It's good to feel small. Among these mountains that loom so large. Hike and bike with your family in vast U-shaped valleys. Stare in awe at dramatic waterfalls. Gaze down on fast-flowing rivers and grand lakes in turquoise shades. You may feel dwarfed by this grandeur, but far from insignificant because you're in it and part of it. Small is beautiful here.
Day 1 Sensational views of Mount Rundle and Cascade Mountain are yours to admire as you bike to Lake Minnewanka | Options abound today—pedal up to a lookout on Mount Norquay for breathtaking vistas of the Banff townsite, the surrounding Rockies and the expansive Bow Valley, or shop in the picturesque resort town of Banff.
Day 2 Take a morning spin amid towering peaks, virgin forests and the blue-green Bow River | Keep an eye out along the way for wildlife | Hike through Johnston Canyon to a series of stunning waterfalls | Back on your bike, point your wheels toward Lake Louise, where dinner at the Post Hotel adds an elegant flourish to the day.
Day 3 Embark on a classic Rockies trek to the historic Plain of Six Glaciers Teahouse | As you gaze at the stunning panorama of glaciers and vertical peaks, you may spot mountain goats or hear the thunderclap of ice avalanching from the hanging Victoria Glacier | Join local bear expert and researcher Colleen Campbell for “Bear Biology 101.”
Days 4-6 Raft on the Kicking Horse River—a splashing good time! | Dazzling views of glaciated peaks await at the top of your hike to Sentinel Pass | Walk to beautiful Sherbrooke Lake | From the base of Takakkaw Falls, hike to Yoho Lake, nestled deep in Yoho Pass.
I'm very excited about this addition to our Canadian Rockies lineup, highlighting some of the most incredible scenic wonders of Banff and Yoho National Parks. It offers an unbeatable blend of activities - biking, hiking and river rafting - that let you experience the region's splendor from all perspectives.- Canada
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A grand contemporary lodge on Sulphur Mountain with awe-inspiring views of Bow Valley and the surrounding Rockies. Travel + Leisure World's Best. (pool, spa)
This European-style mountain chalet, set on the Pipestone and Bow Rivers, is the epitome of old-world elegance. Travel + Leisure World's Best. A Relais & Châteaux member. (pool, spa)
The "romantic accommodations are in charmingly rustic and comfortable log cabins tucked among trees along the glacier-fed Kicking Horse River," reports Andrew Harper.
There's no better way to find out about Backroads than by hearing it from the people who have traveled with us. For more about the Backroads Experience, read our Guest Testimonials.
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Comments about Canadian Rockies Family Multi-Adventure Tour � Older Teens & 20s:
I'm very excited about this addition to our Canadian Rockies lineup, highlighting some of the most incredible scenic wonders of Banff and Yoho National Parks. It offers an unbeatable blend of activities - biking, hiking and river rafting - that let you experience the region's splendor from all perspectives.
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The earlier you book, the more choice you'll have and the lower your price. And you can always change your mind—you won't be charged to transfer to a different trip before your final payment is due.
Please click on a date below for specific pricing and possible itinerary variations.
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AVAILABLE TO BOOKi GOING FASTi CONTACT USi PRIVATE TRIP - RESERVEDi
Interested in a Private Trip? Check out the Make It Private tab for private dates available, or call us at 800-462-2848.
Every Backroads trip is designed to appeal to a wide variety of interests and fitness levels. We know your pace may vary from one day to the next—and your traveling companion's may differ somewhat from yours. So we present a range of mileage options, and each day you decide exactly what and how much you want to do.
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| Daily Route Options | |||||||||||
| Day | Activity | EASYGOING | ACTIVE | AVID | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 | Level 5 | |||||||
| miles | feet gain | miles | feet gain | miles | feet gain | miles | feet gain | miles | feet gain | ||
| 1 | Biking | 21* | 1000 | 37 | 2600 | ||||||
| Biking | 29 | 1600 | |||||||||
| 2 | Biking | 18* | 800 | 39 | 2000 | 45 | 2600 | ||||
| Walking/Hiking | 1 | 100 | |||||||||
| 3 | Biking | 9 | 1500 | ||||||||
| Walking/Hiking | 4 | 1500 | 5 | 1800 | 7 | 2400 | |||||
| Other | Interpretive Program with Bear Expert (1 Hour) | ||||||||||
| 4 | Walking/Hiking | 7 | 1200 | 8 | 1900 | ||||||
| 5 | Walking/Hiking | 4 | 700 | ||||||||
| Rafting | on the Kicking Horse River (2 Hours) | ||||||||||
| 6 | Walking/Hiking | 6 | 1100 | 6 | 1600 | ||||||
Note:
* Includes shuttle.
Learn more about how we determine our activity levels and fully support a range of abilities and interests.
Please note that our distance and elevation figures come from Ride with GPS. Other sources (such as Map My Ride and Garmin devices) may give differing elevation figures due to different GPS and mapping technologies. Readings from a Garmin or a smart phone are influenced by other factors such as air pressure.
One of the highlights of our Canadian Rockies adventure is your stay at the Post Hotel & Spa in Lake Louise, the renowned Relais & Châteaux lodge that's hosted Backroads guests for more than 35 years. You can count on a warm welcome from the hotel's Swiss-born owners: André Schwarz, a renowned ski instructor, has enjoyed several Backroads biking trips, while his brother George is a restaurateur who's built one of the finest wine cellars in Canada.
On our Canadian Rockies trips we have an extra leader supporting you along the road and trail—for a total of three, compared to the industry standard two. So we can be in more places at once, giving personal attention to guests traveling at their own pace. Here's more on our Trip Leaders.
Backroads has the best-qualified people to lead your trip in Canadian Rockies, and our guests back that up, rating our Trip Leaders an average of 9.75 out of 10 for all-around quality of performance. Get the facts (and no fluff) on how we recruit and develop the very best people for your trip.
Backroads first headed up to Canada in 1980, when an older Trudeau was prime minister, and we've been exploring its spectacular landscapes ever since. Our leaders are Canadian and many are proud to make their homes in Canadian Rockies—where we offer more trips than any other active travel company and have spent many more years finding the best ones.
Only Backroads offers active trips in Canadian Rockies designed for families with older teens and 20s. These trips are aimed at you and the amazingly grownup members of your clan—whether they're almost high school grads, already in college or further along. Find out more in this blog post.
We design and support our Canadian Rockies trips to suit mixed abilities and varied interests—so you can set your own pace, then change things up as the day unfolds. And all guests are free to do the same, traveling together or apart, with no one cramping anyone else's style. Which sounds easy in theory, but it's hard to pull off. Here's more on how we do it.
In Canadian Rockies you head off each morning after choosing among several expertly designed routes—all with detailed directions, mileage and shuttle options. Unlike trips with one fixed daily route (or worse, one guide that everyone's obliged to follow), you're free to enjoy the best of the region at your pace, stopping wherever you want to explore further.
Since 1979, Backroads Founder and President Tom Hale has shown that staying #1 means constantly evaluating our performance using the best possible source of information: our guests. As we systematically analyze your feedback on our trip consultants, leaders, hotels, meals and on-trip activities, we never stop working to make a great company even better.
After more than 30 years of creating Backroads Multi-Adventures, our trip designers know how to blend the perfect balance of biking and hiking with other activities to showcase the best of a region. And then they arrange the seamless transitions that would be so hard to orchestrate on your own—adding dimensions to your trip that are exciting, inspiring and just plain fun.
Under our Book with Confidence policy, your Backroads trip will run even for a single family of three or four people, subject to a nominal extra fee. Or transfer to another trip, and we'll give you a credit. It's all part of our trademark commitment to treating guests with integrity, transparency and total accountability. Read all the details.
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Gather your favorite people to share a Backroads adventure on a ready-to-book Private Trip - featuring all the legendary Backroads hallmarks from expert leaders to unforgettable activities. You can pick from a large selection of dates for your group of 8 or more. Call us for date availability. If your party has fewer than 8 guests, or if your preferred date is not available, we'll create a departure just for you.
Click on a date below for specific pricing and possible itinerary variations.
8 AVAILABLE TO BOOK FOR 8 OR MORE GUESTS 16 AVAILABLE TO BOOK FOR 16 OR MORE GUESTS RESERVED
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Invite your family and friends on an adventure that's entirely your own - for your group of 8 or more. Find out more
I simply can't imagine a better way to immerse yourself in the life of a region, to explore hidden corners and appreciate nuances while enjoying the benefits and enormous satisfaction of traveling under your own power. These are experiences you cannot have behind the wheel of a car, or on a train or a tour bus. Active travel is, at its heart, a way of connecting more authentically with the world. Sure, Backroads provides amazing leaders, superb accommodations and meals, and opportunities you could never arrange on your own. But all of our comprehensive planning and support is aimed at something far simpler: bringing you the immediate, highly personal satisfaction of discovering a new world on your own terms.
— Tom Hale, Founder & President
