Highway 20 begins Highway 11 and travels north for 4 km (2 mi) along the east side of the town of Sylvan Lake to a roundabout with Highway 11A.[1] It continues for 16 km (10 mi) to Highway 12 in Bentley, passing the southeastern shore of Sylvan Lake at Jarvis Bay as well as the Jarvis Bay Provincial Park. It intersects Highway 771 2 km (1 mi) north of Bentley, which provides access to the west side of Gull Lake and Parkland Beach, and travels for 21 km (13 mi) in a northwesterly direction to Rimbey; Highway 20 bypasses Rimbey while Highway 20A is a business route through the town and connects with Highway 53 west. Highway 20 proceeds another 3 km (2 mi) before reconnecting with Highway 20A, and travels another 2 km (1 mi) to Highway 53 east, where it heads east towards Ponoka.[1]
Highway 20 continues north for 9 km (6 mi) to Bluffton where Highway 607 branches off to the west, another 13 km (8 mi) north to Hoadley where Highway 611 branches off to the east, and another 15 km (9 mi) north to Winfield where it crosses Highway 13. From Winfield, the highway continues north for 17 km (11 mi) to Breton where it crosses Highway 616 before it travels another 17 km (11 mi) north Alsike where it ends at Highway 39.[1][3]
History
Highway 20 was originally a short, 16 km (10 mi) long highway that ran from Highway 11 in Sylvan Lake to the Highway 12 / Highway 51 intersection in Bentley. From this intersection, Highway 12 continued north to Rimbey, Breton, and Alsike. In the mid-1980s, when Highway 11 was realigned to bypass Sylvan Lake, Highway 20 was extended 4 km (2 mi) to the south to connect with the new alignment. In January 1988, the 90 km (56 mi) section of Highway 12 between Bentley and Alsike was redesignated as Highway 20, while Highway 51 was decommissioned and redesignated as the new western section of Highway 12.[4]
Alberta Provincial Highway No. 20A is the designation of a 3.2 km (2.0 mi) alternate route off Highway 20 serving the Town of Rimbey. It starts within Rimbey at Highway 53 and ends 1.6 km (1.0 mi) to the north at Highway 20.[2][7]
Hwy 11 near Sylvan Lake
Hwy 39 in Alsike
