Canadian Rockies
S N O W B I
R D S
66
R V T R A V E L E R S
GRANDE CACHE One Day Historical Driving Tour
Stop #1: The Mine Prep Plant and ATCO Electric Plant - Drive 19.5 km north on Highway 40 and stop at the pullout
People knew about the high quality coal here for years, but the railroad and the access road were not built until 1969. It was only after the newly forged access road and railroad went in that the coal could be exploited and a mine could be built. From this vantage point you should be able to spot a tunnel that winds through the mountain. This was used back in the day to get the coal to the Prep Plant where it was cleaned and readied for shipment to Vancouver by railroad.
Stop #2: The Sulphur Gates - Drive 12.8 km from the mine back towards town
You’ll see a sign for the Sulphur Gates with a road branching off to the right. From here it’s 7.5 km to the actual
Gates. Park in the second staging area and follow the trail to the left along the cliff to get a good view of the Gates. The Sulphur Gates are part of a geological formation known as the Cadomin Formation. The Sulphur River that flows there got its name from sulphur springs located upstream. The Smoky River was so named by the First Nations people because, from time to time, lightning would strike in the mountains and ignite the exposed coal seams on the banks. The smoke would roll off the mountains and down over the river below.
Stop #3: Grande Cache Drive the 13 km back into town. Grande Cache got its name from an Iroquois fur trader named Ignace Giasson who cached a large supply of fur in the area during the winter sometime between 1818 and 1821.
Stop #4: Victor Lake Drive 1 km south on Highway 40 until you see the right turn to Victor Lake, which is at the bottom of the big hill. Drive 0.6 km to the old airstrip, turn left and park near the white pump- house. The old airstrip was used by Forestry for years to fight fires in the region before there was a road. It was also used by McIntyre Mines to explore for the mine site during the late 1960s and by the nearby town until the new airport was constructed.
Off to the direction of town is the site of an old fur trade post established by Ewan Moberly after he was evicted from Jasper National Park in 1910. Ewan ran the store there until he died in the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic, which killed millions of people worldwide.
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