EXPERT TERRAIN. EPIC SUMMERS.
Visit Kicking Horse Mountain Resort
Kicking Horse, British Columbia sits roughly two hours west of Canmore through the Trans-Canada and the Kicking Horse Canyon. The destination has two very different personalities: in winter it is one of North America's steepest ski resorts, with deep powder, long verticals, and a reputation that draws expert skiers from across the continent. In summer it becomes a mountain biking and hiking destination, with the Golden Eagle Express gondola opening the summit terrain to everyone. There is no convenient public transit between Canmore and Kicking Horse. Canmore Travel provides private shuttles and group transfers, handling the mountain driving so you arrive fresh and ready.
Canmore Travel provides private guided tours and transfers to Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. We do not sell tickets to third-party attractions.
What to See and Do at Kicking Horse
Kicking Horse rewards visitors across every season, deep powder in winter, world-class biking and hiking in summer, and the town of Golden year-round.
Skiing and Snowboarding
Kicking Horse Mountain Resort is built around expert terrain. With over 2,800 metres of vertical and some of the driest, deepest powder in the Rockies, it draws serious skiers and riders from across North America. It is not just for experts, there are beginner and intermediate runs too, but the mountain's identity is built on challenge and vertical.
Kicking Horse is consistently ranked among North America's top ski resorts for expert terrain. The resort has over 120 marked runs across four mountain faces, with the vast majority rated black diamond or double black. The infamous CPR Ridge and the Terminator zones sit at the top of the mountain and are accessible via the Golden Eagle Express gondola. On big powder days, the sidecountry gates open access to untouched terrain extending well beyond the marked boundary. The mountain averages over nine metres of snowfall annually, with a typical base depth that keeps the runs skiing well from December through April.
Skiing and Snowboarding
Expert Terrain and Deep Powder
All lift ticket and gondola purchases are made directly at the resort. Canmore Travel handles the transportation.
The Golden Eagle Express gondola carries skiers, riders, and summer visitors from the mid-mountain lodge at 1,310 metres to the summit plateau at 2,450 metres. In winter it is the primary access point for the resort's upper mountain terrain and the Grizzly Bear Alpine Restaurant at the top. In summer the gondola runs as a sightseeing and trail-access lift, depositing hikers and mountain bikers above the treeline with panoramic views of the Rocky Mountains to the east and the Columbia Valley below. The summit restaurant is open in both seasons and offers one of the most dramatic lunch settings in the region.
Skiing and Snowboarding
Golden Eagle Express Gondola
Mountain Biking and Hiking in Summer
When the snow melts, Kicking Horse becomes one of the premier mountain biking destinations in the Canadian Rockies. The resort operates lift-accessed downhill trails from late June through early October, while the surrounding terrain opens up a network of hiking routes ranging from easy valley walks to multi-day backcountry routes.
The Kicking Horse Bike Park uses the same lift infrastructure as the ski resort to deliver riders to the top of the mountain, then sends them down a network of trails that range from wide and flowy beginner descents to narrow, technical expert lines through old-growth forest and open rock faces. The park typically opens in late June when the snow has cleared from the upper trails and runs through early October. Bike rentals and protective gear are available at the resort base if you don't travel with your own kit. The downhill trails drop over 1,000 metres of vertical in a single sustained run, a descent that takes most riders 20 to 40 minutes depending on the line chosen.
Mountain Biking and Hiking
Bike Park and Downhill Trails
Hikers at Kicking Horse have two distinct environments to choose from. The gondola delivers guests to the summit plateau at 2,450 metres, where a network of marked walking trails crosses open alpine terrain with unobstructed views in every direction. At the valley floor, a series of easier trails follows the Kicking Horse River through the canyon, past rapids, and into the Kicking Horse Pedestrian Bridge area, a suspension bridge crossing the river gorge. The canyon trails are accessible without a lift ticket and offer a completely different perspective on the landscape. Both zones are accessible from the same base area at the resort.
Mountain Biking and Hiking
Summit Hiking and Valley Trails
The Golden Eagle Express gondola is required for summit hiking. Valley canyon trails are free to access year-round.
Golden and The Surrounding Area
The town of Golden sits at the confluence of the Kicking Horse and Columbia Rivers, seven kilometres from the ski resort base. It is a genuine mountain town, not a resort village, with a working main street, local restaurants, galleries, and a history rooted in the Canadian Pacific Railway. Most Kicking Horse visitors pass through Golden without stopping; it rewards those who do.
Golden's downtown core along 8th Avenue is compact and walkable, with a mix of outdoor gear shops, local restaurants, galleries, and the Golden Museum documenting the area's CPR and early settler history. The Kicking Horse Culture centre hosts rotating exhibitions of local and regional artists. For food, the town has a handful of well-regarded restaurants drawing on the local outdoor community, typically better quality and considerably less expensive than resort-base dining. It is worth building 60 to 90 minutes into any Kicking Horse trip to walk the main street and get a sense of the place beyond the mountain itself.
Golden and Cultural Sites
Town of Golden
The Kicking Horse River runs through a dramatic canyon below the resort and offers some of the best whitewater rafting in British Columbia. Class III and IV rapids run through the Lower Canyon section, with guided raft trips operating from late May through September out of the Golden base. The canyon is also accessible on foot via the Kicking Horse Pedestrian Bridge, a suspension bridge that crosses the gorge at canyon-floor level and connects two sections of the riverside trail. Even visitors who have no interest in rafting will find the pedestrian bridge a worthwhile 45-minute detour, the gorge is narrow, loud, and genuinely impressive from that vantage point.
Golden and Cultural Sites
Kicking Horse River and Whitewater Rafting
Whitewater rafting tours are booked directly with local operators. Canmore Travel handles the transportation to and from Golden.
When to Visit Kicking Horse
Kicking Horse is a true four-season destination but the experience is very different depending on when you go. Most visitors come for the ski season; summer is increasingly popular and significantly less crowded. Spring and fall offer shoulder-season advantages but some facilities operate on reduced hours or are closed entirely.
Resort fully open. December through March offers the best snow consistency; January and February are typically the driest, coldest months with the best powder conditions. The Trans-Canada Highway to Golden is a mountain highway with regular snow and ice, and avalanche control occasionally causes brief closures. A professional driver handles the mountain highway so you can relax both ways, particularly valuable on tired legs at the end of a ski day.
Winter (December to March)
The resort typically runs through April, sometimes into early May, on the upper mountain. Spring skiing offers warm days, soft afternoon snow, and much smaller crowds. Resort operations scale back toward season end; the bike park and summer facilities are not yet open. Late April is often excellent: sunny days, long light, short lift lines, and powder still accessible in the north-facing terrain.
Spring (April to May)
Gondola opens mid-June. The bike park typically opens late June. Hiking trails are accessible from late June once the upper mountain snow clears. Warm and dry conditions throughout. Whitewater season on the Kicking Horse River peaks in June and July with snowmelt runoff. Summer at Kicking Horse is dramatically less crowded than winter, and weekdays are particularly quiet on the mountain.
Summer (June to September)
Bike park closes in October. Resort ski season typically opens mid-November depending on snowfall. Larch colour in the nearby backcountry peaks in late September. Golden and the valley floor are beautiful in fall foliage. Mountain facilities operate on reduced or closed schedules in October and early November. The drive through the Kicking Horse Canyon in fall colour is worth the trip even before ski season opens.
Fall (October to November)
Ready to Visit Kicking Horse?
Canmore Travel provides private shuttles and transfers from convenient pickup locations across Canmore, Harvie Heights, and Banff. We handle the Trans-Canada mountain highway both ways, so you can focus on the ski day, the bike park, or the river, not the road.
