British Columbia provincial highway 20, known as the Chilcotin Highway or the Freedom Highway, is an east-west highway in a region of the province known as the Interior Plateau. The road was largely built by local residents because the government was not interested in building the highway.
The hill is a section of Highway 20 between Tweedsmuir Provincial Park and the community of Hagensborg, and it is world-renowned for its very steep grade. The highway itself provides a third link to the west coast of British Columbia, via the settlement of Bella Coola, where BC Ferries links the region to Vancouver Island in the summer. Highway 20 was officially opened in 1964, but there are still a few sections on the route that are not paved.
Route details
Highway 20 begins its 456 km journey in the east at its only junction with another numbered highway, Highway 97, at the city of Williams Lake. It travels west for 112 km to the town of Alexis Creek, then another 109 km to Tatla Lake, another 95 km west to Anahim Lake, and finally another 139 km to its western terminus at Bella Coola.
