Cassiar Highway

Connects: Yellowhead Hwy. to Alaska  Hwy. Route#: BC Highway 37 Length: 450 miles Road Surface: 95% paved, 5% gravel Season: Open all year Map (1 detailed pdf file available): Yellowhead Highway Junction to Alaska Highway Junction

NOTICE as of September 23, 2011: Highway 37 is closed in both directions from Bell 2 to Bob Quinn Yard (48.1 km) because of flooding. Scheduled, piloted openings 24 hours/day are as follows: Northbound leaves Bell 2 at ODD hours; southbound leaves Bob Quinn Airstrip at EVEN hours; Openings are subject to change at short notice. Be prepared to wait with adequate fuel/supplies. Highway 37A is also closed due to flooding, with piloted openings only connecting Stewart and Meziadin junction. For current status go to www.th.gov.bc.ca/northwesternbc_flooding/index.html for details.

The Cassiar Highway junctions with Yellowhead Highway 16 at Milepost PG 297.7, Skeena River bridge, and travels north to junction with the Alaska Highway at Milepost DC 626.2, 13.3 miles/21.4 km west of Watson Lake, YT. The Cassiar Highway offers outstanding scenery and good wildlife viewing. Driving the Cassiar Highway instead of the entire Alaska Highway saves about 130 miles/210 km.

The Cassiar provides access to Hyder, AK, and Stewart, BC, via the 40-mile/64-km Stewart-Hyder access road (Highway 37A) from Meziadin Junction at Milepost J 97.5. The Cassiar also provides access to Telegraph Creek via a 70-mile/113-km side road from Dease Lake junction at Milepost J 303.9.

The Cassiar Highway was completed in 1972, and is asphalt-surfaced with the exception of a few short gravel breaks. The highway is generally narrow and winding with some straight stretches. Although not particularly hilly, there are a few 8 percent grades. There are no passing lanes—beyond one in the first few miles of the highway—and there is no centerline along long sections of highway. Drive with your headlights on at all times.
Also watch for logging and freight trucks on the highway.