Hart-Peace River Highway

John Hart-Peace River Highway

Province: British Columbia

Prince George-Fort St John/Dawson Creek

The John Hart-Peace River Highway (Hwy 97) is the northern continuation of the Cariboo Highway. It starts at Prince George on the Yellowhead Highway (Hwy 16; see entry), the northernmost of Canada's three east-west routes across the Rockies. The highway then runs north for 412 km / 256 mi through timberland to join the Alaska Highway at Dawson Creek.

There is an alternative route to the west on Highway 29 which follows the Peace River for 465 km / 289 mi to Fort St John and the Alaska Highway.

At Summit Lake, a few kilometers beyond Prince George, the road almost imperceptibly crosses the Great Divide, the continental watershed, which is quite flat here.