Entwistle-Evansburg

Entwistle and Evansburg are small neighbouring communities in the Foothills region of Alberta. Located between Edmonton and Edson at the intersection of two major highways, they are a good rest stop between Edmonton and Jasper.

Understand

Rangeland near Evansburg.

Entwistle in Parkland County, and Evansburg in Yellowhead County, are twin hamlets on the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountain foothills. They are separated by the Pembina River.

Entwistle claimed the title of the "Diamond Capital of Canada" after a local resident found a diamond in the banks of the Pembina River. There is no longer any diamond mining in the area.

Evansburg is known for being the "Home of the Grouch" and the community chooses a "Town Grouch" Pembina Valley Daze festival in August. The tradition began in 1961, when a local artist was commissioned to create a new welcome sign for the community. To add some humour to the sign, he listed Evansburg's population as "603 people, 29 dogs, 41 cats, and one grouch." Speculation began as to who the grouch was, and in 1979 the Evansburg Chamber of Commerce decided to settle the question by holding an election, in which the community's grouch was elected by the people. The election has been held annually ever since.

Get in

By car

Entwistle and Evansburg are located at the intersection of Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway) and Cowboy Trail (Highway 22), about 1 hour west of Edmonton by taking Highway 16.

By train

See also: Rail travel in Canada

• 1 Evansburg station, 46 St, Evansburg (south of Hwy 16A where 46 St crosses the railway tracks). This is a "sign post" station with no local facilities. Trains will make a flag stop at this station on 48 hours notice. (updated Oct 2023)
  • VIA Rail Canada, toll-free: +1 888-842-7245. Operates The Canadian three times weekly between Vancouver and Toronto). (updated Oct 2020)

Get around

It's about 4.5 km (2.8 mi) between the two communities, so it would take about an hour to walk, or 7 min to drive along Alberta Highway 16A.

See

• 1 Tipple Park Museum, 4924 48 St, Evansburg, ☏ +1 780-727-2240, tippleparkmuseum@gmail.com. W-Sa 10AM-5PM. Preserves and showcases the area's railway, agricultural and coal mining history. The museum's symbol is a tipple, or a structure at a mine used to load ore or coal. (updated Apr 2020)

Do

• 1 Pembina River Tubing, 53217 Range Road 74A, Entwistle, ☏ +1 780-515-1754. See the Pembina River Valley and gorge by floating down the gentle current. Pembina River Tubing provides tube and life jacket rentals, as well as a shuttle service to bring you back to your vehicle. (updated Apr 2020)
• 2 Pembina Valley Golf Club, 53432 Range Road 75, Yellowhead County (2 km north of Evansburg on Range Road 75), ☏ +1 780-727-2797. Family friendly, 9-hole golf course with cart and club rentals, grass greens and a new clubhouse. (updated Apr 2020)
• 3 Pembina River Provincial Park, 534 Highway 16A & Township Road (north of the two communities), ☏ +1 780-727-3643, toll-free: +1 877 537 2757. The park is near the Pembina River Gorge, which has cliffs as high as 62 metres. Wildlife include coyote, mule deer, white-tailed deer, moose, red squirrel, snowshoe hare, muskrat, badger, beaver, mink and occasionally black bear. Camping is available. Reserve by phone or online. (updated May 2020)
• Walking − Enjoy the trail system running from Pembina River Provincial Park through Entwistle and Evansburg.

Buy

Each hamlet has a grocery store and a liquor store and a few other shops.

Eat

• 1 Bloom & Bliss Flower and Coffee Shop, 5115 50 St, Evansburg, ☏ +1 780 727 3996. (updated Apr 2020)
• 2 Evansburg Snackbar, 4918 50 Ave, Evansburg, ☏ +1 780-727-3838. (updated Apr 2020)
• 3 Lighthouse Restaurant & Lounge, 5023 47 Ave, Entwistle, ☏ +1 780-727-4014. Daily 7AM-10PM. (updated Apr 2020)
• 4 Riverside Diner & Lounge, 5109 47 Ave, Entwistle, ☏ +1 780-727-3630. Daily 7AM-10PM. (updated Apr 2020)
• 5 Sammy's Restaurant, 5021 47 Ave, Entwistle, ☏ +1 780-727-2555. Daily 8AM-9PM. (updated Apr 2020)

Drink

• 1 Evansburg Inn, 5114 50 St, Evansburg, ☏ +1 780-727-3621. (updated Apr 2020)
• 2 Iron Wheel Inn, 5102 50 Ave, Entwistle, ☏ +1 780-727-2230. (updated Apr 2020)

Sleep

Camping

• 1 Entwistle RV Campground, 53230 Range Road 74A, Entwistle (from Hwy 16, take Exit 289, W on 45 Ave, S on 50 St, becomes Range Rd 74A), ☏ +1 780-719-9009, entwistlervcampground@outlook.com. (updated Apr 2020)
• Pembina River Provincial Park (along Hwy 16A between Entwistle and Evansburg in the Pembina River gorge), ☏ +1 780-727-3643. (updated Apr 2020)

Hotels and motels

• 2 Iron Wheel Inn, 5102 50 Ave, Entwistle, ☏ +1 780-727-2230. (updated Apr 2020)
• 3 Journeyman Inn, 5011 47 Ave, Entwistle, ☏ +1 780-727-4000. (updated Apr 2020)
• 4 Pembina River Inn, 5105 47 Ave, Entwistle, ☏ +1 780-727-4400. (updated Apr 2020)

Go next

Routes through Entwistle-Evansburg

Vancouver ← Edson ←	W  E	→ Edmonton → Saskatoon
Jasper ← Edson ← Jct N ←	W  E	→ Wabamun → Edmonton
END ← Mayerthorpe ←	N  S	→ Drayton Valley → Rocky Mountain House