Calgary and Banff – Day 2 can be found here.
Another relaxed start to the day, waking up at 8 am.
The main event – a two hour horseback riding trip into Banff national park – isn’t until 12:30 pm today, so we found a hiking trail that connected to the Hidden Ridge Resort.
We had no particular destination in mind. We were simply going to stretch our legs after back-to-back travel days.
But we soon learned that even ordinary hikes in Banff are extraordinary:
The highlight – we discovered a mother deer and her babies right next to the path:
We were careful to give them as much room as we could as we passed by, and headed deeper into the forest:
Back to our condo for a quick lunch, and then we headed off for our horseback ride at Banff Trail Riders.
They offer a range of different day rides, ranging from one to four hours. They’re closing at the end of the Thanksgiving weekend, so the longest ride available was 2 hours.
Those more adventurous can also opt for 2 to 6 day overnight rides deep into the back country, which stay at mountain lodges along the way.
Advance reservations are strongly recommended even for the hourly rides – one potential guest tried to show up the day-of, and was told that there were no bookings to be had.
I was somewhat trepidatious about the ride as it’d been about a week-and-a-half since my horse got spooked during a riding lesson, dropping me to the ground in the process. I’d gotten some nasty scrapes that required antibiotics to treat, and still hadn’t entirely healed back up.
Thankfully, the horses at Banff Trail Riders were very well behaved and not at all skittish.
And we got some absolutely tremendous views:
Along the way, we passed a hot springs in which the Banff Springs Snails continue to live. These snails are extremely sensitive to the lotions, deodorant and perfumes that people wear, and as a result no one can so much as dip a finger in the hot springs. Violators can potentially be fined up to CAD$50,000 (USD$37,000).
The guides also told us about The Boss, Banff’s dominant grizzly bear. Facts about The Boss read like Chuck Norris jokes – the Boss has been hit by a train twice, once ate a black bear, and fathered 70% of the cubs currently in the park. (Presumably not all on the same weekend.)
For those wondering how a grizzly might get hit by a train – the grain cars will often spill onto the tracks, and that grain will eventually ferment. The Boss has developed a taste for such alcoholic treats, thereby putting him in harm’s way.
During one of the backcountry rides, Banff Trail Riders spotted The Boss on their chosen path. While normally a long line of horses would be enough to send most bears off a trail, not so for The Boss – he continued on his merry way, and it was the riders who had to double back.
(Visitors are advised to not seek out The Boss, and to stay at least 100 metres away in the event of an unexpected encounter. In general, people are advised to make noise, stay in big crowds, carry bear spray, watch for fresh bear signs, keep dogs on a leash, stay on official trails and immediately leave the area and report to park staff if you come across a large dead animal.)
Our ride continued, and we diverged from the Bow River to head up into the foothills. It was a steep climb, but the horses handled it brilliantly.
Then down on a different trail, and back to the ranch. It was a great trail ride – and two hours was just the right length for myself and my son. (My wife and daughter, on the other hand, are already looking at multi-day rides for 2026.)
We went back to the condo for a power nap and some downtime, and then headed into town for a bit. We’d debated taking the bus into town, but decided to drive instead.
There isn’t a ton of parking, but we managed to find a parkade with some room. Not cheap at $7 / hour or $30 / day maximum, but we’re not opposed to paying a bit more to maximize our holiday and minimize inconvenience.
The sidewalks were thronged with shoppers, which was one of the first signs of how busy Banff would be this Thanksgiving weekend. Fortunately, we were avoiding most of the tourist haunts in favour of trying to find outdoor gear for the kids. (Though we did make an obligatory stop at The Fudgery.)
We picked up some nice wool shirts for our son at Fjallraven but unfortunately didn’t find anything for our daughter – despite stopping at Patagonia, Columbia, North Face and Smart Wool. Apparently there are better options in Canmore, though I doubt we’ll stop on our way back – too much else to do, particularly with various family Thanksgiving events.
We then went off for a steak dinner at Bluebird. To drink, my wife and I each had an elderflower spritz:
For appetizers, we had the maple bacon and cheese doughnuts with onions:
Cheese doughnuts – tastier than they sound
For the meal, my son had the double cheeseburger:
My wife had the 6 ounce tenderloin:
And my daughter and I split the 14 ounce ribeye with cheesy mashed potatoes:
All very tasty. And much more reasonably priced than some of the other steakhouses in the area, one of which wanted CAD$72 for a striploin! Without sides! Scandalous.
Back to our vehicle, where we were pleasantly surprised to find that parking ‘only’ came to $21. Not cheap, but worth it given that it was late and we wanted to get the kids to bed.
Back to the condo where we roasted some S’mores, then sent the kids off to bed so my wife and I could enjoy a roaring fire and a glass of wine.
Continue reading Calgary and Banff – Day 4.