North of Mile 0: From Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson on the Alaska Highway
Standing at the iconic marker in Dawson Creek, BC, where my journey began, I can feel the weight of history. (If you missed our deep dive into the heritage and murals at the start of this epic route, catch up on Exploring Dawson Creek, BC: Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway.) Ahead lies the first leg of an extraordinary northern road trip following the storied Alaska Highway to Fort Nelson. Covering roughly 450 kilometres of shifting terrain, this first stretch will take me from the broad, sunlit river terraces of the Peace River country deep into the dense, brooding muskeg and boreal wilderness of historic Mile 300. It is a drive where golden farmland dissolves into ancient pack trails, where wildlife claims the right-of-way, and where every kilometre reminds travellers that modern convenience is softly slipping into the rearview mirror.
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Driving the Alaska Highway to Fort Nelson
Leaving Dawson Creek behind, Highway 97 moves gently across the broad expanses of the Peace River plateau. The terrain starts with golden barley fields, rolling cattle pastures, and sunny canola flats stretching out under vast northern skies. But as you descend toward the grand valley carved by the Peace River, the landscape steadily transforms. The agricultural patchwork gives way to trembling aspen groves and pockets of black spruce, hinting at the boreal forest ahead.
For drivers, this first leg offers a welcome balance of well-maintained, modern pavement with generous shoulders along much of the route. The gentle dips and rolls of frost heaves begin to appear as subtle reminders of the permafrost and brutal freezes that damage the road surface over the winter months. Keep an eye on the margins to spot stone sheep, moose, or a solitary black bear foraging on clover along the sunny embankments. Oncoming drivers will often signal wildlife ahead by flashing their lights. Remember, in the north wildlife has the right of way.
The golden rule of northern travel quickly takes hold: never pass an open service station without topping up your fuel tank and grabbing a coffee, no matter how much you have left in the gauge. Your driving schedule should leave ample time to pull off at historic Milepost turnouts, pause for road construction and repair crews, and aenjoy the incredible scenery.
The Historic Kiskatinaw Curved Bridge
Just past Mile 17, turn onto the Old Alaska Highway loop for one of the most remarkable living relics of 1942: the Kiskatinaw River Bridge. The bridge is closed to vehicle traffic but is still safe for walking.
Tucked quietly into a deep, forested coulee, this engineering marvel spans 100 metres (330 feet) across the waters below, resting some 30 metres above the riverbed. What makes it genuinely extraordinary is its geometry: it was built with a nine-degree curve to match the canyon wall's contours. Constructed entirely from pressure-creosoted British Columbia Douglas fir shipped in by rail, it is one of the few curved timber trestle bridges still standing from the original military construction.
As you walk across the bridge, the timber creaks. Below, the muddy ribbon of the Kiskatinaw River cuts through sandstone bluffs fringed by tall lodgepole pines. Standing here, you cannot help but marvel at the sheer human fortitude demanded of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and civilian contractors, who worked through the biting chill and unforgiving black flies to design and erect this huge bridge in just a few months.
Fort St. John to Fort Nelson
Continuing back along the modern highway leads into Fort St. John at Mile 47. Known colloquially as the "Energetic City," this is the oldest non-Indigenous settlement on the BC mainland, tracing back to an 1806 North West Company trading post. Today, it bustles with pickup trucks, industrial suppliers, and modern cafes, and serves as the headquarters for northern oil, gas, and hydro power.
This is a good place to check fuel and window washer fluid levels. It's probably a good idea to pick up an extra jug of windshield washer; bugs will coat your windshield as the road trip continues.
Leaving Fort St. John, the change is almost immediate. The cultivated river basin falls behind, and the road is quickly surrounded by forests of aspen, tamarack, and spruce. At Mile 101 is the tiny outpost of Wonowon, named after its historical mile marker, "one-oh-one".
Around Mile 143, the road climbs toward Pink Mountain, famous among botanists and naturalists for its rare alpine flora and roaming bison herds. I stopped at Sikanni Chief Protected Area off of Mile 171 Road for a hike to Sikanni Chief Falls.
Farther north at Prophet River (Mile 226), the pavement dips and curves along broad river flats with the rugged foothills of the Northern Rockies looming just out of sight to the west.
Along this stretch, phone and radio signals disappear, and passing vehicles become an event rather than an annoyance, accompanied by the customary two-finger wave off the steering wheel. Download maps, music and podcasts before leaving Fort St. John.
Fort Nelson
The highway sweeps gently into Fort Nelson (historic Mile 300), where the broad valley where the Muskwa and Prophet rivers meet. For generations, the nomadic Dene and Cree peoples hunted, trapped, and navigated these rivers and boreal lowlands.
The North West Company established a fur-trading post here in 1805. The town’s turning point arrived almost overnight in the early days of the Second World War. Before the road existed, an airfield had been carved out of the wilderness in 1941 as a crucial link in the Northwest Staging Route—the clandestine air corridor used to ferry thousands of American-built warplanes to Soviet and allied forces defending the Pacific and European fronts.
During the Alaska Highway's construction, Fort Nelson’s existing runway became indispensable. Because no overland roads reached the post, thousands of troops, heavy bulldozers, and fuel drums had to be hauled north during the winter freeze over ice roads and frozen riverbeds. When spring arrived, thousands of soldiers and civilian contractors were already positioned here, cutting their way through the swamps and dense timber south toward Dawson Creek and west toward Whitehorse.
Things to Do in Fort Nelson
Today, Fort Nelson relies on forestry, energy exploration, and northern tourism. For road trippers, it's a good place to stop for fuel, supplies and some easy exploration while taking a break from driving.
The Fort Nelson Heritage Museum
No road trip along this stretch of Highway 97 is complete without a visit to the Fort Nelson Heritage Museum, affectionately known as "The Museum That Alaska Highway Built." The entire collection is the life's work and vision of the late Marl Brown, a beloved local mechanic and passionate collector who arrived in Fort Nelson during the late 1950s and began rescuing the discarded relics of the 1942 highway construction before they were swallowed by the forest.
Wandering through the grounds is like stepping inside the ultimate northern workshop. Weathered yards and timber sheds display massive road graders, military transport trucks, antique Caterpillar tractors, and vintage steam engines that still smell faintly of oil and grease.
Alongside the heavy iron, hand-hewn trapper cabins, an original Hudson’s Bay Company outpost building, and intricate pioneer household items showcase the gritty day-to-day existence of early northern homesteaders.
Fort Nelson Demonstration Forest
After hundreds of kilometres spent behind the wheel, the trails within the Fort Nelson Demonstration Forest are the perfect tonic. Just minutes southwest of town along the highway, it offers a peaceful network of looped hiking trails.
Interpretive signs explain northern forestry practices, fire ecology, and the local ecosystem's delicate balance. In the summer months, the trails are fringed with blooming wild roses and highbush cranberries, accompanied by the birdsong of northern hermit thrushes and woodpeckers.
Final Thoughts
Looking back across the 450 kilometres travelled from Mile 0, I realize this first leg is far more than just a transit corridor; it is an initiation into the patience, self-reliance, and quiet wonder that northern travel demands. Standing at historic Mile 300, looking westward toward the jagged silhouette of the Northern Rockies, the horizon feels bigger and more inviting than ever.
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