The Boundary Commission Trail (French: Sentier de la Commission de délimitation) was a trail in western Canada used by the North American Boundary Commission to survey the Canada–United States border starting in 1872. The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) also used the trail in their March West in 1874. The trail no longer exists, but is commemorated with a modern highway route that approximately follows the trail used by the NWMP and is called the Red Coat Trail. [1] [2]
American and Canadian surveyors worked together in the difficult task of surveying the border, which was agreed upon in the Treaty of 1818 to be the 49th parallel. They met in September 1872 in Pembina, Dakota Territory, where they spent the winter before heading out in the spring of 1873 to begin surveying and placing markers along the route starting at the Lake of the Woods. The winter of 1873–74 was spent in Willow Bunch, North-West Territories. In the spring they continued their work and the last marker was placed on 8 August 1874 at Waterton Lake. Waterton Lake straddles the 49th parallel in present-day Alberta and Montana. [3]
In Manitoba, the trail is commemorated with signage on Highways 3, 32, 83, and 243. [4]
The 49th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 49° north of Earth's equator. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean.
The Canada–United States border is the longest international border in the world. The boundary is 8,891 km (5,525 mi) long. The land border has two sections: Canada's border with the contiguous United States to its south, and with the U.S. state of Alaska to its west. The bi-national International Boundary Commission deals with matters relating to marking and maintaining the boundary, and the International Joint Commission deals with issues concerning boundary waters. The agencies responsible for facilitating legal passage through the international boundary are the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Provincial Trunk Highway 2 is a 315-kilometre (196-mile) highway in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It runs from Highway 13 at the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border to Winnipeg's Perimeter Highway near Oak Bluff.
Provincial Trunk Highway 3 is a major provincial highway located in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It runs from the Saskatchewan boundary to the southwest city limits of Winnipeg, where it continues as Winnipeg Route 155. Prior before to the implementation of Winnipeg's City Route System, it extended to Pembina Highway.
Arcola is a town in south-east Saskatchewan, Canada, approximately 60 kilometres (37 mi) north and 40 kilometres (25 mi) east of Estevan. Highway 13, Highway 604, and Arcola Airport provide access to the community.
Highway 16 is a provincial highway in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is the Saskatchewan section of the Yellowhead Highway, and also the Trans-Canada Highway Yellowhead section. The main purpose of this highway is to connect Saskatchewan with Canadian cities such as Edmonton and Winnipeg. The highway runs from the Alberta boundary in Lloydminster to the Manitoba boundary near Marchwell. Major cities it passes through are Saskatoon, North Battleford in the central part of the province, Yorkton in the far east and Lloydminster to the far west.
The history of post-confederation Canada began on July 1, 1867, when the British North American colonies of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia were united to form a single Dominion within the British Empire. Upon Confederation, the United Province of Canada was immediately split into the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The colonies of Prince Edward Island and British Columbia joined shortly after, and Canada acquired the vast expanse of the continent controlled by the Hudson's Bay Company, which was eventually divided into new territories and provinces. Canada evolved into a fully sovereign state by 1982.
Provincial Trunk Highway 5 is a provincial primary highway located in the Canadian province of Manitoba.
Waterton Lake is a mountain lake in southern Alberta, Canada, and northern Montana, United States. The lake is composed of two bodies of water, connected by a shallow channel known locally as the Bosporus. The two parts are referred to as Middle Waterton Lake, and Upper Waterton Lake, the latter of which is divided by the Canada–United States border with Canada containing about two thirds of the lake while the southern third falls in the United States. The Boundary Commission Trail ends at the lake as the last border marker was placed there on 8 August 1874. The United States Geological Survey gives the geocoordinates of 49°03′00″N113°54′03″W for Upper Waterton Lake. Lower Waterton Lake is north of Middle Waterton Lake and is separated by a channel known as the Dardanelles.

Highway 5 is a major highway in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It begins in downtown Saskatoon and runs eastward to the Manitoba border near Togo, where it becomes Provincial Road 363. The highway is approximately 393 kilometres (244 mi) long. Between the early 1900s (decade) and 1976, Provincial Highway 5 was a trans-provincial highway travelling approximately 630 kilometres (390 mi) in length. At this time it started at the Alberta border in Lloydminster and traveled east to the Manitoba border.
Saskatchewan, the middle of Canada's three prairie provinces, has an area of 588,276.09 square kilometres (227,134.67 sq mi) and population of 1,150,632, mostly living in the southern half of the province.
Highway 9 is a paved, undivided provincial highway in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It runs from North Dakota Highway 8 at the US border near Port of Northgate until it transitions into Provincial Road 283 at the Manitoba provincial boundary.
The Saskota Flyway is known as the International Road to Adventure, because it takes you from Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan, all the way south to Bismarck, North Dakota.
Highway 13 is a highway in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It runs from the Alberta border until it transitions into Highway 2 at the Manitoba border near Antler. Highway 13 is about 676 km (420 mi.) long. Highway 13 passes through Shaunavon, Assiniboia, Weyburn, Redvers and Carlyle. It is also referred to as the Red Coat Trail, as much of its length follows the route of the original historic path. A majority of the route between Wauchope and Govenlock going through the Palliser's Triangle is also referred to as the Ghost Town Trail.
Highway 49 and Provincial Trunk Highway 49 is a provincial highway in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Most of the highway is in the east-central part of Saskatchewan and only a very short section is in Manitoba. It runs from Saskatchewan Highway 35 between the communities of Fosston and Hendon to the Saskatchewan — Manitoba border, before ending at Provincial Trunk Highway 83 south of the community of Benito. The combined highway is about 166.4 kilometres (103.4 mi) in length — 165.2 kilometres (102.7 mi) is in Saskatchewan and 1.2 kilometres (0.7 mi) is in Manitoba.
The Red Coat Trail is a 1,300-kilometre (810 mi) route that approximates the path taken in 1874 by the North-West Mounted Police in their March West from Fort Dufferin to Fort Whoop-Up.
Saskatchewan has a transportation infrastructure system of roads, highways, freeways, airports, ferries, pipelines, trails, waterways, and railway systems serving a population of approximately 1,132,505 inhabitants year-round.
Fort Dufferin is a former Canadian government post near the Canada–United States border at Emerson, Manitoba. The fort was used during the 1870s as a base for the North American Boundary Commission and the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP), and as an immigration station. It was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1937.

Samuel Anderson was an English surveyor, astronomer and mapmaker. He was a Royal Engineer and was involved with mapping the Canada–United States border in the 1860s and 1870s.
Wood Mountain Post Provincial Park is a 5.48-hectare historical provincial park in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The site was designated as an historic site in the 1960s and became a provincial park in 1986. Originally, it was the location of a North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) post that operated from 1887 to 1918. The post was established to develop relations with local Indians, patrol the Canada–United States border, and to perform general policing duties.