Highway 20, also known as the Chilcotin Highway, and officially dubbed the Alexander MacKenzie Highway, is one of the two main East-West routes in the Central Interior of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

(the other being Highway 16 (the

Yellowhead Highway The Yellowhead Highway (french: Route Yellowhead) is a major interprovincial highway in Western Canada that runs from Winnipeg to Graham Island off the coast of British Columbia via Saskatoon and Edmonton. It stretches across the four western ...

). The Chilcotin Highway runs 457 km (284 mi) from Williams Lake westward through the Chilcotin region to

North Bentinck Arm North Bentinck Arm is a short inlet about in length in the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. It is an arm of Burke Channel and is linked via that waterway and Labouchere Channel to Dean Channel, which is one of the largest inlets ...

, an inlet from the Pacific Ocean where the town of Bella Coola is located. As of 2006, all but 57 km (35 mi) has been paved, mostly for expediting the removal of timber from the region, which, like most of British Columbia, is afflicted with

pine beetle ''Dendroctonus'' is a genus of bark beetles. It includes several species notorious for destroying trees in the forests of North America. The genus has a symbiotic relationship with many different yeasts, particularly those in the genera '' Cand ...

infestations. Logging traffic and ranch-related traffic on the route can be expected. Highway 20 is famous for the portion of the westernmost stretch, between

Anahim Lake :''The subject of this article should not be confused with Anaham, which is a different community located nine kilometres east of Alexis Creek, British Columbia, which is in the same area.'' Anahim Lake is a small community in British Columbia. ...

and Bella Coola, known as ''the Hill'' or ''The Precipice''. From the point where the road crosses the Coast Range via

Heckman Pass Heckman Pass is a mountain pass in the Rainbow Range of west-central British Columbia, Canada, located west of Anahim Lake on the divide between the Chilcotin Plateau and the Bella Coola Valley. It is used by British Columbia Highway 20 and was th ...

Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park is a provincial park covering parts of the eastern Kitimat Ranges, northern Pacific Ranges, and the Rainbow Range in British Columbia, Canada. It was established on May 21, 1938 in the western interior of the pro ...

at an elevation of 1487 m (4879 ft) the road descends 43 km (27 mi) of steep, narrow road with sharp hairpin turns and two major switchbacks to the Bella Coola Valley. The descent includes a 9 km (5.6 mi) section with grades of up to 18% (about 1 in 6). The road is winding, in some places only wide enough for one vehicle, and in many places bordered on one side by cliffs and on the other side by a drop of hundreds of meters (many hundreds of feet) unprotected by guardrails. Tourists who have driven to Bella Coola from Williams Lake have been known to refuse to drive back and have had to be taken out by boat or float plane. Until 1953 Highway 20 ended at Anahim Lake, 137 km (85 mi) from Bella Coola. The province considered the terrain too difficult and refused to extend it, leaving Bella Coola inaccessible by road. The road, known at the time as the "Freedom Road", was completed by local volunteers working from opposite ends with two bulldozers and supplies bought on credit. The two bulldozers met each other on the 26th of September 1953 and an official opening ceremony was held on the 18th of July 1955.

Route Details

Highway 20 is scenic and very sparsely populated. It begins in Williams Lake at its juncture with

Highway 97 Route 97, or Highway 97, may refer to: Australia - Olympic Dam Highway, South Australia Canada * British Columbia Highway 97 ** British Columbia Highway 97A ** British Columbia Highway 97B ** British Columbia Highway 97C ** British Columb ...

. It rises gradually for 23 km (14 mi) to the crossing of the

Fraser River The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual d ...

at Sheep Creek Bridge, from which it ascends via a series of steep switchbacks to the Chilcotin Plateau. Prior to improvements of the late 20th Century, including the Sheep Creek Bridge, it crossed the Fraser via a 1910s style suspension bridge, which was like those farther south at Gang Ranch-Dog Creek and Lillooet. At 36 km (22 mi) it passes the Williams Lake LORAN-C Tower, part of the maritime navigation system. This tower was dismantled in October 2011. At 52 km (32 mi) it passes through

Riske Creek Riske Creek, originally Chilcoten and also Chilcotin, is a ranching and First Nations community located on the Fraser River just southwest of the city of Williams Lake, British Columbia, Canada. It is the location of the offices of the Toosey F ...

(population 165) then at 94 km (58 mi) the hamlet of Hanceville (population 68). Around 104 km (64 mi) it passes Anahim Reserve, a Chilcotin community before reaching

Alexis Creek Alexis Creek is a creek in the Chilcotin District of British Columbia, Canada, flowing southeast from its source in Alexis Lake into the Chilcotin River a short distance upstream from the town of Alexis Creek. Name origin The name was conferr ...

(population 317) at 114 km (71 mi). From Alexis Creek it is 122 km (76 mi) to the next town,

Tatla Lake Tatla Lake is a freshwater lake in the West Chilcotin area of British Columbia, Canada, situated just east of the community of Tatla Lake, British Columbia. This long, narrow lake, known for good kokanee fishing, is part of the Fraser River dr ...

(population 147). 54 km (34 mi) farther West is

Nimpo Lake Nimpo Lake is a freshwater lake in the Chilcotin District of British Columbia, Canada. It is located 300 kilometres (185 miles) west of Williams Lake on the Chilcotin Highway (Hwy 20) and is approximately 160 kilometres (100 miles) east of Bella ...

which serves as a float plane base for the region. Just west of Nimpo Lake the highway crosses the

Dean River The Dean River is one of the major rivers of the Kitimat Ranges subrange of the southern Coast Mountains in British Columbia. It begins at Aktaklin Lake on the Chilcotin Plateau and winds north around the Rainbow Range to enter Dean Channel at t ...

before reaching Anahim Lake (population 163) and the adjacent Indian reserve at 310 km (193 mi). 35 km (22 mi) west of Anahim Lake, the highway enters

, and 6.2 km (3.9 mi) later, it crosses into the

Central Coast Regional District Central Coast Regional District is a regional district in British Columbia, Canada. It has a total land area of 24,559.5 km2 (9,482.5 sq mi). When it was created in 1968, it was known as the Ocean Falls Regional District, named for the then ...

. After another 20 km (12 mi), the highway meets the

Atnarko River The Atnarko River is a river in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Course The Atnarko River flows originates at Charlotte Lake. It flows generally west for approximately , joining the Telchako River to form the Bella Coola River. For muc ...

, and follows it west for 18 km (11 mi) to where the Atnarko merges with the

Talchako River The Talchako River is a river in the Bella Coola Valley of the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. It meets the Atnarko River at the community of Stuie to form the Bella Coola River The Bella Coola River is a major river on the ...

to form the

Bella Coola River The Bella Coola River is a major river on the Pacific slope of the Coast Mountains in southern British Columbia. The town of Bella Coola is at its mouth on North Bentinck Arm. Bella Coola Indian Reserve No. 1 the location of the main community t ...

. Highway 20 then follows the Bella Coola River for 10 km (6 mi) to a bridge over Burnt Bridge Creek, at which point it exits the Park. After continuing to follow the Bella Coola River for another 27 km (17 mi), the highway reaches

Hagensborg Hagensborg, originally named Kristiania, is a small community in the Bella Coola Valley in British Columbia, Canada. Its census population in 2006 was 248. History Augsburg Church built in 1904 in Hagensborg The Bella Coola Valley was already th ...

, then another 20 km (12 mi) to the centre of Bella Coola (population 2500), and then another 4.8 km (3.0 mi) to the BC Ferry terminal.

Gallery

Image:BellaCoolaHill.jpg, Descending Bella Coola Hill Image:BridgeAcrossChilcotinRiverAndHwy20West01.jpg, Sheep Creek Bridge across the Chilcotin River Image:The Hill Steep Grades 2.jpg, Warning sign on pullout at the top of The Hill Image:CoastGuardLoranInstallationInChilcotin.jpg, The

LORAN-C Loran-C is a hyperbolic radio navigation system that allows a receiver to determine its position by listening to low frequency radio signals that are transmitted by fixed land-based radio beacons. Loran-C combined two different techniques to p ...

Station near Riske Creek Image:Hwy20RoadsideNearRiskeCreek01.jpg, Near Riske Creek Image:Hwy20LookingEastBetweenNimpoLakeAndKleenaKleene01.jpg, Looking East between Kleena Kleene and Nimpo Lake Image:Top of the Hill.jpg, View from the top of the Hill

References

External links

*http://www.bcadventure.com/adventure/explore/cariboo/cities/hwy20.htm {{BCHighways

020 020 is the national dialling code for London in the United Kingdom. All subscriber numbers within the area code consist of eight digits and it has capacity for approaching 100 million telephone numbers. The code is used at 170 telephone exch ...

Central Coast of British Columbia Chilcotin Country