With great outdoor opportunities for camping, cycling, hiking and horseback riding, Crowsnest ensures an all-around great experience on the road of adventure tourism. Head north out of Glacier National Park on Route 6. Turn onto Route 3 west to make the trip to Crowsnest Pass.
Crowsnest extensive mining history offers a glimpse into its past when it thrived as a major coal supply center for the early twentieth century railroad and steel industry. When exploring the area, travelers will uncover abandoned mine sites and information about them. Perhaps most notably, Crowsnest Pass is the sight of the world's biggest rockslides and Canada's most devastating mining disaster. In 1903 the coal mining town of Frank was buried under 90 million tons of limestone rock that came screaming down from Turtle Mountain. The over 100-year-old disaster, which buried the town and killed 70 people, still looks recent. Visitors can now hike trails through the slide area. Today, the surrounding limestone region provides spectacular scenery as well as trekking opportunities.
Crowsnest Mountain is a mountain of sedimentary rock that, through erosion, has been separated from the High Rock Range to the west. It is made up of mostly Paleozoic limestones that have been thrust over younger layers of rock. You can see a wonderful sampling of the Crowsnest Volcanics at the road cut just West of Coleman. Look for the pull out on the west side of the highway.
Within Crowsnest's scenic forests and peaks, there are plenty of opportunities for both visitors and passersby. A diverse range of outdoor activities are available including everything from biking, boating, canoeing, kayaking and rafting to rodeo, windsurfing, curling, cross country skiing and snowmobiling. Trips into the neighboring towns, villages and hamlets of Crowsnest Valley including Coleman, Bellevue, Blairmore Hillcrest and Frank provide friendly opportunities to interact with local Rocky mountain residents. Locals and visitors alike enjoy the areas big-game hunting and watching of big-horn sheep, moose, elk, deer, grizzly and black bears that are found on the "pass." Fisherman will also encounter Alberta's abundant supply of rainbow and cutthroat trout. The areas many resources have much to offer any visitor looking to reflect on Rocky Mountain history as well as relax and recreate in the scenic surroundings of Crowsnest Pass.
