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Home > Alberta's Trans-Canada Highway > Calgary to Medicine Hat Itinerary

Alberta Trans-Canada Highway Route: Highway #1 between Calgary and Medicine Hat

Here is the itinerary for the 284 km along Highway #1 between Calgary and Medicine Hat:

Calgary is now a city of over 1 million people, and has tripled in size since the 1970s. Visitors will see vast recently-built suburbs on the western and eastern approaches, and lots of home construction continuing in all directions. Very quickly you become aware of the office towers that comprise the city's downtown core. The buildings are tightly clustered between the Bow River and the railway tracks, and house the headquarters of most of Canada's oil & gas companies. The city has Canada's largest network of recreational trails, with great (and relatively level) running/ biking/blading trails running for miles alongside the Bow River.

The Bow River generally flows south of the Trans-Canada for this section, and on occasion, you can see a deep canyon from the highway where the Bow River has eroded a deep valley into the otherwise flat prairie's terrain. The prairies are home to native species like coyote, gopher, skunk, badger, and white-tailed deer. There is a vast Indian reservation southwest of the Trans-Canada from Gleichen to Bassano for Blackfoot Indians who signed Treaty 7 in 1877, and permitted settlement of Southern Alberta.

The region east of Calgary is part of the "Palliser Triangle" a dry region of south-eastern Alberta that gets little moisture. Most of the farms were homesteaded n the early 1900s, by European immigrants charmed by prime minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier's stories of "the last best west." The communities along the highway are market centres for the surrounding farms, often centered around irrigation infrastructure, especially noticeable at Lake Chestermere and with Lake Newell at Brooks. Rivers flow eastwards towards the Hudson's Bay, though the Milk River in the very south of Alberta joins the Missouri River to flow south to the Gulf of Mexico.


Ninety million years ago, this land was the bottom of a vast ocean, and the accumulation of decayed plant and animal matter have create vast pools of hydrocarbons. The erosion along the Red Deer River has exposed beds of dinosaur skeletons around Drumheller (home to famed Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology), and at Dinosaur Provincial Park, northeast of Brooks, both are worthy side trips. Medicine Hat also produces its own municipal gas from a field under the city.

The area between Bassano and Brooks and is well known as a cattle ranching area and large feedlots. The Chinook winds keep the area's grasslands free of winter snow, and in the feedlots their diets are supplemented with barley and corn grown in the area. Cattle grow to 1000 pounds (500 kg) in about 18 months (about half the time needed with open range grazing). South-eastern Alberta is also home to wild pronghorn antelope, who you may see hopping over farm and highway fences year-round, especially between Tilley and Suffield just west of Medicine Hat.

Use mouse to drag/move map. Click on "+" or "-" to zoom in or out. "Satellite" shows photo, "Hybrid" combines map & photo.

Next West: Lake Louise to Calgary

Next East: Medicine Hat to Swift Current

Alberta Motor Association road condition reports for this segment.

KM from Start		Highway Point Description	Municipality	GPS and Map Zoom
EB	WB
0	284	Deerfoot Trail (Hwy #2) double diamond interchange	Calgary	Map Zoom
1	283	Pedestrian overpass (with great view)		Map Zoom
1	283	19th Street NE, accommodation, dining		Map Zoom
2	283	EB Exit for Barlow Tr S		Map Zoom
2	282	Barlow Trail overpass and interchange		Map Zoom
2	282	WB Exit for Barlow Tr N (to Calgary International Airport)		Map Zoom
3	281	EB Exit to 36 St NE Southbound & NB (to shopping, acommodation, car repairs)		Map Zoom
3	281	36 Street NE overpass, and NE LRT overpass		Map Zoom
4	281	WB Exit for 36th St NE to shopping, accomodation, and & car dealerships		Map Zoom
4	280	52 St NE EB exit ramp		Map Zoom
5	279	52 St NE overpass		Map Zoom
5	279	52 St NE WB exit ramp		Map Zoom
5	279	68 St Intersection, shopping to N		Map Zoom
7	277	U-turn lane		Map Zoom
8	276	84th St NE (Range Rd 290) (to become new route of NE Bypass) City Boundary		Map Zoom
9	275	Railway underpass		Map Zoom
10	274	Garden Rd (Range Rd 255)		Map Zoom
12	273	Range Rd 284 (RV park to north)		Map Zoom
13	271	Range Rd 283		Map Zoom
14	270	Paradise Rd N to Inverlake Rd, S to Lake Chestermere Village	Chestermere	Map Zoom
15	269	Cross Western District Irrigation Canal bridge	Chestermere	Map Zoom
15	269	17th Ave SE underpass	Chestermere	Map Zoom
18	266	Range Rd 281		Map Zoom
18	266	Highway 791 (Range Rd 280)		Map Zoom
21	263	196 St NE		Map Zoom
23	261	Range Rd 274		Map Zoom
23	261	Railway overpass		Map Zoom
24	260	Valview Rd		Map Zoom
25	259	Cross small unnamed lake		Map Zoom
26	258	Highway #9 (N) to Drumheller, Hwy 791 (S), corss irrigation ditch just east of intersection		Map Zoom
29	255	Boundary Rd		Map Zoom
29	255	Range Rd 270		Map Zoom
30	254	Rest Area (EB)		Map Zoom
33	251	Range Rd 264		Map Zoom
34	250	Rest Area (WB)		Map Zoom
36	248	Range Rd 262		Map Zoom
37	247	Hwy 24 (S)		Map Zoom
38	246	Range Rd 261, creek crossing to east of intersection		Map Zoom
39	245	Range Rd 260		Map Zoom
41	243	Range Rd 255		Map Zoom
42	242	Range Rd 254, access to Auction House to north		Map Zoom
44	240	Cross Irrigation Canal		Map Zoom
45	239	West Highway access	Strathmore	Map Zoom
46	238	Wheatland Trail (Hway #817)	Strathmore	Map Zoom
47	237	Lakeside Blvd (N) Spruce Park Dr (S)	Strathmore	Map Zoom
48	236	E Pine Rd (access to from service roads)	Strathmore	Map Zoom
51	233	Range Rd 245 (Eagle Lake to south)		Map Zoom
52	232	Range Rd 244 (Race track to south)		Map Zoom
53	231	Cross Irrigation Canal		Map Zoom
54	230	View to Eagle Lake to south		Map Zoom
55	229	Range Rd 242 (Eagle Lake Campground 6 km to south)		Map Zoom
56	228	Highway 21 (N) to Drumheller, Range Rd 242 (S)		Map Zoom
67	217	Highway 561 (E) to Hussar, Trans-Canada make 90 degree bend		Map Zoom
85	199	Range Rd 230 (S) to Siksika Indian Reserve 146, Trans-Canada bends	Gleichen	Map Zoom
86	198	Range Rd 230 (N) Highway 547 (S), to Gleichen	Gleichen	Map Zoom
88	196	Range Rd 225 (S) access to Gleichen	Gleichen	Map Zoom
89	195	Township Rd 222 (W) to Gleichen	Gleichen	Map Zoom
90	194	Highway 904 to Gleichen	Gleichen	Map Zoom
101	183	Highway 842 south to Siksika Indian Reserve, with Blackfoot Crossing Museum 7 km		Map Zoom
105	179	Creek crossing & Irrigated farmlands		Map Zoom
115	169	Highway 56, south to town of Crowfoot and Siksika Insian Reserve		Map Zoom
132	152	Highway 847 (S) to Bassano, all services, small airport	Bassano	Map Zoom
134	150	Exit for Bassano, 1 km to W	Bassano	Map Zoom
137	147	Highway 550 (E) to Rosemary, Range Rd 182 (N) passing between small ponds/lakes, irrigated agricultural lands	Bassano	Map Zoom
145	139	Lotham Range Rd 175		Map Zoom
147	137	Newell Lake access		Map Zoom
172	112	Highway 36, south to Taber, north to Emerson Bridge park		Map Zoom
181	103	Highway 873, access S to Brooks and Lake Newell	Brooks	Map Zoom
183	101	Highway 542, access to Brooks (W)	Brooks	Map Zoom
187	97	Cross Irrigation Channel	Brooks	Map Zoom
198	86	Township Rd 184 (S) to Tillebrook		Map Zoom
201	83	Hwy 536 (S) to Tilley, 876 (N) to Dinosaur Provincial Park	Tilley	Map Zoom
246	38	Hwy 884 (N) to Ralston, small airport		Map Zoom
268	16	Old Highway 1 to south of highway		Map Zoom
273	11	Hwy 524 (S)	Redcliffe	Map Zoom
276	8	Range Rd 65 (S) to Redcliffe, all services	Redcliffe	Map Zoom
279	5	Range Road 70(W) and Broadway Ave (E) access to Redcliff to W, Drive-in to E	Redcliffe	Map Zoom
280	4	Overpass over Saamis Dr NE (no access)	Redcliffe	Map Zoom
281	3	Box Spring Rd Interchange	Redcliffe	Map Zoom
283	2	3rd St NW interchange	Redcliffe	Map Zoom
283	1	Bridge over South Saskatchewan River		Map Zoom
283	1	Power House Rd, waterslide to W, 1st Street SW (E) with motels, gas	Medicine Hat	Map Zoom
284	0	8th St SW lights, east on 6 St SWto Medicine Hat Regional Hospital	Medicine Hat	Map Zoom
284	0	Pedestrian Overpass	Medicine Hat	Map Zoom
284	0	WB exit to Red Deer Dr service rd	Medicine Hat	Map Zoom
284	0	EB Exit to Hwy 3/41A	Medicine Hat	Map Zoom
284	0	Interchange Hwy 3/41A, EB access to Bomford Cr service Rd, east to downtown Medicine Hat on Gershaw Dr, west to Medicine Hat airport	Medicine Hat	Map Zoom
284	0	WB Exit to Hwy 3/41A	Medicine Hat	Map Zoom
285	-1	16th Street SW intersection, services on S side	Medicine Hat	Map Zoom
285	-1	Creek crossing, parks & sports fields	Medicine Hat	Map Zoom
286	-2	Passing Medicine Hat College (N), World's larges teepee on S side	Medicine Hat	Map Zoom
286	-2	Major intersection: South Ridge Dr SW, access to college and attractions, golf course	Medicine Hat	Map Zoom
288	-4	EB Exit for 13 Ave	Medicine Hat	Map Zoom
288	-4	Underpass for 13 Ave SE, shopping & services	Medicine Hat	Map Zoom
288	-4	WB Exit for 13 Ave	Medicine Hat	Map Zoom
KM from Start		Highway Point Description	Municipality	GPS and Map Zoom
EB	WB