Work is well underway to make Dawson Creek’s most famous landmark easier for everyone to visit. The City of Dawson Creek and Tourism Dawson Creek have started construction on a major refresh of the Alaska Highway Cairn at NAR Park, with a focus on improving accessibility at the popular attraction.
The Alaska Highway Cairn Refresh project launched in May 2026 and is expected to wrap up in 2027. Crews have already finished the concrete work and installed new lighting. What’s left is putting up the final signage and finishing the landscaping, which may stretch into next year depending on the weather. The upgrades include smoother walking surfaces, better signs, brighter lights, and new plantings, all aimed at making the site more welcoming and accessible.
The cairn marks Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway, the 1,387-mile road built in just eight months in 1942 during the Second World War. Tens of thousands of visitors stop by each year to snap a photo at the starting point of that historic route. This latest work builds on a project that saw the towering Alaska Highway sign at the traffic circle removed in late winter 2023, refurbished, and reinstalled in April 2024.
The improvements come as tourism in the city gets a boost. Tourism Dawson Creek opened a second visitor centre in May 2026 at the Mah Building downtown, next to the Mile 0 Post, giving travellers another spot to get information. The original centre at NAR Park, right beside the cairn, remains open.
