The pass is located in Banff National Park, between Mount Conway and Howse Peak.

The pass was used by First Nations people such as the Kootenay to the west and Peigan to the east.

In 1806 two men from Rocky Mountain House cut a rough road from the Howse River toward the pass.

It was named for Joseph Howse, a Hudson's Bay Company factor who crossed it later, in 1809.

There has been some talk of building a road through the pass from Saskatchewan River Crossing to Golden, British Columbia, but this would involve cutting through the national park.