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North of Edmonton stretches an all-but-uninhabited landscape of rippling hills, rivers, lakes, lonely farms, open prairie and the unending mantle of the northern forests. Compared to the spectacular mountain scenery to the west, northern Alberta is more akin to the monotony of the central plains of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Unless you're fishing or boating, or just into sheer untrammelled wilderness, little here is worth detouring for, with the possible exception of the huge Wood Buffalo National Park on the border with the Northwest Territories. The two great north-flowing waterways - the Peace River and Athabasca River - were the area's traditional arteries, but they have now been superseded by three main roads. The most travelled is Hwy 16 (the Yellowhead Hwy), which runs due west from Edmonton to Jasper and onwards through the Rockies to Prince George and Prince Rupert (both in BC); Hwy 43-Hwy 2 heads to Grande Prairie and Dawson Creek (BC) - Mile Zero of the Alaska Highway; and Hwy 43-Hwy 35 (the Mackenzie Hwy) bisects northern Alberta and provides its only road link to the Northwest Territories. Direct long-haul Greyhound buses run on all these routes from Edmonton, supplemented by the VIA Rail service from Edmonton to Jasper (with connections on to Vancouver or Prince Rupert). Few roads merit travelling for their own sake, particularly for trips to Wood Buffalo National Park or Hay River (NWT). Flying can be a valuable time-saving option, but it's going to be very expensive unless you've organized internal flights before coming to Canada .
Your Tip for Northern Alberta
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