Edmonton and Calgary bypass???
My wife and I are leaving in a few days for Alaska from western Iowa. We did the Banff, Jasper, Lake Louise thing last year so the plan is to get to Alaska ASAP. I am self employed and only have a max...
Forum Discussion
netjam wrote:
About 20 miles before Edmonton is a big sign “Edmonton Bypass” which is highway 19. Take 19 west to highway 60 then north on 60 to highway 16 which is the route to Alaska.
Good route for sure! Highway 19 goes west along the north edge of Edmonton International Airport to highway 60 north through Devon. 19 gets busy at rush hours. If you turn too soon and find yourself in the airport (fill up with the lowest cost fuel in the area), consult your GPS - it will guide you to highway 19 on a back road without going back to highway 2. North of Devon across the river you will have a westward choice of 16A (4 lanes with all services in Spruce Grove and Stoney Plain) or 16 (6 lanes, no services). On a camping trip to Alaska, I would continue on highway 16 west to Hinton and take highway 40 north to Grande Prairie and Dawson Creek. Lots of good camping including safe boondocking places.
Another thought is to take the Henday bypass (highway 216) west around to the northwest corner of Edmonton. You’ll find highway 2 there, continuing north to Athabaska and Great Slave Lake through a land of lakes with many campgrounds. This route has fewer hills and less traffic than the highway 43 route. Don’t miss the big provincial park on the east end of Slave Lake with campsite on top of the sand dunes. From Slave Lake there are less heavily travelled highways west to Dawson Creek.
