Hinton

Hinton is a town of almost 10,000 people (2016) on the Yellowhead Highway in the Alberta Rockies region of Alberta. Hinton sells itself as a gateway town to the Rockies, and also for its beaver boardwalk and surrounding parkland. If you're driving through, a coffee stop in the town, and a stretch along the boardwalk is a good opportunity for a driving break.

Understand
Hinton is a small town in the Athabasca River valley, 80 km (50 miles) along the main Yellowhead Highway from Jasper National Park. For those driving through there are a good range of services on the highway, a fast-food, a few motels, tourism information and a park. A couple of blocks back from the highway is the town proper, with some shopping and cafes.

History
While a native smallpox camp occupied a site along Hardisty Creek in 1870, the hamlet was established in 1911 and named for William P. Hinton, vice president of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. The Hinton coal mine opened in 1931; a pulp mill opened in 1955.

Grand Trunk's ill-fated expansion westward bankrupted the line as the more valuable southern route through Calgary (along what is now Trans-Canada Highway 1) had already been claimed by rival Canadian Pacific Railway and a short-lived third national railway (Canadian Northern Railway) covered much of the same territory. Canadian National has operated the line since 1923. At 8:40AM on February 8, 1986 a CN freight train passed multiple red (stop) signals and jumped a switch to enter the mainline, colliding with a passenger train near Hinton and killing twenty-three; a historic plaque marks the crash site (near Carldale Road east of Hinton).

Hinton, mile 978 west of Winnipeg, remains as a flag stop on Via Rail's Canadian train. The town is one of two staging areas for expeditions in the Willmore Wilderness Park (the other being Grande Cache) and is home to the Wild Mountain Music Fest, a weekend long show hosted by the Entrance Ranch.

By car
Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway) runs through town. Travellers to Hinton can take Highway 16 going west from Edmonton and going east from Prince George and Jasper. Highway 40 (north-south) runs west of Hinton.

By bus




Brûlé
Brûlé is 16 km (10 miles) northwest of Hinton on Highway 40.