Discover Coleman: Trails and Mining History

If you’re considering Coleman as a travel destination, you can plan your visit around two themes: trails in the Crowsnest Pass and the area’s cultural history. The Crowsnest Community Trail offers a longer, non-motorized route; the Miners Path leads from Coleman to Rainbow Falls and is connected to the history of the miners. This gives you different routes and different ways to explore the area when planning your trip.

Trails around Coleman

The Crowsnest Community Trail is 23 kilometres long and non-motorized. Its surfaces include asphalt, gravel and natural trails. It connects Coleman, Blairmore and other key locations, and visitors use it for cycling. Its use for cycling makes it especially relevant if you want to connect Coleman with other places along a non-motorized route. Along the trail, interpretive panels cover the natural and cultural history of the Crowsnest Pass. This adds a point of interest to the route for travellers who want to explore natural and cultural history as well as cycle.

The Miners Path begins in Flumerfelt Park in Coleman and follows Nez Perce Creek for one kilometre to Rainbow Falls. Between 1909 and 1957, miners from Coleman walked this historic route to work at the McGillivray Mine. Its history explains the role the route played in the miners’ commute. Compared with the 23-kilometre Crowsnest Community Trail, the Miners Path is shorter and more closely associated with the mine and its destination at Rainbow Falls.

Cultural history in the Crowsnest Pass

Parks Canada has designated Coleman’s mine site, commercial district and streets lined with miners’ houses as a National Historic Site. The Crowsnest Museum is located within the Coleman National Historic Site and offers insight into everyday life in the Crowsnest Pass. Together, the designated historic streetscape and the everyday history of the Pass offer two distinct perspectives.

The Old Coleman High School has cultural and historical value as an educational and social institution in the Crowsnest Pass. It complements the mining history with a look at education and social life.

The Alberta Provincial Police Building has cultural and historical significance because of its role in maintaining law and order in the mining communities of the Crowsnest Pass from 1918 into the 1930s. The Alberta Provincial Police Barracks also houses an escape room experience. Constable Stephen Lawson lived and worked at the Barracks, where he was also killed. If you’re planning a visit to the Barracks, check current access arrangements in advance.

Plan a walking tour

You can explore the Coleman National Historic Site on a self-guided walking or driving tour. Before your visit, check whether this tour format is currently available.

Discover more destinations: Blairmore

Return to the main travel overview: Crowsnest Pass.