Glacier National Park to Banff, Canada – 2023

Day 1: The #1 top ride in North America, a fantastic day riding up to Logan Pass, Continental Divide

We started the day from Whitefish, MT. After a 3-hour shuttle traversing the continental divide to our starting point within the park, we had lunch and started up with a fair amount of headwind. Since the speed limit is 30 within the park and we were riding up the eastern side, the impact from the cars was minimal. Sixteen of the nineteen people on this trip were eBikes, so I went from being in the front of the Backroads crew to being towards the back now. We rode up to the Logan Pass visitor center and then back down past our starting point to our hotel for the evening.

Distance 30.54 mi
Elev Gain 2,740 ft
Time 2h 54m

Day 2: O Canada: St Mary’s Village to Watertown Lakes, hotel to hotel, bear sightings and fierce winds. Border crossing on bike

Today was the Queen stage with a hotel-to-hotel ride across the Canadian border. We rode early and faced fierce winds until we got to lunch across the border. Super fun to cross with your passport in your jersey pocket. On the way to Watertown Lakes, a Canadian provincial park, I got to see a bear eating berries alongside the road. Folks called it a cinnamon bear which is a brown black bear. The Watertown provincial park and Glacier together are managed as a single unit across country borders. The end of the ride was a hotel that is modeled after a Scottish castle on a hill.

Distance 47.91 mi
Elev Gain 3,450 ft
Time 4h 14m

Day 3: Over the Continental Divide, Highwood Pass to Kananaskis, Canada

Today was the Kind stage, a long ride with plenty of elevation. The views were spectacular and very remote. Since the ride was huge for the Backroads people, many of my fellow riders, including those on normal human-powered vehicles chose to get shuttle boosts up the final 2000 foot climb to the over 7000ft summit. It was during that stretch that I was riding as the last biker, and the van did check on me once. I felt a bit like I was all by myself with nature. There were cars every 5-10 mins, but still it was exhilarating. I did tell the last backroads staff to not forget about me. Once at the top a fire broke out over the ridge line and that was some foreshadowing as the fires and smoke had not been an impact up to now. The descent was long with poor road quality so I took my time, and got to see some sheep as I approached Kananaskis. Again another hotel on a 300 foot hill at the end of the ride.

Distance 57.56 mi
Elev Gain 4,125 ft
Time 5h 1m

Day 4: Canmore to Banff via Lake Minnewanka and Tunnel Mountain

Today was a bit of a lighter day after yesterday’s monumental ride. It started for me with a morning walk around all of the hotel viewpoints and then an organized hike to Troll falls. Only one other biker showed up with me for that hike. Most everyone else was having a slow morning. After a short shuttle and a gourmet lunch at a bistro we did our route wrap (which is where the Backroads staff explains the ride with either a chalkboard or a 3d map on the group built by a variety of cool props. And then it was off along the Trans Canadian Highway bike trail to our Banff hotel the majestic Fairmont Springs. We did go via Lake Minnewank and Tunnel Mountain. A great recovery day in anticipation of our last day biking.

Distance 29.28 mi
Elev Gain 1,693 ft
Time 2h 22m

Day 5: Bow Valley Parkway, Banff to Lake Louise

Today we rode the famous Bow Valley Parkway to a staging point below Lake Louise, since we cannot ride up there as a group. Beautiful ride along the parkway, and then the crowds at Lake Louise. After we got back to our hotel, I did the next day short ride so that I would be able to catch a bus out to Calgary.