The Alberta portion of the #3 Crowsnest Highway runs for approximately 323 km (201 mi) from the British Columbia border to Medicine Hat, where it connects with the #1 Trans-Canada main route.
It begins in Crowsnest Pass paralleling the Canadian Pacific Railway, first meeting Highway 40 (the Forestry Trunk Road) at Coleman, then running 26 km (16 mi) east through Blairmore, Frank, Bellevue, and Burmis (from west to east), recently amalgamated and collectively known as the Town of Crowsnest Pass, and barely clearing the eastern ranges of the Rockies to the southern terminus of Highway 22, better known as the Cowboy Trail. The Bar U Ranch National Historic site and the towns of Okotoks, High River, and Black Diamond are an hour to the north.
Highway 6 heads south near Pincher Creek and is the main route to Waterton Lakes National Park on the border with the United States. Approximately 50 km (31 mi) east of Pincher Creek, the highway becomes divided and has an interchange with Highway 2 (north to Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump) Calgary and then east for 5 km (3 mi) into the town of Fort Macleod, after which Highway 2 south goes to Standoff, Cardston, and the United States border at Carway.
