Description
The road has a rich and storied history beginning in 1873. That was the year that the Rev. John McDougall and his brother, David, cleared a trail from Fort Edmonton to the mission at Morley, about 80 kilometres west of Calgary. The trail followed, in part, older trails blazed by Aboriginal people and early traders of European descent. When Fort Calgary was established in 1875, the NWMP completed the southern leg of this trail from the Lone Pine Stopping House, near Bowden, to Calgary. After the 1883 arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway in Calgary, the Calgary-Edmonton Trail became a busy supply route with regular mail and stagecoach services. The use of the Trail declined after the completion of the Calgary and Edmonton Railway in 1891. Since the advent of the automobile, however, the “Trail” has become the most heavily travelled highway in Alberta. Calgary Trail Southbound, connecting Edmonton to Calgary via Highway 2, was renamed Calgary Trail in 2000 because a southbound identifier was considered no longer necessary after Calgary Trail Northbound was renamed, also in 2000, Gateway Boulevard.
Feature Type
Road
Designation Year
2000