About us
WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF THE MINE?
The Bellevue Underground Mine Tour maintains and operates 300 meters of restored tunnel at the entrance to the Bellevue Mine.
When fully operating, the W.C.C. Bellevue Mine consisted of 240 total km of shafts, rooms, haulage routes, etc. for the mine workings. These workings were abandoned, and have not been mapped, stabilized, or restored beyond our tour / operational extent. Unfortunately maintaining the tunnel associated with our tour takes all our time and resources and we are not able to fully maintain or monitor the other 239.5kms of mine works in the Bellevue Mine system. The areas outside of our operational extent are the responsibility of other land holders and may not be maintained or identified properly.
Old mine workings are dangerous. Mined out coal seams can be steep, unstable, and prone to collapse, particularly as old support timbers rot and collapse. Water is often present in underground tunnels, filling, flooding, or eroding seams. There is no cell service underground, and it is easy to get lost. Methane and other dangerous gases occur in coal mines. Without active ventilation, these gases build up and oxygen levels are reduced. Mine cave-ins and entrances also make excellent dens for animals, including hibernating bears.
If you discover old, unmarked mine workings in the Crowsnest Pass please report their location to the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass or the RCMP.
The Bellevue Underground Mine is a unique and historically authentic underground coal mine tour in Western Canada.
Our goal is to give visitors an authentic experience of what it was like to be an underground miner.
We want to delight our guests with a unique experience where they can develop a real understanding of mining and an appreciation for what life was like for coal miner.
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The Bellevue Underground Mine respectfully acknowledges that we are located on Treaty 7 territory, a traditional gathering place for diverse Indigenous peoples including the Blackfoot Nations (Piikani [Peigan], Kainai [Blood], and Siksika [Blackfoot]) and the Tsuu T'ina. This area was also traditionally used by by the K'tunaxa (Kootenay) people, who now reside in southeastern British Columbia.
THE CROWSNEST PASS ECOMUSEUM TRUST SOCIETY
The Crowsnest Pass EcoMuseum Trust Society is a not for profit, incorporated, registered charity under the Societies Act of Alberta. The organization was established in 1986, with its main project being the Bellevue Underground Mine.
The Bellevue Mine Tunnel is a designated Alberta Historical Site.
In 1990 the EcoMuseum opened the re-timbered first 300 meters of the underground mine.