Premiere & Casual Hotels*
Accommodations may vary based on departure date. Any difference from what is listed below can be found by clicking on your desired date on the View Scheduled Dates or Private Dates tabs.
The Rimrock Resort Hotel
Banff (1 night)
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)
Post Hotel
Lake Louise (2 nights)
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)
Emerald Lake Lodge
Yoho National Park (2 nights)
* Casual Hotel
A secluded turn-of-the-century lodge, built of hand-hewn timber and featuring simple cabins nestled in the woods above a spectacular tree-rimmed glacial lake.
This Trip Is Rated Levels 2-4
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.
Daily Route Options (drag to see full )
| Daily Route Options |
| 1 |
Biking |
7* |
200 |
21 |
1000 |
29 |
1600 |
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|
| Biking |
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|
37 |
2600 |
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|
| 2 |
Biking |
11* |
500 |
|
|
39 |
2000 |
45 |
2600 |
|
|
| Biking |
18* |
800 |
|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
| Walking/Hiking |
1 |
100 |
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| 3 |
Walking/Hiking |
|
|
7 |
1200 |
8 |
1900 |
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| Kids |
Rock Climbing (5 Hours) |
| 4 |
Walking/Hiking |
4 |
400 |
4 |
700 |
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| 5 |
Rafting |
on the Kicking Horse River (5 Hours) |
| 6 |
Walking/Hiking |
3 |
200 |
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Note:
Most activities on this trip take place at elevations of 3,000–6,000 feet, which can make the routes feel more challenging than the mileage may suggest.
* Includes shuttle.
Learn more about how we determine our activity level 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.
Meals
All breakfasts, 6 lunches, 5 dinners
Available Bike Options
The key to a stellar day’s ride is a bike that’s perfectly in tune with your cycling style… Backroads has you covered with the best bike fleet in the world! Read on for your available bike options for this trip.
Backroads Titanium Bikes (Included in your trip price)
Our custom-built titanium bikes are specially designed for you—and we offer different models for varied terrain so your bike is ideally suited to the region. Our custom-made bikes are included in your trip price.
Touring Bike (Included)
Custom Kids Bikes (Included in your trip price)
Backroads is the only travel company to manufacture its own line of kid's bikes. While the wheels might be small, the performance is big—it's the perfect choice for kids. On all Backroads Family Trips, you'll find 20" and 24" bicycles for the younger set. They say good things come in small packages; when it comes to bikes for kids of all ages, Backroads is the expert.
Custom Kids Bikes (Included)
Burley Kazoo trailer bike (Included in your trip price)
The Burley Kazoo trailer bike, for children up to 85 pounds, attaches to an adult bike with your child providing some of the pedal power for a real team effort! It's ideal for kids who may be comfortable pedaling around the neighborhood but aren't yet ready for bike touring.
Burley Cub trailer (Included)
Burley Cub trailer (Included in your trip price)
The Burley Cub trailer, for one or two children 60 pounds and under, is sturdy carrier that attaches to our bikes. It provides a comfortable and safe ride in the spacious interior with inner pockets for snacks and drinks, a reclining seat with a secure five point padded harness system and an adjustable sunscreen.
Burley Cub trailer
Also Included
- Expertise and services of our experienced Trip Leaders
- Snacks and beverages between meals
- Additional guides and experts from the region on many trips
- Van shuttles to support a variety of route options
- Comprehensive Travel Planner with detailed pre-trip information
- Private guided tours at museums, historic sites, wineries and other select attractions as noted in the Travel Planner
- All gratuities at hotels and restaurants
- Special events, including wine tastings and other select attractions as mentioned in the Travel Planner
- On biking and multi-adventure trips, use of fully equipped Backroads titanium bike plus helmet and accessories
- Trailercycles, carriers, and kid-sized helmets for Family Trips
- Equipment and experienced guides for kayaking, rafting, snorkeling, sailing and canoeing as described
- Park and other entry fees
- Fares for trains, ferries and other modes of travel as listed in the Travel Planner
- Select coach transfers
- Baggage transfers and porterage
Get the Straight Talk about This Trip
We want to make sure you're on the right trip and that you have the best experience possible. Every Backroads trip is unique and this one is no exception.
Accommodations
This trip includes the historic Emerald Lake Lodge, where guest rooms are clean and comfortable, but simpler than the typical Backroads standard. We've chosen this property because of its proximity to our favorite routes and the fantastic setting. Please note that the guest rooms are not equipped with televisions or air-conditioning.
Why Travel with Backroads in Canadian Rockies
We've Been Waiting for You
After exploring these mountains for more than three decades, many of us now live among them. Backroads Regional Manager Alison Iles, who raised her kids in Banff, not only designed many of our Rockies trips but has also served on park development committees and chaired both the Interpretive Guides Association and the Heritage Tourism Association. Having helped set the standards for all travel in the region, she knows how to ensure our trips exceed all expectations.
A New Peak in Hospitality
We've been bringing Backroads guests to the Post Hotel & Spa in Lake Louise since the early 1980s, and over the years we've built a great friendship with George and André Schwarz, the Swiss-born brothers who've made it a Canadian Rockies landmark. You and your family can count on a warm welcome as you ride up to this Relais & Châteaux lodge – especially from André, a renowned ski instructor who's joined us on several biking trips around the world.
Get the Most Out of Each Day
Coordinating multiple activities throughout a single day can be tricky, but with Backroads you'll never know it. When you explore Canadian Rockies with us, you switch activities seamlessly without missing a beat. We invented the multi-adventure concept, and we're constantly adding new dimensions and fine-tuning the experience to make it even more enjoyable.
Leaders Focused on Families
When everyone's together, there's lots going on; and when kids' and adults' priorities diverge, it can seem like two different trips. That's why our Family Adventures in Canadian Rockies have three Trip Leaders—including a dedicated Kids Activity Expert who regularly takes younger travelers off to do their own thing. Other companies try to get by with two leaders; we step up and do it right. For more on our family focus, check this out.
A Second Van When You Need It
Backroads is the only active travel company providing two support vans in Canadian Rockies—because we know it's essential to ensure a truly great travel experience. It doubles our ability to be there when you need us to offer hydration, lighten your load or give you a lift if it's time to take a break. Read more on why two vans make all the difference.
We Invented the Multi-Adventure Trip
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.
Plenty of Kids on Your Trip
It may be hard to imagine being on a family trip with no other families on it—but it happens regularly with some companies. On a Backroads Family Adventure there are typically several families on each departure, creating more opportunities for your kids to make new friends as they try fun things together – which is a big part of the experience.
Everyone at Their Own Pace
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.
Time Together, Time Apart
Backroads is the leader in designing trips that ensure everyone, young and young-at-heart alike, has an amazing time. Your Backroads Family Adventure balances family activities with diversions designed exclusively for the kids—giving the adults a welcome break from making decisions, other than choosing whether to explore a few more miles or just enjoy each other's company. A family vacation where everyone gets to relax, recharge and have fun – what a concept!
The Best Leaders in Canadian Rockies
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.
We Know Our Neighbours Well
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.
We've Set the Standard
For nearly four decades we've worked to earn and maintain our right to call Backroads the world's #1 active travel company. In pursuing that vision on behalf of our guests, we believe we've set the standard for our industry—captured in the Backroads Quality Guide, which clearly sets out the benchmarks of excellence, choice and support that we live by
Tweens, Teens and the Rest
The activities on Backroads Family Adventures are designed with all of you in mind. We've got easier routes designed for younger kids' abilities – and attention spans—and great longer options scaled to fit the tastes and energy levels of tweens, teens and adults. To narrow down the best choices for your family, take a look at our age guidelines.
Your Trip Will Run. Period.
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.
