More about Highway 37

Click on each photo to greatly enlarge it.
These photographs are all © 2006 by Murray Lundberg,
and are not to be copied without express permission.

Southbound at Kilometer 655, 70 km south of the junction with the Alaska Highway. September 13, 2002.

Boya Lake Provincial Park is a couple of kilometers off the highway at Km 633, and offers excellent camping sites. September 13, 2002.

Southbound at about Km 630. September 13, 2002.

Looking south over Mud Lake, at Km 629. September 13, 2002.

Km 618, September 2000: "CASSIAR GOLD RUSH The prospect of quick riches lured hundreds of placer miners to the Cassiar, where gold was discovered first at Dease Creek in 1872. Rich claims were later found at Thibert Creek, and here at McDame Creek. From this creek in 1877 a 72-ounce solid gold nugget was recovered - the largest recorded to date in British Columbia. By 1878 much of the gold had been recovered and the fortune seekers moved on."

An active placer gold operation on North Fork Creek, right below the highway at Km 614, in September 2000.

About 14 km east of Good Hope Lake, on the Dease River, is the abandoned Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) trading post McDame Post (seen on a 1920 HBC map as McDame's Creek). Trade here was with both Tahltan and Kaska Indians. The creek (formerly called "Nigger Creek") and the post were named after Henry McDame, a black miner who was born in the Bahamas and discovered gold here in 1874. The road is best considered a 4x4 trail, although it is passable by small vehicles in very dry weather. September 13, 2002.

A cemetery containing about 15 graves is located above the HBC post, overlooking the Dease River. The majority of the graves, several of which are for children, are from 1929, likely due to one of the influenza or smallpox epidemics which decimated the native population of this region. This granite monument is for Indian Agent Webster Scott Simpson, who died on the Dease River in July 1927 while "doing his duty." September 13, 2002.

Heading back to the Stewart-Cassiar from McDame Post. September 13, 2002.

Jade City, at Km 597, consists primarily of two jade shops selling both raw jade and artistic creations. September 13, 2002.

An old section of the highway leads off to the west at Km 582, ending at the Cottonwood River, which used to be bridged at this point. It makes a very pleasant picnic spot, and a black bear sow with twins came to investigate ours! September 13, 2002.

The highway (this section is still gravel) wanders alongside Dease Lake for over 30 kilometers, offering some wonderful views. At the north end, on the opposite shore, is the gold-rush ghost town of Laketon. This view is to the north, on September 13, 2002. To the south of the lake is the community of Dease Lake, where you head west to access the village of Telegraph Creek.

Giving my bird a drink at Dease Lake before heading into the beautiful Glenora Ranch, south of Telegraph Creek, for a few days of R&R. August 26, 1987.

An aerial view of one of the craters at Mount Edziza Provincial Park, accessible only with difficulty, from either Iskut or Telegraph Creek. This view is to the west - the Stikine River valley is between the park and the distant peaks. June 16, 1985.

The Stikine River (looking upriver into Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Provincial Park) from about Km 435, just north of the Stikine River Bridge. September 13, 2002.

Aerial photo of Natadesleen and Kinaskan Lakes - Highway 37 can just be made out along the right (east) side of the lakes. This view is to the north, on June 16, 1985.

Northbound at Km 334 on June 30, 1991.

An aerial look at the former Burrage Creek emergency airstrip crossing the highway just north of the Burrage Creek bridge. June 16, 1985.

Crossing the Burrage River at Km 330, looking north. Visible upstream from the bridge is a small but quite impressive canyon. September 13, 2002.

You have be careful of the traffic congestion on the Stewart-Cassiar! We were with this fellow for a good half-hour before he headed off into the bush (with a crazy camera-laden German hot on his tail!). I got lots of close-up photos of the bear as well, but this one captures the spirit of the highway better - he's in no hurry, and neither should you be. September 13, 2002.

Southbound at about Km 270. September 13, 2002.

Aerial view, looking south along the Bell-Irving River from about Km 240. June 16, 1985. The dark patch at the top is the wing of my plane.

Southbound at about Km 170 on the morning of January 22, 2003.

There has been major work done on the highway over the past 15 years. This is the view northbound at about Km 168 on June 30, 1991.

Straight ahead to Stewart, or left to Highway 16 - January 22, 2003.

Southbound on the sideroad to Stewart. The exceptionally dramatic, 60-km-long paved road leaves the main highway at Km 155. September 15, 2002.

The highway to Stewart wanders alongside Meziadin Lake for a few miles before heading into the heart of the Coastal Mountains. June 30, 1991.

Heading north out of Stewart, towards Bear Pass, in August 1975, when I was living in Stewart and working underground at the huge Granduc Copper Mine. This was a nasty road in wet weather, but it's all paved now.

Below, a panorama showing the campground at Meziadin Lake Provincial Park, at Km 154. The lake is an important salmon spawning location, and offers particularly good fishing. September 15, 2002.

An interesting alternative to the southern section of the Stewart-Cassiar is the Nass Forest Service Road, a gravel, former logging road that heads west and south at Km 75 and connects with Highway 16. The main attraction is the Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Provincial Park (formerly known as the Tseaux River lava beds). This road can, however, be very rough after a spell of wet weather like we had prior to our trip on it, on September 15, 2002.

Northbound at the one-lane Nass River Bridge, Kilometer 141. June 1991.

A view of the Nass River Bridge from river level.

The abandoned and vandalized railway depot at Kitwanga, the southern end of Highway 37. June 29, 1991.

Across the road from the railway station is this church. June 29, 1991.

In Kitwanga and other nearby villages, there are totem poles everywhere. June 29, 1991.

These photographs are all © 1985-2006 by Murray Lundberg, and are not to be copied without express permission.