Horseback Riding in the Canadian Rockies

Banff National Park offers some of the best horseback riding opportunities in the Canadian Rockies. Banff Trail Riders is the longest-operating guiding company in the park, founded 1923. It runs more than 15 different ride options from their corrals near the Cave and Basin National Historic Site. From one-hour introductory rides to multi-day backcountry journeys to Sundance Lodge.

Banff Trail Riders

Banff

Bow Lake sits along the Icefields Parkway at roughly the midpoint between Lake Louise and the Columbia Icefield. Nearby stables provide access to scenic rides through the Bow Valley backcountry and along the shoreline of one of the most photographed lakes in the Canadian Rockies, through old-growth forest and open subalpine terrain with glacier-fed water and surrounding peaks throughout.

Icefields Parkway

Bow Lake

Canmore is the ideal base for guests who want to ride without traveling into Banff National Park. Cross Zee Ranch is Canmore's dedicated equestrian outfitter, with guided trail rides through the foothills and benchlands on the edge of town. It has stunning views of the Three Sisters, Ha Ling Peak, and the Bow Valley below. No Parks Canada vehicle reservation or park pass required.

Cross Zee Ranch

Canmore

Lake Minnewanka is the largest lake in Banff National Park. Horseback rides in this area follow the lake's northern shoreline through the Palliser Range foothills, with the front ranges rising on both sides and the lake stretching east toward the mountains that mark the edge of the Prairies. The terrain is more open and exposed than the Banff townsite rides.

Banff National Park

Lake Minnewanka

Timberline Tours operates guided horseback rides in the Lake Louise area with access to high-alpine terrain and backcountry routes that put riders above the treeline into one of the most dramatic landscapes in the national park system. Rides range from short introductory loops accessible to beginners to full-day backcountry trips above Lake Louise, where the trail network once served pack trains supplying mountain huts.

Timberline Tours

Lake Louise

The Nakiska area in Kananaskis Country, site of the alpine events at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics, offers horseback riding through the Kananaskis Valley with the front ranges providing a dramatic backdrop. Outfitters access trail networks through mixed forest and open benchland, with ride options from beginner-friendly one-hour loops to half-day routes. No national park access fee required.

Kananaskis Country

Nakiska and Kananaskis

Jasper is Canada's largest mountain national park at over 10,878 square kilometres, and the horseback riding reflects that scale. Guided rides run through the Athabasca River valley with views of Mount Edith Cavell, along old-growth forest and open benchland routes. Options range from short loops near town to multi-day backcountry trips into the park's interior. The atmosphere is quieter and more remote than Banff.

Jasper National Park

Jasper

The Fernie area offers horseback riding through a mix of ranch country, forested ridge terrain, and river valley bottomland distinct from the tight mountain corridors on the Alberta side. Outfitters run guided trail rides from working ranch bases, with access to terrain spanning gentle beginner routes to longer half-day rides. A strong option for groups combining a rafting day on the Elk River with a riding day.

Elk Valley

Fernie

Golden sits in the Rocky Mountain Trench, a broad interior valley between the Rockies to the east and the Purcell Range to the west and the horseback riding takes advantage of that distinctive open landscape. Outfitters run guided trail rides through benchland, mixed forest, and river valley terrain with views of two separate mountain ranges simultaneously.

Rocky Mountain Trench

Golden

Invermere and the Columbia Valley are known for warm climate, open terrain, and the Columbia Wetlands wildlife corridor. Outfitters run guided trail rides through open benchland and mixed forest with views of the Purcell and Rocky Mountain ranges on both sides of the valley. The Columbia Wetlands below are a Ramsar-designated international wetland, and riding near the valley floor gives a different perspective on the wildlife-rich corridor.

Columbia Valley

Invermere

The Kicking Horse area combines resort-level accessibility with the scale of a genuine wilderness setting. Outfitters access trail networks through the Columbia Valley and the lower slopes of the Rocky Mountains, with the Purcell Range visible across the trench to the west. For guests using the resort as a base, pairing a riding day with a gondola ride to the Eagle's Eye summit creates a complete mountain day.

Kicking Horse Resort

Kicking Horse

Panorama Mountain Resort sits at one of the highest base elevations of any resort in the Canadian Rockies, and the horseback riding near the resort accesses terrain that reflects that altitude. Guided trail rides move through old-growth forest and open ridge terrain above the Toby Creek valley, with the Purcell and Rocky Mountain ranges visible from multiple points along the route.

Panorama Mountain Resort

Panorama

Revelstoke is best known for its ski vertical and its gondola, but the surrounding terrain, old-growth interior rainforest, open mountain benchland, and the broad Columbia Valley also supports a distinctive horseback riding experience. The riding here feels more remote and less polished than the resort-corridor operations further east, which suits the overall character of Revelstoke as a destination that rewards guests who go a little further.

Revelstoke, BC

Revelstoke