championships
Other protected area
Frank
Lake
Longview
E
oo
d
EAT
2782 m
Geotraveler Tips:
National forest or reserve
National park
R
W
r.
eC
Indian reservation or reserve
23
E
Cayley E
GROWING POPULATIONS
From Calgary’s oil-fueled sprawl to
lifestyle-driven migration into western
Montana, you can see regional growth
consuming open spaces and intruding
on mountain views. Environmentalists,
ranchers, and developers are struggling to
balance the Old West ethos of unchecked
liberty on private land and the New West
Nanton E
commitment to conservation.
Canadian Grain Elevator
Discovery Centre
Premier Lake Provincial Park
CANADIAN ROCKIES
INTL. AIRPORT
High River
( GR
K
9128 ft
3099 m
St. Mary
Urban area
Protected Areas
an
E
VID
L DI
TA
EN
NTIN
Mt. Head
Josephine Falls
Your reward at the end of a 3-km
(2-mi) walking trail is rarely-viewed
Josephine Falls, a 25-m (83-ft)
tumble of foaming water set in a
secluded canyon landscape.
Whiteswan
Lake
Marysville E
National Wild and Scenic River
SCALE 1:500,000
E)
9987 ft
3044 m
Flats
95
Scenic route
Old
m
CO
Abruzzi
Courcelette Peak K
te
hi
50°N
World Heritage site
114°W
ELK LAKES PROVINCIAL PARK
Go light on the land to see remnant glaciers,
wildflowers, and old-growth forests of Elk
Lakes, a wilderness sanctuary for backpackers,
canoeists, and kayakers. No vehicle camping,
motorized boating, or mountain biking permitted.
541
Clean, cold mountain waters are spectacular for whitewater rafting, fishing, canoeing, sailing, and swimming. You can explore new
places with park rangers, guides or hiking groups, such as the
Castle Crown Wilderness Coalition in Alberta or Montana
Wilderness Association.
Kimberley
Hike, cross-country ski, or ride your
bike in the Kimberley Nature Park,
one of Canada’s largest municipal
parks at 800 hectares (1,800
acres). Wild mushroom ravioli is
served at the Old Bauernhaus
Restaurant, a German farm building
first registered in 1640 and moved
to Canada in 1987.
Other point of interest
BOULDER GLACIER, GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, MT, CIRCA 1910
MORTON ELROD / GLACIER NATIONAL PARK ARCHIVES
int
Mt.
10719 ft K
3267 m
“Hunting is the main business of most wilderness outfitters. But
many clients are interested in guided backcountry pack trips
just to view wildlife or fish alpine lakes in a wild, quiet place.”
— Anna Fontana, Elk Valley Bighorn Outfitters, Cranbrook, BC
ECanal
Joffre
Diamond
Turner
Valley
ELK RANGE AND LOWER ELK LAKE
CASEY BRENNAN
nw
di
o se
K
11250 ft Mt.
3429 m
Natural or scenic area
To
Calgary
E
l
“You can discover something new every day in these beautiful
mountains and valleys, and often you can discover a little more
about yourself. This is a great place for learning vacations, such
as Elderhostel and nature adventures offered by the Glacier
Institute or Waterton Natural History Association. Wildflower
walks and bird watching are especially popular, either on your
own or with volunteer groups like Audubon or the Native Plant
Society.”
— Nancy Zapotocki, conservation educator, Kalispell, MT
116°
EBlack
115°
C
Outdoor Recreation
Museum
BOULDER GLACIER, GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, MT, AUGUST 2007
DAN FAGRE AND GREG PEDERSON / USGS
CYCLISTS ON GOING-TO-THE-SUN ROAD, GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, MT
HEATH KORVOLA / AURORA PHOTOS
Festival
PEAKS OF THE CROWN OF THE CONTINENT
MICHAEL MELFORD
3:32 PM
E
PACK TRAIN IN BOB MARSHALL WILDERNESS
DEWITT JONES / CORBIS
3/6/08
St
.M
Crown-Continent-Pol
47°
High Country Lodging
“These historic lodges tell the story of the region’s rugged
nature—the howling winds of Waterton, the ancient forests
of Glacier, the limestone chiseled from these mountains.
Many of these rustic chalets and hotels were built by Great
Northern Railway to lure visitors to the new national parks
nearly a century ago when people journeyed between
chalets by horseback.”
— Alicia Thompson, Glacier Park, Inc., Columbia Falls, MT
“Rooms with a view come in all shapes and sizes. The
region boasts thousands of public and private campsites for
tents and RVs. Or you can ponder the stars through the top
of a Blackfoot tipi. The aroma of grilled saskatoon pancakes
will lure you from your guest ranch bunk. Huckleberry
muffins will entice you from the fluffy warmth of your bedand-breakfast inn. Creature comforts in the Crown of the
Continent are as diverse as the ecosystem itself.”
— Beth Russell-Towe, Trail of the Great Bear Learning
Travel, Waterton, AB
Page 1
Rocky Mountain Front
Natural or scenic area
Other point of interest
World Heritage site
(Mo kins sti) Tribal name
[Elbow River]
G
CALGARY INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT
21
22
115°
E
Exshaw
Bo
114°
w
Calgary
51°
[Elbow River] ,
( aknuqtap¢ik)
[Elbow]
BAR U RANCH
DEB PIGEON / PARKS CANADA
24
1
2
22X
E
Carseland
2A
R
E
E
Sh
40
eep
w
in
r
inte
e
O
n
K
Mt. Joffre
a
y
Mt. Head K
9128 ft
HEAD-SMASHED-IN BUFFALO JUMP
PAUL A. SOUDERS / CORBIS
hw
ee
Cr
e
l s
i l
3
Piikani Nation
Annual Celebration
Creek
h
e
stl
Ca
[W lea
C
r
Mt. Cleveland
K
ad
the
Fla
ork
N. F
t
e
i
O
f
s
h
R
a
l
n
i
Alpine section of road
closed in winter
g
e
U
WOLVERINE IN GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, MT
CHRIS PETERSON
AY
‘ ‘
n
n
d
a
Una Mt.
K
r
9202 ft
2805 m
R
˘
˘
Arlee
Seeley L.
Arlee Fourth of July
Celebration
Seeley Lake E Seeley Lake
Varied displays in mucked
out horse stalls
Red Mountain K
Craig
et
urn
LE W
(r
Wolf Creek
EClinton
NATIVE AMERICAN WARRIORS AT GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, MT
BETTMANN / CORBIS
a
r
Step back to where the
gold-mining boom went
bust in 1905.
n
e
141
t
90
R
Drummond
a
E
Lake Helena
Hauser L.
n
g
Goldcreek
HELENA REGIONAL
AIRPORT
e
E
Helena
Avon
E
East
E
B
12
Elliston
90
LEWIS AND CLARK PASS
A moderate, two-mile climb rewards you with
the wild vistas that awed Meriwether Lewis in
1806. If you see a grizzly bear, consider calming your pulse at the nearby Hotel Lincoln, a
historic and cozy refuge favored by participants
in winter’s Race to the Sky sled dog race.
‘
ˆ
or
n
‘
‘
‘
ig
h
113°
Helena
287
E
E
Garrison
Canyon Ferry
Lake
G
15
‘
M
ts
.
44°
Our tribes, the easternmost in the Salish language
family, occupied most of central and western
Montana, northern Idaho, and eastern Washington. In
the traditional way of life, we moved across this vast
area gathering, hunting, and fishing the abundant and
varied plants and animals. We still practice these
traditional ways as we strive to keep our critically
endangered language alive. Today, the Confederated
Salish and Kootenai Tribes integrate our cultural values and heritage into an advanced program of environmental and natural resource management on the
Flathead Reservation and throughout our aboriginal
territories for the benefit of future generations.
— Tony Incashola, Salish-Pend d’Oreille Culture
Committee and Clayton Matt, Natural Resource
Director and Member of Salish Tribe
ith
Sm
G
47°
n s
a i
n t
o u
Fo
rk
111°
M
Garnet Ghost Town
of the
LGates
Mountains
FREEZEOUT LAKE
Birds by the hundreds of thousands and humans
by the handful congregate at Freezeout Lake to
celebrate early spring. Tundra swans, snow
geese, and 200 other migrating species start in
mid-March to use the lake as a staging point,
while they wait for nature’s traffic control system
to indicate that their far northern destinations
are open for feeding and breeding.
)
te
rou
114°
Holter
Lake
DE
la
rk
v
Ri
200
Lincoln
E
(Nl~ ayccstm)
ˇ
[Place of the
Small Bull Trout] C
E
200
Missoula
ri O
u )( g
so ay Bi
is akat er] [
l t
B e
Hi-Country Trading Post and
Upper Blackfoot Valley
Historical Museum
IS
M
E
CLARK (water
t
434
Blackfoot
E
E
rn
D
AN
IS
LEW
Our language is unrelated to any language in the
world. Maybe that’s because our traditional territory
in these mountains is so remote. Fewer than 50 people still speak fluent Ktunaxa. We made a dictionary
and work with Kootenai elders in Montana to save
our language from extinction. At the time of Creation,
we were given our language and this territory to care
for. We are still negotiating a treaty with Canada and
British Columbia for rights to our ancestral homeland
and to protect the water. Our language and our land
go together.
— Liz Gravelle, Ktunaxa Elder, Tobacco Plains, BC
Ovando E
Highwood
Mountains
3
EBelt
Armington E
g
B i
EFrenchtown
These are the traditional territories of the Blackfoot,
going back thousands of years. All of this is sacred:
lakes and rivers, the forest, the prairie, the mountains where our people go for vision quests. The
water starts from this place and flows to the ocean
from our land. Today, the biggest issue for the
Blackfoot nations is clean drinking water and our
legal water rights. We continue to negotiate with the
government to protect our water. We understand that
we ultimately are responsible for the protection of
our territory, water, and the retention of our language
and culture.
— Earl Old Person, Chief of the Blackfeet Nation, MT
9411 ft
2868 m
Elk Country Visitor Center
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s
visitor center celebrates the conservation
of public wildlands, working ranches, and
forests where elk herds can thrive. The
autumn bugling of lustful bulls is a call to
arms for hunters seeking winter meat and
trophy antlers.
87
Raynesford
bo
Historical Museum
89
15
Ulm
E
De
ar
n
Lewis & Clark
Festival
200
S
or
E
Great Falls
Mountain
K
N
s
WYOMING
gh
G
287
e
n
Bi
Fort Shaw
g
s.
i
B
GREAT FALLS
INTL. AIRPORT
E
n
ou
ESimms
200
E
Upper Missouri River Breaks National
Monument Interpretive Center
Learn here about the fractured uplands
bordering the Upper Missouri River.
Once a hideout for desperados, this new
national monument remains much as
Lewis and Clark saw it two centuries
ago. Float and fish the river, or drive
the landscape’s rough wagon tracks in a
rugged vehicle—but off-road is off-limits.
C. M. Russell Museum
Painter’s brilliant pigments
preserve a faded West.
Montana Atlatl
Mammoth Hunt
a
E
87
Vaughn
E
River
ri
Missou
Floweree E
Scapegoat
I
˘
21
EAugusta
k
˘
89
Old Trail Museum
North America’s original transcontinental highway, the Old North Trail is
said by some to be the pathway used
by migrants from Siberia to populate
the Americas. Known for certain is
the trail’s use for millennia by native
peoples moving north or south along
the Rocky Mountain Front.
l
Ignatius
8580 ft
2615 m
Benton
Lake
Carter E
Fairfield
E
Gibson Res.
C
.S
Freezeout
Lake
Su
A
a
‘
a
‘
First Peoples Buffalo Jump
State Park
For at least one thousand years,
before horses and guns made the
work easier and safer, Plains Indians
stampeded bison over this ledge to be
finished off by the spears and arrows
of hunters waiting below.
Pishkun Reservoir
e
Mt
ne
to
ws
o
l
l
Ye
Billings
Yellowstone
Lake
Grizzly Marathon
(return route)
d
lt
selshell
Fort
Benton E
WIS
LE
hea
at
Be
Mus
15
i)
Expect no High Noon justice
at this courthouse in the
middle of Main Street.
s
l
rk F
g
Canyon
Ferry Lake
48°
“Today’s adventurers can trace the routes of our national
trailbreakers—David Thompson in Canada and Lewis and
Clark in the American West—as they explore what we now
call the Crown of the Continent. Amtrak riders still follow
the original trans-Rockies route of the Great Northern
Railway, while motorists in Canada parallel the tracks of
Canadian Pacific’s Crowsnest Route. The two railroads
opened the Crown to settlement in the late 19th century,
bringing with them the wood cutters and miners whose
descendants share the valleys with today’s so-called
‘amenity migrants’—those among us who first come to
visit, and then return to stay.”
— John Kinnear, Crowsnest Pass, AB
Teton County Courthouse
i
‘
DIVIDE
w
Atha
ba
AL
e
Bi
a
Helena
Brady E
Selis
´ (Salish) / Qlispe´ (Pend d’Oreille)
MONTANA
(Nl aycčstm)
[Place of the
Small Bull Trout]
Fort Peck
Lake
219
L
t
Missoula
i
(Am i s kapo Om
ak
[S o u t h Big Riv a tay)
(Omakat a y) er]
R
i
g
v
i
[B
er]
Lewis and Clark National Historic
Trail Interpretive Center
First non-native tourists found a route
to the Pacific Ocean in an 1803-06
odyssey along Missouri and Columbia
Rivers. As a modern explorer you can
trace the journey more quickly at
Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center.
287
ECondon
g
Great Falls
48°N
EPendroy
Choteau E
n
Missour
ˇ ’ étkw) (Yawu nik A.kuqnuk)
(Clq
[Broad Water] [Monster Lake]
T
River ai)
]
E
a
Flathead Lake
ittle
te)
a
R
l
N
EDupuyer
“In 1873, my great-grandfather, Michael Phillipps, was the
first white man to cross the Crowsnest Pass—and he did it
from West to East.”
— Lexine Phillipps, Cranbrook, BC
he
S. Fo
n
OLD NORTH TRAIL
(historic route)
(Poyi
[L i Tah
Bears Paw
Mountains
ou
(M [B
e
Lake
Elwell
k
nr
a
on a k t
Tetis Sistver]
i k st R i
n
a
u re
g
Mil
(re
Bynum Reservoir
n
CANADA
U.S.
IS
tur
Conrad
an
Co
CO
W
Sun
E
a
Cypress Hills
LE
a
Sw
s
atchew
S a sk
Lake Frances
NT
Two Medicine Dinosaur Center
See hatchling bones from a fossil
nest and join in active dinosaur
digs along Montana’s Rocky
Mountain Front.
Explorers and Pioneers
44
her e-
R ’ w s)
q
ns]
,w m o
n t ai
o n
s i , m n M q et hing Mou
e l
- Som
(S n y You-Surround
Lake
Diefenbaker
[Bear River
T
w
i
[ P l ac e -W
Ravalli
Valier
Butte
(K Marias tai)
h
yai
o Sistac ]
EBynum
M
ESt.
E
EHeart
N
e
n g
R a
S
s
Dixon
Four Horns L.
5220 ft
L
d
n
Fl
a
(N thead
tx w
[Ri. e´ tk w
ver )
]
93
Ktunaxa / Ksanka / Kootenai
[Black Coal]
Kalispell
n
u s]
t]
tain Gian
oun y of ]
100
a
i
52°
tai)
ach
ist iver]
R
o
Tribal name translation
83
Fort Connah
Moiese
E
E
Lake
89
S
[Two
Spotted Bear
Ranger Station
ˇ ’ li´ s)
(Xntsnmé
Clq
.
[Ninepipes Lake]
Blackfoot Confederacy / Niitsitapi
n
an
w
a
bi
y
[Elbow River]
ERonan
90
S
Browning
k
Tribal name
e
a
er
um
ol
h
2767 m [Chief Mountain]
Salish, Pend d’Oreille, and other Salishan tribes
EPablo
Charlo E
Flathead Reservation Trading Post
and Mission
Furs and souls drew traders and missionaries to native lands, where relics of
commerce and conversion will brief you
on the troubled integration of cultures.
Inside St. Ignatius Mission Church, art
interprets Jesus and his mother as native
North Americans. Nearby, Fort Connah
was an outpost of imperial Britain's
Hudson's Bay Company.
ch
e
Ktunaxa
(Mo kins sti)
me
[
135
Sa
e
D
Chief Mountain
K
9080 ft (Ninastako)
Blackfoot Confederacy
100
Perma
SASKATCHEWAN
(Sik-ooh-kotok)
Tribal Territories About 1800
0 km
)
East Glacier Park
ddl
e Fork F
lat
Ninepipe
Res.
,
47°
ew
a
Lethbridge
Lake
Koocanusa
Pablo Res.
108°
th
ttl
(Mokinists
[E l b o is S
w
Kootenay River
(Wu u aq lsmaknik akinmituk)
[River Water People]
~ w)
(Sqlsewlk
[Kootenai Waters]
9138 ft
2785 m K
Crowsnest
EPolson
EParadise
w
sk
at
Bo
[Elbow]
35
Hear oral history directly from the
contemporary custodians of Salish
and Kootenai tribal heritage,
adjacent to tribal headquarters
and community college.
E
BROWNING
Unfurl your bedroll beside a crackling campfire,
eat a traditional meal of roast buffalo, and
arrange a cultural tour at Blackfoot Tipi Village.
Compare early and modern Indian art at the
Museum of the Plains Indian, Blackfeet Heritage
Center, and Lodgepole Gallery. See descendants
of original Spanish mustangs, working beavers,
and an occasional wandering grizzly at Blackfeet
Buffalo Horse Coalition ranch, where your visit
will require prior arrangement.
E
Marias Pass
93
(Qln i)
[Referring to
Raw Camas]
rk
Fo
k tk
ar w e´ r]
Cl (NtxRive
N
or
[Elbow River]
IDAHO
0 mi
Camas
Prairie
,
.
[Monster Lake]
The Peoples Center
e
in
ic s i )
d
e
Ka iver]
M
yo R
Two
K i nc
o
( N a t un d a
Placid L.
Re
d
( aknuqtap¢ik)
e
Standing Arrow
Pow Wow
Blackfoot
Old and weathered, but still active
backcountry ranger station
North Shore of Flathead Lake
The Flathead River disperses through
cottonwood stands and reedy sloughs
where waterfowl and raptors thrive.
Federal Waterfowl Production Area
is closed to humans during spring
nesting but is bliss for birders the
rest of the year.
93
W
Calgary
M
d
s
M akis) [¢i) [Bo ountain
yM
iist uq
(M Nalm [Rock
s
)
u i w ut
kx w x c
( a (X c
WASHINGTON
Sna
382
28
e)
115°
112°
Cranbrook Mountain
Coeur
d’Alene
Lake
ˇ~ ’ étk )
(Clq
[Broad Water]
(Yawu nik’ A.kuqnuk)
o
[S
(wat
er rou
t
ot
rro
te w )
it ew~lk Waters]
e B S esh
ttl lye -fr
Li (Q hing
t
200
OM
PSO
N
a
k
Spokane
h
)
TH
Homesteader Days
Celebration
GLACIAL LAKE MISSOULA
During the last ice age, 13,000 to 15,000
years ago, an ice dam in a narrow canyon in
northern Idaho periodically gave way, releasing raging torrents from a 2,000-foot (610meter)-deep lake in western Montana. The
legacy of these floods, which are recalled in
Salish-Pend d’Oreille Coyote stories, can be
seen in the scablands of eastern Washington
and the huge ripple marks in Camas Prairie.
(Mo kins sti)
L. Pend
Oreille
t
t
u te
Hot Springs E
DA
VID
atchewan
c
bia
um
Flathead
Lake
w
[Big Island]
NATIONAL BISON RANGE
Established in 1909 and stocked with descendants
of bison rescued from extinction by Pend d'Oreille
people this sanctuary protects hundreds of bison
on 18,500 acres (7,487 hectares) of rolling grassland and forest. Take short nature walks from
access points along 24 miles (39 kilometers) of
road loop.
Saskatoon
Sandpoint
a
e
(la
28
B
o
Franklin Delano
Roosevelt Lake
E
H i l l s
e Hills]
TRAIN OVER OLDMAN RIVER, LETHBRIDGE, AB
JAMES P. BELL
d
[Sweathouse Lake]
ˇ ´ ˇ m)
(Ctise
[Something Sweet]
R
Castlegar
Mi
ˇ~ ´
(Slaqi Clqli)
ESwan
S i k s)
weet Pin
444
MONTANA
Swan Lake
‚
,
Elmo E (Kwilqanqmi)
ALBERTA
Lower
Arrow
Lake
E
EBigfork
Wild Horse,Island
Edmonton
Kootenay
Lake
Lakeside
Rollins
N
Upper
Arrow
Lake
Mt. Aeneas
[no known translation]
EPlains
C
E
ns or S
Brown
E
THEODORE
ROOSEVELT
INTERNATIONAL
HIGHWAY
Goat Lick Overlook
(Nasuqut)
Despite an international line and national policies that divided
families and toppled traditional governance, the first peoples
of the Crown of the Continent have maintained cultural ties,
languages, and inter-tribal cooperation across borders.
Historically, tribal territories shifted and overlapped, but at
European contact the region was dominated by three linguistic
groups. Long the great warriors of the eastern slopes, the
Blackfoot Confederacy includes the Piikani, Siksiska and
Blood/Kainai Nations in Alberta and the Blackfeet Nation in
Montana. On the west side are the mountain bands of the
Ktunaxa Nation in British Columbia and the Ksanka/Kootenai
in Montana. Farther south, the Interior Salish people, including
the Bitterroot Salish and Pend d’Oreille, are closely related to
other Salish-speaking nations in British Columbia, Washington,
and Idaho. All of these nations and tribes invite visitors to
their pow wows, museums, and interpretive centers.
Revelstoke
Somers
unt ai
Mt.
6958 ft K
2121 m
s s
2
2
Izaak Walton Inn
82
BISON
DONALD M. JONES
48°
First Peoples,
Two Countries
Golden
l
n
N
Kila
(K u G r a
t
lot M o Y i i
o
od C
BLACKFEET BUFFALO HORSE COALITION, NEAR BROWNING
JOHN STEPHEN HOCKENSMITH
E
Browning
49
1591 m
Built to lodge railroad plow
crews, hotel now shelters hikers
TI
and cross-country skiers
NE
Watch eye-level eagles and hawks
pass by the tallest peak in the
Jewel Basin Hiking Area in autumn.
E
2
EMarion
Freedom to roam for big mammals—lynx, wolves, bighorn
sheep, moose, and elk—brings you great wildlife viewing.
Underwater, native bull trout and cutthroat swim up to 100
miles (161 kilometers) between lakes and mountain brooks
to spawn.
BRITISH
COLUMBIA
l
u
THOMPSO
y
15
EShelby
Watch mountain goats clamber up mineral
cliffs along the river. A pioneering wildlife
underpass allows salt-seeking goats
to safely cross U.S. Highway 2.
35
EKalispell
Ashley L.
[Blo
E
3091 m
l
o
2
Little Bitterroot
Lake
“When someone asks us what our grizzly bear population
is, we tell them we don’t have one. We share them with our
neighbors. The average home range of an individual grizzly
bear is larger than this park. Bears and most large mammals need a variety of food sources during the year. The
fact that they move freely across borders is why this is
one of the few places where grizzly bears survive.”
— Cyndi Smith, conservation biologist, Waterton Lakes
National Park, AB
sk
Hungry Horse
Reservoir
Sunburst
Mt. Stimson
K
Road closed in winter
10142 ft
F
M
VID
DA
ro
93
“There is no better place in the world to view a wolverine
than Glacier National Park, especially along the Highline
Trail. They thrive here because there’s great sub-alpine
habitat and so many prey species, such as mountain goats,
marmots, and squirrels.”
— Jeff Copeland, Forest Service biologist, Missoula, MT
Kinbasket
Lake
a
V)
a´
d
a a pLake]
e
h n l f th e
a t (S[End o
F l
Fisher
Animals on the Move
nd
Kalispell Historic Walking Tour
Step into early 20th-century Main
Street. The optimism of Kalispell’s
pioneer boosters endures in the
grand architecture of Hockaday
Museum of Art, Conrad Mansion,
Museum at Central School, and
Red’s Wines and Blues restaurant.
North American
Indian Days
89
2
206
S w2128 m
e e
t
Cut Bank
Great pillars of old-growth
fir dominate lobby
G
West Butte K
6983 ft
2
Hand-hewn grand hotel
Horse
UNITE D STATE S
Creek
Cut Bank
Glacier Park Lodge
EHungry
49°
E
Lake McDonald
Falls
GLACIER PARK
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
St. Mary Lake
E
Coram
E
Columbia
213
(Pah Tompks Sii Kimii)
[Lake Inside]
Lake McDonald Lodge
h
40
ER
NORTH
)
AT
(AMTRAK
GRE
GO
N
R
le
8565 ft
2611 m
s
E
-S
-THE
-TO
IN G
ilk
i)
M Ta h Tar]
ive
Many Glacier Hotel
Lakeside Swiss-style lodging makes
this 1914 hotel a cozy base for
hiking Glacier’s biggest concentration
of trails or for resting blistered feet
aboard a red bus, cruise boat, or
leather saddle.
St. Mary
Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park /
Áísínai’pi National Historic Site
Abundant First Nations petroglyphs,
covering sheer sandstone cliffs,
and native grasses and wildlife are
protected as part of the Blackfoot
spiritual heritage.
CANAD A
E
Coutts
AIL (historic route)
i
a
Wildflower Herbarium
at Whitefish Library
Whitefish
Lower
St. Mary
Lake
Glacier Natural History
Association revives former
Great Northern passenger stop
Restored to its 1910 style when
opened as a railway hostelry
Tally L.
Logan Pass
6646 ft
2025 m
(Ya.kil Haqwilnamki)
[Where They Dance]
Whitefish Lake
Bonita
Sweetgrass E
464
Lake
Sherburne
West Glacier E Belton Depot
Great Northern Railway Depot
If you’re a railroad buff, you’ll love this
historic depot, the busiest Amtrak stop
Libby between Seattle and Minneapolis. The
Dam
depot doubles as Whitefish Museum.
EDel
111°
lk
Mi
Milk River
E
Shanks L.
Duck L.
E
Belton Chalet
Whitefish, MT
PRINCE OF WALES HOTEL NATIONAL HISTORIC
SITE, UPPER WATERTON LAKE, AB
Afternoon tea, British style, makes this 1927
architectural expression of rustic grandeur a
restful vantage point for your contemplation
of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.
89
Road closed
in winter
Mt. Brown K
62
E
HIGHLINE TRAIL
Polebridge
Taste Polebridge Mercantile’s hefty
sandwiches on freshly baked bread,
and sample cold brew from the
Northern Lights Saloon. Off-thegrid and a long haul from asphalt,
Polebridge shows you a favorite haunt
of the backcountry set and a littleused portal to Glacier National Park.
EMagrath
P TR
P-U
OO
h
S
93
IL W
N RA
Chief Mountain
9080 ft K
2767 m (Ninastako)
[Chief Mountain]
Logging L.
Short nature trail cuts through old
railroad camp and Forest Service
headquarters, now an outdoor
education center
E
37
17
Bowman Lake
Ant Flat
Ranger Station
PRINCE OF WALES HOTEL
HARRY PALMER
WH
W
E
36
e
E
Carway
Road closed
in winter
Babb E
E
Polebridge
Stirling
)
k) s
a
w ha is a s]
ig il e nd
W ak bov Sou
p A t
( a ater as i
Fortine
10466 ft
3190 m
Quartz L.
Etzikom C
ou
le
Stirling L.
112°W
RACE TO THE SKY SLED DOG RACE
PATTI CARPENTER
e
Kintla Lake
route)
ric
BUFFA
IL (histo
LO C
A
R
OW T
5
E
Lake
Stryker
567
M
e
n g
R a
g
Upper Waterton
8036 ft K
Nasukoin Mountain
2465 m
Lake
Koocanusa
(photo at right)
K
10101 ft Kintla Peak
3079 m
4
Remington Carriage Museum
See working wheelwrights heat and
shrink steel bands around wooden
wheels for Remington Carriage
Museum’s display of 225 horsedrawn vehicles. Ride restored
coaches, wagons, or sleighs behind
Clydesdales, Canadians, Quarter
Horses, or Shires.
Maskinonge Lake
Near the entrance to Waterton Lakes
National Park, this lake is a seasonal
favourite for birds and birders. The
Blackfoot people trace the origins of
the sacred beaver bundle, with its
preserved animal hides and waterfowl
skins, to this place.
Prince of Wales Hotel
CANADA
508
Tobacco Valley Historical Village
Pioneer buildings were moved to save
them from drowning when Libby Dam
created Lake Koocanusa in the
1970s. Browse Fewkes General Store
for historical artifacts. And if you buy
a locally made quilt you’ll be helping
provide funds for village upkeep.
e
UNITED STATES
EEureka
Mountain
ViewE
K
Mt.
Blakiston
9645 ft
2940 m
g
(original site)
St. Mary
Reservoir
Cardston
5
E
Rendezvous Days
Rexford
n
LETHBRIDGE COUNTY
AIRPORT
Fort Whoop-Up
5
RD
.
n
m
93
E
a
G
m
a
Transboundary Flathead
Grizzly bears, wolves, and wolverines
radiate from this unpopulated transR
boundary valley, refreshing neighboring
wildlife populations stressed by human
settlement. Known as the North Fork in
Montana and simply as the Flathead in
British Columbia, this broad valley’s
gravel roads should not be traveled without spare tires and a patient attitude.
Chin Lakes
Jensen
Reservoir
U
Lus
sier
R
Roosville E
d
y
E
Grasmere
Port of
Roosville
KOKANEE SALMON RUNS
Witness late summer bounty when grizzly bears,
ospreys, and eagles congregate at Kootenay River
tributaries. Kikomun and Wild Horse Creeks set a
feast for all when waters run red with spawning
Kokanee salmon.
116°
2
Waterton
Reservoir
Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village
This haven for rescued 19th-century
structures is a good starting point for
you to wander along Alberta’s Cowboy
Trail through the Rocky Mountain
foothills, where film crews are sometimes as common as cattle drives.
a
a
Koocanusa
49°
a
n
to
ista r]
a ter
inai S ive
(Ka Chiefs R
)
i
a
cht any
ista r] [M
ais S ive
en utenai R
u
ly
(K [ K
el
B
e
l d
n a
d o
a c
r
Tobacco Plains National
Aboriginal Day Celebration
Lake
sc
Kainai Indian Days
Stand Off
E
Horsefly Lake
Reservoir
International Pow Wow
ar
E
Brocket
The Gathering
See wild raptors between
rescue and release.
[Black Coal]
Fort Whoop-Up and Indian Battle Park
North America’s last intertribal clash here
in 1870 was followed by a treaty between
plains-roaming Cree and foothills-resident
Blackfoot. Native peace was exploited by
whiskey smugglers who plied the WhoopUp Trail between Fort Whoop-Up and Fort
Benton, Montana, and prompted the formation of today’s Royal Canadian Mounted
Police. The fort has been reconstructed
at Indian Battle Park.
3
Pincher
E
Coaldale E
E(Sik-ooh-kotok)
Visit Alberta's oldest theatre, the Empress,
for films, performing arts, and daily tours.
A IL
COWBOY TR
te)
(historic rou
t
t
[Coyo
E
93
120°
Lethbridge
E
Main Street Fort Macleod
Provincial Historic Area
Oldman
River Res.
Alberta Birds of Prey Centre
ECoalhurst
Fort Macleod
6
d
)
hea
Flat Skinku¢ ]
k
e
Ther
kami
(Qan e is Sitting
M
Elko
Taber
Ri aka
ve ta
r] y
El
k
te
hi
W
Fordi
ng
L
a
Galloway E
50°N
E
w
ELundbreck
st
sne htai)
c
Cowley E
t
s aRiver]
i
C
S
sas odge
e
o
t
(Mais en L
112°W
Oldman
E
Granum
H
W
ild
CreHorse
ek
ow
i n
Mark Cr.
W
p
ENobleford
Hillcrest Cemetery
The 189 coal miners who died in
Hillcrest Mine’s 1914 explosion are
buried in mass graves, grouped according to the religious cultures of the
mostly young and immigrant men.
l
Wardner E
lk
EMoyie
E
kli)
(Kya ointer]
Moyie Lake
u
FORESTRY IN THE CROWN
First a source for railroad ties in the late
1800s, and then for construction lumber,
the forests on the wetter, west side of
the Continental Divide are equally valued
today for recreation, wildlife habitat, and
clean waters. Modern foresters strive
for sustainability but now must fight
increasing wildfires and proliferation of
mountain pine beetles as climate change
warms and dries woodlands.
E
Keho L.
3
[Rav
P
[Two
i v
l l
G i
M c
3
Crowsnest Pass
THE FORT MUSEUM OF THE NORTH WEST
MOUNTED POLICE
Red-coated precursors to Royal Canadian
Mounted Police were dispatched to Fort
Macleod in the 1870s to stop American
whiskey traders from abusing Blackfoot First
Nations and defying Canadian sovereignty
on the Prairies. Museum and musical rides
honour Canada’s tradition of cavalry riding
to the rescue of natives, not interlopers.
Visit the nearby restored 1884 police barracks and interpretive centre.
36
E
ALBERTA
2
k
South Livingstone Raptor Watch Site
Watch migrating golden eagles ride
updrafts along the eastern flank of
the Rocky Mountains. See them best
from the ridge called Piitaistakis, or
“The Place of the Eagles,” by Piikani
Blackfoot.
Lundbreck Falls
E
ECarmangay
Mud L.
ro
3
93
r c
Va l l e y
Fernie
Sam Steele Days
4452 ft
1357 m
F
E
Cranbrook
Crowsnest
Pass
ow
Barons
ai)
chtRiver]
k)
95A
Crowsnest Pass
Doors Open and
Heritage Festival
23
Little B
i ll
ok
k i in
to ic
3
9138 ft
2785 m
K
Y
,
ay
Fort Steele
E
95
Crowsnest
Mountain
Elk
E
Range
ngstone
Sparwood
E
top a snow-dusted peak in October, a friend and I hear an elk
bugle. Scanning meadows below with binoculars, I spot
instead a silver-tipped grizzly bear, flexing its massive shoulder hump to excavate glacier lilies. “This is his place,” my
friend says. “He owns this country.” Indeed, while we have eliminated grizzlies in so many places, a robust population freely roams the
Crown of the Continent, from mountaintops and plunging valleys to fescue
prairies and cedar rainforests.
Think of these magnificent bears as
wary sentinels of change. For millenia they
watched over people who honored their
power. The Ktunaxa called to the bear
spirit for guidance and protection, while
Blackfoot traditions tell of the Medicine
Grizzly who rescues and nourishes a
young boy. Explorers David Thompson,
Meriwether Lewis, and William Clark
learned the ancient wisdom of mutual
respect the hard way. After several violent
confrontations, provoked by nonlethal
musket fire, en route to these mountains, Lewis determined to live
and let live: “I find that the curiossity of our party is pretty well
satisfyed with rispect to this anamal.”
From their silent perches, grizzlies witnessed the first trains cross
Crowsnest and Marias Passes, followed by settlers to populate the
Rocky Mountain Trench, and Flathead and Elk Valleys. By the turn
of the 20th century, the bear’s outlook dimmed as wildife was
slaughtered across the continent. Here, however, grizzlies persevered into a new era of wildlife restoration, wilderness designation,
and cross-border stewardship. Today, they are a source of fierce
local pride and the namesake of many businesses and festivals.
As the great silvertip disappears into the forest that bright
October afternoon, I am the observer, humble and grateful that
such a place may yet be found.
— Steve Thompson, writer, National Parks Conservation Association,
Travers
Reservoir
EClaresholm
(
Ol
[O Napiot
dm
sis
ld M
an’s R tachtai)
an
iver]
[Tw (Na
oM
ed
22
o
e L s S is
odg ta
es
Livi
t
G
P o
10167 ft
3099 m
A
E
te)
Tornado Mountain K
Historic Downtown Fernie
Canada’s best-preserved mountain-style
railway station and a slate-roofed courthouse stake out Fernie’s heritage as a
prosperous mining town. The Brickhouse,
in a century-old bank building, and the
Curry Bowl will serve you offbeat food.
Work those calories off with mountain
sports, which now challenge mining and
timber cutting as economic mainstays.
Canadian Museum of Rail Travel
Hints of dining car flirtations and
parlour car cigar smoke haunt the
vintage trains waiting forever at the
Canadian Museum of Rail Travel.
Stay in nearby CPR House, once
the grand home of the railway’s
regional superintendent, and now
a bed and breakfast.
HEAD-SMASHED-IN BUFFALO JUMP,
WORLD HERITAGE SITE
Before guns and horses, First Nations hunters
stalked bison on foot and stampeded the animals over cliffs. Head-Smashed-In Buffalo
Jump remains an important cultural site where
Blackfoot First Nations share their history and
values—a stop you won’t want to miss.
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93
Sullivan Mine Interpretive Centre
Ride open railcars into rock tunnels
where miners demonstrate their trade
underground. Learn about the $80 million Mark Creek watershed restoration
project that has returned native cutthroat trout to once-polluted waters.
KOKANEE SALMON RUNS
FLORIAN SCHULZ / WWW.VISIONSOFTHEWILD.COM
Elk
Fort Steele Heritage Town
Rescued pioneer-era structures,
summer street theatre, and grazing
Clydesdales recall Fort Steele Heritage
Town’s origins as an outpost of the
North West Mounted Police who came
to tame itinerant gold seekers from
America’s wilder West.
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WITNESS FROM THE MOUNTAIN
ALONG THE TRAIL OF HISTORY
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Frank Slide
For an intimate view of the mountain
collapse that buried 90 sleeping
residents, drive the unpaved track
between the railway line and the
Crowsnest River, running from the
main Hillcrest access road to Frank
Industrial Park. See the full panorama
of the 1903 disaster from the Frank
Slide Interpretive Centre.
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95
CANADIAN
ROCKIES
INTL. AIRPORT
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Kimberley
(Ka intak)
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COLUMBIA
95
St. Eugene Mission and
Ktunaxa Interpretive Centre
Erected to expunge Ktunaxa First Nation
language and culture in favour of English
and Roman Catholicism, the imposing St.
Eugene Mission residential school is now a
native-owned luxury hotel, casino, and golf
resort. Inside, visit an interpretative centre
that honours Ktunaxa history and renewal,
as land and social rights are acknowledged by courts and governments.
Top of the World Provincial Park
Chert for tools and weapons was
quarried by the Ktunaxa inside
today’s Top of the World Provincial
Park. If you’re a skier, snowshoer,
angler, hiker, or horseback rider
you’ll enjoy wilderness trails and
campsites that are closed to vehicles powered or pedaled.
Whiteswan Lake
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50°N
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22
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9987 ft
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OIL AND GAS DRILLING
Western Canada’s first producing oil well
was drilled in 1902 near Waterton Lake.
It was short-lived, but today drillers and
ranchers tussle about a lacework of new
gas wells on Alberta’s foothill prairie. In
Montana, U.S. officials banned oil and
gas leasing on public lands of the Rocky
Mountain Front. British Columbians weigh
impacts to nature against industry requests
to extract methane from underground coal
in the Elk and Flathead Valleys.
historic
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541
2782 m
Lussier Hot Springs
From steamy hot to merely tepid, find
your comfort level among the cascade of
primitive rock pools alongside the bubbling Lussier River, just inside Whiteswan
Lake Provincial Park. Test the waters'
therapeutic benefits, long known to the
Ktunaxa people, and said to increase
with dips in the adjacent, frigid river.
95
Frank Lake
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Longview
Windermere
Lake
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3429 m
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BAR U RANCH NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
OF CANADA
The Bar U Ranch spills eastward from the
Rocky Mountains across the rolling grasslands
of Alberta’s Highway 22 Cowboy Trail. Now a
national historic site, the Bar U transports
you back into an era when horse-drawn chuck
wagons followed cattle drives, rather than
race each other around a rodeo track.
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Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park
The Blackfoot nations and Canada
signed an 1877 peace treaty at this
natural ford of the Bow River, known
for centuries by the Siksiksa people
as Sooyooh’pawahko, or “underwater
bridge.” The park offers First Nation
guides, indoor exhibits, tipi lodging,
and ceremonial dances.
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Black
Diamond
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Lower Kananaskis
Lake
Upper Kananaskis
Lake
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FIRST NATION SACRED PLACES
Special places are still revered and
should be respected by all. High on
many ridges are the rock shelter remains
of vision quest sites, many that face
Chief Mountain, the Blackfoot home of
thunder. Crowsnest Mountain is where
the Raven lives. Glacier’s Lake McDonald
is home of a Kootenai sacred dance.
Okotoks
Sir Douglas
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LWA
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(Mokinistsis w
[Elbow RSistachtai)
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11175 ft
Mt.
3406 m K
Wings over the Rockies
CAN
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Assiniboine
116°
Radium
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901
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11870 ft K
3618 m Mt.
51°
Eagle Lake
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COLUMBIA WETLANDS
Swans, eagles, ospreys, herons, and ducks
rest here on their seasonal migrations. Both
the Columbia and the Kootenay Rivers originate here, flowing out of the wetlands in
opposite directions, to merge hundreds of
kilometres later, at Castlegar, BC.
(Mo kins sti)
8
Spray
Lakes
Reservoir
Strathmore
(P
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51°
E
1A
E
113°
9
TRANS-CANADA HIGHWAY
STATUE OF DAVID AND CHARLOTTE THOMPSON, INVERMERE, BC
ROSS MACDONALD, PARKS CANADA
CATTLE ROUNDUP, PORCUPINE HILLS, AB
DESIGN PICS INC. / ALAMY
SNOW GEESE
CHUCKHANEY.COM
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Canmore
International Pow Wow Lethbridge, AB (last weekend of February)
Contemporary Aboriginal arts festival, includes competition dances
Rendezvous Days Eureka, MT (last weekend in April) Live entertainment, a car show, international wrestling championship, parade,
and many family attractions
Wings over the Rockies Radium Hot Springs, BC (early May)
Explores bird life in the expansive Columbia Wetlands through
presentations, nature walks, horseback riding, river floats, canoe
trips, workshops, and exhibits
Homesteader Days Celebration Hot Springs, MT (second weekend
of June) Family fun weekend featuring an auction, games, rodeo
performance, quilt show, live music, antique car show, arts and
crafts, and a parade
The Gathering Pincher Creek, AB (mid-June) Cowboy poetry and
music, dancing, crafts, and a rodeo
Tobacco Plains National Aboriginal Day Celebration Grasmere, BC
(June 21) Dancing, feast, and traditional horse ride across the
U.S.-Canada border
Sam Steele Days Cranbrook, BC (third weekend of June) Festival
named after a legendary figure of the Canadian West, includes
sports, games, competitions, and a parade
Lewis & Clark Festival Great Falls, MT (late June) Celebrates Lewis
and Clark’s adventure through tours, exhibits, demonstrations, kid’s
activities, and reenactments
Arlee Fourth of July Celebration Arlee, MT (July 4) One
hundred year old Pow Wow, including singing and dancing contests,
gambling, food, arts and crafts, and a parade
North American Indian Days Browning, MT (second week of July)
Spotlights authentic Blackfeet traditions with four days of dance
contests, sports, youth rodeo, and a parade
Kainai Indian Days Stand Off, AB (third weekend of July) Dance
contests and a drum competition
Standing Arrow Pow Wow Elmo, MT (third weekend of July) Social
gathering featuring Pow Wow dancing and traditional food
Piikani Nation Annual Celebration Brocket, AB (first weekend of
August) Dance competition, handgame tournament, drum contest,
rodeo, and softball matches
Crowsnest Pass Doors Open and Heritage Festival Crowsnest
Pass, AB (early August) Heritage hikes, tours of historic buildings
and gardens, storytelling, and family fun
Grizzly Marathon near Choteau, MT (mid-August) Abundant chances
to see wildlife along the course, possibly including grizzlies
Montana Atlatl Mammoth Hunt First Peoples Buffalo Jump State
Park, near Ulm, MT (early September) Contests based on mammoth
hunting using atlatl, primitive bow, knife, and tomahawks
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ig
93
Heritage Days & Pow Wows
CONSULTANTS: DORAN DEGENSTEIN, FORT
WHOOP-UP NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE (WHOOP-UP
TRAIL ROUTE); ANDREAS N. KORSOS, ARCTURUS
CONSULTING (DAVID THOMPSON ROUTES)
So
ut
Banff
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FESTIVALS & EVENTS
10
10
0 km
(Am
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[ apo
COLUMBIA WETLANDS
FLORIAN SCHULZ / WWW.VISIONSOFTHEWILD.COM
SCALE 1:666,600
0 mi
rou
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Lake
Minnewanka
Tribal name translation
Adminstered by UNESCO, the World Heritage
List recognizes the most significant cultural
and natural treasures on the planet.
Albers Conic Equal-Area Projection
Standard Parallels 47° and 50°
12
GRINNELL GLACIER, MT
CHUCKHANEY.COM
Draped over the Front’s wind-swept foothills, ranches
worked by generations remain much as when first they were
homesteads. And today’s ranchers want to keep them that
way. Working with conservation-minded neighbors and
organizations, traditional lifestyles are being preserved on
private and public lands. Conservation isn’t new here. For
the past 100 years a patchwork of wildlife refuges, legislation and conservation easements have protected working
farms, ranches, and wildlands while providing rich habitat
for wildlife.
— Gloria Flora, retired National Forest Supervisor,
Helena, MT
1
Copyright © 2008 National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C.
GRIZZLY BEAR IN WATERTON LAKES NATIONAL PARK, AB
ROD SINCLAIR
Museum
CONTINENT
AL D
IVI
Visit www.CROWNOFTHECONTINENT.net to learn more about
the Crown of the Continent and this spectacular landscape.
NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN DAYS, BROWNING, MT
DONNIE SEXTON / TRAVEL MONTANA
Historical site
We live on the eastern slopes where the prairie meets the
mountains. Visitors discover a dramatic landscape at the
ragged edge between civilization and wildness. Our guests
are eager to learn how our cattle grazing rotation helps
restore streams and protect native plants. After visiting,
they often support our effort to establish this special place
as off-limits to gas drilling.
— Debbie Webster, Chimney Rock Bed and Breakfast,
Webster Ranch, AB
National Geographic and the people of Alberta, British Columbia, and
Montana present this Geotourism MapGuide to the Crown of the
Continent region.
1
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3/6/08
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Crown-Continent-Hist
Landforms and
Watersheds
“In some places, the oldest layers of sedimentary rock lie
atop younger strata, flipped like flapjacks in a frying pan
by the tectonic crush of the Pacific and North American
plates. Later successive ice ages scraped the lower valleys
into smooth troughs that direct the Crown’s rainwater and
snow melt toward the plains and coasts.”
— Mike Pennock, mining geologist, Fernie, BC
“Truly, the Crown is the water tower of the continent, and
the water is as clean as any on the planet. From these high
mountain headwaters flow three of the largest rivers in
North America—the Columbia, Saskatchewan, and
Missouri/Mississippi.”
— Jack Stanford, Director, University of Montana
Flathead Lake Biological Station