The Bicycle Adventure Club - Come Ride With Us!

Canadian Rockies and Undiscovered Foothills

July 15th to July 28th

Ride Director: Joan Bricker
Ride Co-Director: Gordon Jones
Ride Driver: Fred Hughes
Report by: Rose Hewig

The Canadian Rockies and Undiscovered Foothills tour travels through the foothills of Alberta and into the Canadian Rockies through Kananaskis County.

Our two-week adventure began in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Our first day of riding took us from Calgary to Bragg Creek in 61 miles, about half of which we rode south on the pristine Bow River and Nose Creek bike trails, by which traveled along the blue-green waters of the Bow River.  After a brief stop in Downtown Calgary and across the Peace Bridge, we headed due west to our serene and rustic log cabin lodging of Folk Tree Lodge in Bragg Creek for a two-night stay.  We enjoyed a delicious and plentiful barbeque dinner prepared by our tour leaders.

Our second day in Bragg Creek presented the option of a 48-mile loop ride to Elbow Creek and Forget-Me-Not Pond - a challenging ride which presented magnificent views of the mountains, rushing waters of the streams, and placid ponds.  After a lovely dinner at a local restaurant, we headed back to the lodge where we received training from a National Park official on wildlife encounters and use of bear spray.

The next day, our route took us 41 miles south to Longview in Foothills County for a one-night stay.  From here, the next morning, we launched our 81-mile epic ride up and over scenic Highwood Pass into Kananaskis County.  At 7,148 feet, Highwood Pass is the highest paved road in Canada. On our route up the climb, we encountered docile Rocky Mountain Sheep congregating in the road, somewhat oblivious and certainly unimpressed by us cyclists.  A tandem couple in our group encountered, albeit at a safe distance, a mama bear with two cubs, of which they were fortunate enough to get a photo.  From the summit, we descended into Kananaskis Village for a two-night stay.  Kananaskis Village is a great spot to spend a rest day, with walkway paths, shops, restaurants, access to hikes, all with Mt. Kidd in the background.  Some folks in our group chose to hike or walk, while others chose ride the optional route back up the pass toward Kananaskis High Lakes.

From Kananaskis Village, we rode 60 miles to Banff to the Rimrock Resort Hotel for another two-night stay. Our route to Banff took us along Tunnel Mountain Road, the Trans Canada Highway, and the Banff Legacy Bike Trail, all of which provided spectacular views of the mountains and waterways.  We enjoyed an elegant group dinner at the hotel restaurant, the Primrose. The next day presented numerous options to see the area; a bike route to tour Banff, Gondola ride, or several walking or hiking activities. 

From Banff, we cycled 40 miles on the beautiful tree-lined Bow Valley Parkway to Lake Louise Village.  Once we arrived in Lake Louise Village, we cycled an additional 20-mile loop to visit iconic Lake Louise and Moraine Lake.  The magnificent scenery we encountered on the ride was second only to the natural beauty of the two lakes.

For the last few days of our trip, our tour leaders had to alter our itinerary due to wildfires in Jasper National Park, which was our next destination.  Instead, we cycled 50-miles from Lake Louis Village to Golden, British Columbia, where we stayed for two nights, during which time our trip leaders expertly made alternate route and lodging arrangements for our group.  Due to highway closures as a result of the wildfires, we rode back to Lake Louise Village, where we were bussed back to Calgary for the last day of our tour.  Then next day in Calgary, our tour leaders provided a new route option to explore areas in Calgary we had not ridden during our first day of touring.

In summary, this was a spectacular tour, complete with amazing scenery, challenging climbs, and distinctive lodging that ran the gamut from rustic and charming to upscale and elegant.  Our tour leaders were exceptional in that they were able to manage the tour amidst a intense wildfire situation that impacted the ending days of our tour, and did so with our safety and enjoyment intact.  I definitely plan to return to this exquisite area again in the future.