Alberta Highway 33
  Highway 33 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grizzly Trail | ||||
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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by the Ministry of Transportation and Economic Corridors | ||||
| Length | 218.6 km[1] (135.8 mi) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  Highway 43 near Gunn | |||
 Highway 18 in Barrhead Highway 32 in Swan Hills | ||||
| North end |  Highway 2 near Kinuso | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | Canada | |||
| Province | Alberta | |||
| Specialized and rural municipalities | Lac Ste. Anne County, County of Barrhead No. 11, Woodlands County, Big Lakes County | |||
| Towns | Barrhead, Swan Hills | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Highway 33, officially named Grizzly Trail, is a north–south highway in west–central Alberta, Canada.
Highway 33 begins at Highway 43 near the hamlet of Gunn and travels north to the town of Barrhead. North of Barrhead, Highway 33 turns northwest, crossing the Athabasca River at Fort Assiniboine, before reaching the town of Swan Hills. Highway 33 continues north from Swan Hills to Highway 2 east of Kinuso. Highway 33 is about 219 kilometres (136 mi) in length.[1][2]
History
[edit]Highway 33 follows the original Klondike Trail, which was advertised by Edmonton merchants as the shortest route to the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush, from the Athabasca River at Pruden's Crossing, near Fort Assiniboine, through present-day Swan Hills and along the Swan River to north to present-day Kinuso. The trail followed a very difficult and dangerous route and by 1901-02 use of the trail declined, soon after it was abandoned altogether in favour of other routes to the Peace River area.[3][4]
Highway 33 originally started as short highway that connected Highway 43, 7 km (4 mi) south of Onoway, to Alberta Beach.[5] In the 1970s, Highway 33 was extended north to Barrhead from Gunn, resulting in an 8 km (5 mi) gap between Alberta Beach and Gunn.[6] Highway 18, which ran between Barrhead and Swan Hills, was renumbered to Highway 33 and the highway was extended north to Kinuso.[7] In c. 1985, the original section to Alberta Beach became part of Highway 633.[8][9] Highway 33 in Alberta is officially known as "Grizzly Trail" as after Fort Assinaboine, it passes directly through the middle of the primary habitat of the Swan Hills grizzly bear.[10][11]
Points of interest
[edit]Approximately 1/2 way along Highway 33, following it 111 km from either end will place you at or near the geographical center of Alberta.[12]
Major intersections
[edit]From south to north:
| Rural/specialized municipality | Location | km[1] | mi | Destinations | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lac Ste. Anne County | | −18.7 | −11.6 | Highway 43 – Grande Prairie, Edmonton | South of Onoway; former eastern terminus | ||
| −10.6 | −6.6 |  Highway 633 west – Darwell | Former Hwy 634 | ||||
| Alberta Beach | −8.1 | −5.0 | Former western terminus | ||||
| 8 km (5 mi) gap | |||||||
| | 0.0 | 0.0 | Highway 43 – Edmonton, Whitecourt, Grande Prairie | East of Gunn | |||
| Rich Valley | 13.5 | 8.4 | |||||
| Birch Cove | 25.8 | 16.0 | |||||
| County of Barrhead No. 11 | | 28.0 | 17.4 |  Highway 651 east – Legal | |||
| 30.0 | 18.6 | Crosses the Pembina River | |||||
| 31.9 | 19.8 |  Highway 654 west | South end of Hwy 654 concurrency | ||||
| 38.3 | 23.8 | Highway 654 east – Manola | North end of Hwy 654 concurrency | ||||
| Barrhead | 44.8 | 27.8 | Highway 18 west (53 Avenue) – Mayerthorpe | South end of Hwy 18 concurrency | |||
| | 48.0 | 29.8 | Highway 18 east – Westlock | Hwy 33 branches west; north end of Hwy 18 concurrency | |||
| Camp Creek | 66.9 | 41.6 | |||||
| | 79.7 | 49.5 |  Highway 763 south – Tiger Lilly | ||||
| ↑ / ↓ | | 82.3 | 51.1 | Crosses the Athabasca River | |||
| Woodlands County | Fort Assiniboine | 83.9 | 52.1 |  Highway 661 east – Dapp | Hwy 33 branches northwest | ||
| | 91.1 | 56.6 |  Highway 658 west – Goose Lake, Blue Ridge | ||||
| Big Lakes County | Swan Hills | 145.2 | 90.2 | Highway 32 south – Whitecourt | Hwy 33 branches north | ||
| | 218.6 | 135.8 | Highway 2 – Peace River, Slave Lake, Edmonton | East of Kinuso | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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Photos
[edit]-
Highway 33 north of Swan Hills -
Junction sign on Highway 43
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Highway 33 in Alberta" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
- ^ "2015 Provincial Highway 1-216 Progress Chart" (PDF). Alberta Transportation. March 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-04-10. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "History of Barrhead". Town of Barrhead. Archived from the original on May 20, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
- ^ Thome, Michael (2012-07-19). "Klondike Trail". RETROactive. Government of Alberta. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
- ^ The H.M. Gousha Company (1956). Shell Map of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba (Map). The Shell Oil Company. § C-12.
- ^ Travel Alberta (1976–1977). Alberta Official Road Map (Map). The Province of Alberta. §§ H-4, H-5, I-5.
- ^ Travel Alberta (1978–1979). Alberta Official Road Map (Map). The Province of Alberta. §§ H-4, H-5, I-5.
- ^ Province of Alberta Canada 1985 Official Road Map (Map). Alberta Tourism and Small Business. § I-5.
- ^ Province of Alberta Canada 1986 Official Road Map (Map). Alberta Tourism and Small Business. § I-5.
- ^ "Grizzly Bear". Alberta Wilderness Association. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
- ^ "Grizzly Bear Population Est Swan Hills-2009" (PDF). open.alberta.ca.
- ^ "Geographical Centre of Alberta Canada - Geographical Centers on Waymarking.com". www.waymarking.com. Retrieved 2024-08-25.