August 12, 2012 | Tips from Travellers >
Dawson Creek, Auto/Transportation (Air, Land)
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The Kiskatinaw Curved Wooden Bridge is a section of the original Alaska Highway and a true engineering wonder! The new highway is now rerouted due to safety concerns over heavier commercial activity on the bridge. The Kiskatinaw River stumped engineers because of its sharp turns and steep banks and because of this natural twist and turns of the river, the famous curved bridge was created in 1942 during the construction of the Alaska Highway. This marvel was constructed in only nine months and is still standing strong today.
I frequently take the trip out to the Kiskatinaw curved bridge; it is quite a simple trek! The bridge is located about 25 minutes from Dawson Creek, at mile 21 of the Alaska Highway. All you have to do is travel North on the Alaska Highway (97 North), and on your right hand side there will be a sign notifying you to turn off onto this historic route! The road is a little bumpy, but it is definitely do-able, even if you are in an RV. A lot of people, me included, park off to the side and walk the bridge. I highly recommend this, because the views of the river valley are absolutely breath taking and a must take picture for the photo album. This small detour is worth the history and the views!
August 10, 2012 | Tips from Travellers >
Dawson Creek, Auto/Transportation (Air, Land)
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Last week for the first time I headed north to the Yukon along the Alaska Highway. The highway was fantastic and I had a very enjoyable journey! I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of wildlife I saw along the way. There were moose, black bears, deer, dall sheep, caribou, and plenty of bison to my amazement! The bison at times were gathered right on the highway, and it was interesting to see them from such a short distance. I can’t think of another stretch of highway where I have seen so much wildlife!
The scenery along the highway is very lovely. I was stunned by how beautiful it was! The landscape varies with plenty of boreal forest, mountains, valleys, rivers, and lakes along the highway. One view I found particularly beautiful was all the fireweed growing by the trees, however the whole drive I found to be quite wonderful in terms of scenery. Thankfully there are plenty of places to pull over if you want to take pictures. There are also quite a few places to camp and hike along the way if you want to spend more time exploring and taking in the beauty of the areas.
The highway itself was fairly well maintained. It was paved with the odd small patch of gravel, but nothing too big to worry about. For fuel there were several places to stop and gas up in between the major towns. In the future I hope to return on a less time restrictive schedule in order to really take in the beauty of the highway and the surrounding areas.