What to see in Dawson Creek

Mile zero of the legendary Alaska Highway

Dawson Creek has done a great job promoting its own history as well as the distinction of being the beginning of the Alaska Highway.

Visitor Information Centre

The Visitor Information Centre sits in its own historic complex.

The first thing that greets you is the sign telling you that Dawson Creek is mile zero of the Alaska Highway.

An old Alberta Wheat Pool grain elevator now houses the art gallery and the information centre is housed in the original 1931 Northern Alberta Railway station and holds memorabilia that would attract any Railway buff.

Dawson Creek’s original claim to fame was that it was the end of the Northern railway line. Now that isn’t entirely true because they moved the whole town two miles to be beside the track. Then in 1942 the Americans decided they needed an overland road to protect the Aleutian Islands and connect the lower 48 States to Alaska. Dawson Creek then became mile zero of the Alaska Highway.

Alaska Highway history

For those of us who didn’t know, the Alcan (Alaska) Highway went from Dawson Creek, B.C. (the end of the railway) to Delta Junction, Alaska, over 1500 miles of the most rugged terrain. The builders struggled through heavy mature forests, over hills, across rivers and through muskeg with swarms of mosquitoes and inclement weather. Against all odds, they managed to complete the road in eight months and 12 days.

The Alaska Highway House is in the middle of downtown Dawson Creek at the junction where the Mile Zero cairn stands. The house is filled with memorabilia and pictures of the building of the road and the men who built it.

Many of the soldiers who worked on the road were African-American and had never felt cold weather, let alone seen the mountains of snow and trees that surrounded them. Dawson Creek was the end of their train ride and from there on there was nothing but forests, trees, mountains and cold. A PBS documentary helps travellers appreciate what the builders endured over those eight months.

Tour under your own steam

A walking tour of the town takes you from the visitor centre complex at the old railway station to the downtown area. Local artists have been commissioned to paint wall murals that depict various streets, buildings and characters from Dawson Creek’s past.