The MILEPOST: Alaska Travel Guide and Trip Planner

East Access Route Map

Connects: Great Falls, MT, to Dawson Creek, BC
Routes#: I-15, Alberta Highways 2, 3, 4, 43, BC Highway 2
Length: 872 miles
Road Surface: Paved
Season: Open all year
Maps (2 detailed pdf files available):
Great Falls, MT to Edmonton, AB
Edmonton, AB to Dawson Creek, BC

The East Access Route is one of 2 major access routes to the Alaska Highway logged in The MILEPOST® (the other is the West Access Route). This was the first and only access route to Dawson Creek, BC—and the start of the Alaska Highway—when the Alaska Highway opened to civilian traffic in 1948. The original route differed somewhat from today’s because Highway 43 was not completed until 1955. Instead, motorists had to drive north from Edmonton via Highway 2 to Athabasca, then west to High Prairie, then south to Grande Prairie, AB. Today’s route goes directly from Edmonton to Grande Prairie and Dawson Creek via Highway 43 through Whitecourt and Valleyview.

The MILEPOST® Quick Reference Log
Miles from Great Falls (GF) shown.

GF 0 GREAT FALLS (pop. 58,536); all services.
GF 86 Exit 364 to Lewis & Clark RV Park.
GF 119.5 U.S.–Canada border (Sweetgrass, MT/Coutts, AB). Shared U.S.–Canada Port-of-Entry; 24-hour customs and immigration.
GF 182.5 LETHBRIDGE (pop. 86,659) at junction of Highways 3, 4 and 5; all services. Lodging at Best Western Heidelberg Inn; camping at Henderson Lake Campground. Visitor information.
GF 187.5 Bridgeview RV Resort; camping.
GF 216 FORT MACLEOD (pop. 3,072), "Home of the North West Mounted Police," at junction of Highways 1 and 3; all services. Lodging at the Sunset Motel (email). Visitor information.
GF 217.5 Junction with Highway 2 north to Calgary.
GF 219 Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, a World Heritage Site.
GF 241.5 CLARESHOLM (pop. 3,700); all services. Lazy J Motel, toll-free 1-888-625-3899.
GF 318.5 CALGARY (pop. 1,065,455); all services. Visitor information.
GF 320.5 Junction with Trans-Canada Highway 1 west to Banff (79 miles), Lake Louise (113 miles) and Icefields Parkway to Jasper.
GF 344 Junction with Highway 72 east to Royal Tyrrell Museum at Drumheller (60 miles) in Canadian Badlands.
GF 406.5 RED DEER (pop. 87,816); all services.
GF 461 WETASKIWIN (pop. 11,673); all services. Wetaskiwin Lions RV Campground (email).
GF 488 Exit 525 Devon Bypass via Highways 19/60) bypasses Edmonton. DEVON (pop. 6,534), 8.6 miles east of Highway 2, has all services. Visitor information. Camping at Devon Lions Park Campground. Area attractions: Canadian Petroleum Discovery Centre and Devonian Botanic Garden.
GF 505.5 Exit west on Highway 2 for West Edmonton Mall.
GF 509 EDMONTON (pop. 782,439), capital of Alberta; all services. Visitor information. Attractions include Fort Edmonton Park, Muttart Conservatory and Valley Zoo.
GF 513 Junction of Highway 16A West with Devon Bypass/Highway 60; access south to Glowing Embers Travel Center & RV Park.
GF 519 SPRUCE GROVE (pop. 23,326); all services. Spruce Grove Grain Elevator.
GF 522.5 STONY PLAIN (pop. 14,711); all services. Attraction: outdoor murals.
GF 532 Junction of Highway 16A with Highway 43 North to Whitecourt and Valleyview.
GF 613 WHITECOURT (pop. 9,202); all services. Lodging at Holiday Inn Express; dining and gambling at Eagle River Casino. Visitor information.
GF 665 FOX CREEK (pop. 2,278); all services.
GF 688 Poplar Ridge RV Park & Campground, open May to September, 30-amp service.
GF 717 VALLEYVIEW (pop. 1,884); all services. Camping at Sherk's RV Park, 30-amp service. 24-hour gas and diesel at Valleyview Esso Service. Visitor information.
GF 719 Junction with Highways 49/2 north to Peace River and Mackenzie Route to Northwest Territories (Deh Cho Travel).
GF 783 Junction with Highway 2 north to Grimshaw, Mile Zero of the Mackenzie Highway to Northwest Territories (Deh Cho Travel).
GF 786 GRANDE PRAIRIE (pop. 50,227); all services. Visitor information. Camping at Country Roads RV Park, Camp Tamarack RV Park and Nitehawk Wilderness RV Park.
GF 790 Junction with Highway 40 (Bighorn Route) south 114 miles to Grande Cache, 202 miles to Yellowhead Highway 16.
GF 814.5 BEAVERLODGE (pop. 2,264); all services.
GF 845.5 Alberta–British Columbia border.
GF 847.5 Junction with Heritage Highway 52, which leads south 91 miles to Tumbler Ridge.
GF 872 DAWSON CREEK, Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway.