The historic Crowsnest Pass Area is made up of five small towns – Hillcrest, Bellevue, Frank, Blairmore and Coleman. The area is easily accessible via Highway 3 from Calgary and Lethbridge, and also from nearby Sparwood and Fernie, the closest towns in British Columbia, 41 and 70 km respectively to the west.
There are a surprising variety of things to do in the Crowsnest Pass area – whether you visit for a day or plan a night or two in the area. These 9 things to do will whet your appetite for more another visit, perhaps in a different season.
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If you stay on Highway 3 and never venture into the small towns or onto the backroads you’ll miss the best of the what the Crowsnest Pass area offers – outstanding natural beauty, the pretty Crowsnest River, recreational diversions galore and a whole lot of history – much of it tragic.
Granted you can’t help but see the devastation of the Frank Slide or wonder what the history is behind the name of The Rum Runner Restaurant in Coleman but to really appreciate the region, you need to do some exploring. Be sure to pick up a map offered at many business locations so you can make the most of your time.
Discover the history of the Crowsnest Pass Area
The best way to get an overview of the history of the Crowsnest Pass area is to head to the Crowsnest Museum in Coleman. With its ten themed galleries filled with 25,000 historical artifacts, it’s a great first stop.
Inside you can learn about pioneers, coal mining, the police, the military and life as it was in the early 20th century. The museum, located in the 1936 era Coleman High School, is open every day from 9 AM until 5 PM and there’s free parking on the street.
After you’re through with the museum, walk the few blocks that make up historic downtown Coleman and admire the character filled miner’s cottages and businesses.
Continue walking towards the railway tracks and you’ll spy the red brick beehive coke ovens. Built in 1903, they lit up the night sky for over 50 years. Historical plaques speak to the operation of the coke ovens.
Now it’s hard to imagine how hot, dirty and dangerous this area would have been when you’re surrounded by grass and wildflowers.
Visit the Leitch Colleries Provincial Historic Site
At the eastern most end of the Crowsnest Pass area is the Leitch Colleries Provincial Historic Site. As the only completely Canadian owned coal mine and considered one of the most ambitious coal mines of its time, it only operated from 1907 until 1915.
You’ll learn why when you do the pretty interpretive walk that includes stories, pictures and audio among the ruins of old mining buildings.
Learn about the Hillcrest Mine Disaster
Back on June 19, 1914 a gigantic methane and coal dust explosion ripped through the Hillcrest Mine – killing 189 of 235 people who had gone to work that day. It still remains Canada’s worst coal mining disaster. If miners didn’t die from the explosions they died from poisonous gases called “afterdamp.”
Today you can visit the Hillcrest Mine Disaster Cemetery where most of the dead are buried in two mass graves.
Enjoy a historic walking tour in Blairmore
In Blairmore you can do a self-guided historic walking tour. Pick up a brochure at almost any business in town. You’ll see boom town architecture – with false fronts to make the buildings seem larger – and the infamous Alberta Hotel where the bootlegger Emilio Picariello started his rum running operations.
Go underground at the Bellevue Mine
Don a mining helmet and a headlamp and head out on the guided Bellevue Underground Mine tour. The one hour tour is offered in the summer months only beginning at 10 AM.
You’ll walk 1,000 feet into the mine so it’s important you bundle with temperatures a frosty 0°C year round; on my tour many families had crying kids because they were so cold.
The Bellevue coal mine operated from 1903 – 1961 and produced 13 million tons of ore. At its peak, it employed 500 men and boys, some of them as young as 13 though legally they were supposed to be 16. With a guide, you’ll learn and see what conditions were like underground. You’ll hear loads of stories like this example.
Underground there is a flowing stream that was used as a urinal by the men so it definitely wasn’t something they wanted to wash their hands in come lunch time. Instead they would eat their sandwiches with hands covered in black coal dust and throw the dirty pieces to the waiting packrats. In turn, the packrats warned the miners of methane gas and cave-ins by heading for fresh air. The miners would then follow suit.
When you’re out and breathing fresh air again, I bet you’ll give thanks that you weren’t born in an era where you had to work underground to keep your family fed.
Visit the Frank Slide – Canada’s second largest landslide
You can’t miss the Frank Slide if you’re driving on Highway 3. But what I’d really recommend is a visit to the Frank Slide Interpretive Centre (located a short distance off the highway) followed by a self-guided hike through some of the boulders on the 1.5 km Frank Slide Trail.
The interpretive centre does an incredible job of bringing the horror and heroics to life of the 1903 landslide that unleashed 90 million tons of rock on the town of Frank as its inhabitants lay sleeping. It was all over in just 90 seconds.
Displays, murals, audio recordings and a couple of excellent 25 minute documentaries bring the disaster and its aftermath to life.
The centre is open every day of the year (except Christmas, Christmas Eve, New Year’s Day and Easter Sunday) from 9 AM to 6 PM in summer and 10 AM to 5 PM the rest of the year.
Take a cooking class at Country Encounters
Who would have guessed that you can take a cooking class in the Crowsnest Pass area? Offered by Dawn Rigby of Country Encounters in the town of Coleman, the classes are geared to your interests and likes and/or dislikes.
Dawn, a 30 year cooking veteran and classic French trained chef from SAIT’s cooking school, keeps her classes small with no more than eight people around her table at a time.
And she’s a busy lady so you’ll have to plan ahead. This will be the best $30 you’ve ever spent. You’ll leave the class full of inspiration, cooking short-cuts and a very full belly.
Admire the beauty of Lundbreck Falls near Crowsnest Pass – and stay awhile
On the way to or from the Crowsnest Pass area, take a short detour off of Highway 3 (there are signs) and visit Lundbreck Falls on the Crowsnest River.
The falls themselves aren’t that high but the setting is pretty and the area, especially by the water, is a perfect place for a picnic.
Camp in Lundbreck Falls Campground on a first come-first served basis. The walk-in tenting sites adjacent to the river are quite lovely and cost $23 per night. The Crowsnest Pass area is just a 10 minute drive away.
Go for a hike in the Crowsnest Pass Area
If you like hiking, you’ll love the trails in the Crowsnest Pass area. I particularly liked the hike up to the top of Turtle Mountain. From there I had a bird’s eye view of where the Frank Slide started. There is still monitoring equipment in place as its expected to slide again one day.
For a hike that takes you to an alpine lake with wildflowers in the mountains I’d recommend the Window Pass hike. And in Coleman the easy Miner’s Path hike is an excellent choice, particularly on a hot summer day.
Read: 5 of the best hikes in the Crowsnest Pass area
Where to stay in the Crowsnest Pass Area
I enjoyed a couple of nights at Country Encounters in Coleman. Breakfast is fantastic and Dawn who runs the place is a ball of energy. Rooms in the renovated building are well-appointed.
For a hotel chain check out Travelodge by Wyndham Blairmore.
More reading on things to do in southern Alberta
- Where to Hike, Bike & Refuel in Lethbridge Alberta
- 20 + Best Things to Do in Waterton in Summer
- A Visit to Southern Alberta’s Castle Provincial Park
- Alberta’s Fabulous Table Mountain Hike
- 3 Southern Alberta Parks That are Worth a Visit
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