Field is easily accessible from Calgary, Alberta and Banff National Park via the Trans-Canada Highway (HWY 1.) If you are traveling from Vancouver or the west coast of British Columbia, you can reach Field by heading east on the Trans-Canada Highway.
Field has developed into a tight-knit family community of fewer than 200 people from all corners of Canada, many of whom arrived in the area with skis in tow and couldn’t bring themselves to leave. The village artisans, whether their medium is sound, clay, food, or film, have found Field to be the perfect place to hone their craft.
Life in a small mountain village builds unique friendships, a deep connection with the surroundings, and an appreciation for the simple rewards that the mountain lifestyle offers.
An 1871 agreement to bring the province of British Columbia into the Confederation of Canada set the wheels in motion for the creation of the Field townsite. Crucial to the agreement was a commitment to expand railway access across the continent.
Established in the 1880s as a settlement of tents and shacks to house construction workers for the Canadian Pacific Railway, Field soon became a hotbed of activity in the Rocky Mountains. The townsite received its name in honour of Cyrus Field, an American being wooed by the CPR for investment capital; he never did invest. The CPR greatly influenced development in the area by building many of the hiking trails surrounding Field and erecting a variety of mountain hotels, chalets, and guide houses to attract the wealthy tourists who helped fund construction of the railway, which was completed in 1885. To stimulate tourism, experienced Swiss guides were hired to escort amateur mountaineers drawn to the thrill of ascending peaks that had previously been inaccessible.
William Cornelius Van Horne moved to protect a small area surrounding the Field townsite against development, and in 1886 the Mt. Stephen Dominion Reserve was established. The protected area was quickly expanded to preserve the natural magnificence bordering other CPR developments and renamed in 1901 to “Yoho”, a Cree expression of awe and wonder.
(credit: field.ca website)
(photo credit: Richard Lang)
