Horse riding in Banff: Banff Trail Riders Review


The pistol is a horse with its own mind. When I was presented for the first time at the start of our riot of adventure in Banff with Banff Trail Riders, I joked laughing: “So pistol is a pistol?” Referring to when the term is used to describe someone fiery. Reassured that the pistol was actually quite docile, I expected an easy driving.

But as I said, Pistol has his own mind. And, apparently, she felt disdained towards walking in the mud. Not that I blame him. After 17 days of rain in July, the mud was deep and I was happy to be at the top of the horse and not the one that crossed it.

Throughout our hour-long guided horse ride on the way to the cowboy barbecue, Pistol continued to try to leave the trail to find a higher ground, despite my diligent attempts to keep the horse on the task and follow the instructions of our wrestlers.

In addition, she had a sixth sense on each time I took out my camera for a quick blow from the magnificent Bow river and I take this opportunity to go down again. Finally, one of the Wranglers conceded that I was doing my best and allowed me to let it be.

Despite my stubborn horse and we are rainy, we still enjoyed our trail tour and our cowboy barbecue, but read the rest for our complete Banff Riders review.

Banff riding along the Bow River
Roll along the Bow river

Despite my frequent altercations with pistol, with me trying to use the reins to keep it on the way and its attempts to brush myself by scraping the trees along the path, I was happy to explore this section of Banff via on horseback. Looking towards my daughter’s back, swinging from top to bottom as she went up her much more docile courier, Cisco, my heart was full.

Our mother-daughter trips are to share the things she loves together. And since our time at the Nine Quarter Circle Dude Ranch in Montana, she wanted to add horse riding to our travel routes. See other ideas on Things to do in Banff.

When planning our vacation to Canadian rocks, I looked for opportunities to include horse riding and when I crossed the options of Banff Trail RidersIt seemed to be the perfect cut. (Note: our trail journey was complementary in exchange for honest criticism. All opinions are mine.)

Banff Trail Riders Review

Cisco meeting at Warner Stables in Banff
Cisco meeting

Banff’s trails runners offer everything from a trail or four -hour trips or a horse ride that ends with a barbecue. You can also spend the night at the isolated Sundance Lodge and arrive via HorseBack.

We opted for the three -hour evening trip along the Bow River plus the barbecue steak barbecue. It gave us a lot of time during the day to enjoy other activities in Banff and we made sure that we did not need to understand where to dine that evening.

The path of the path left at 5 p.m., but we had to be at the Grange of the Warner stables at 4.30 p.m. to record it, sign our derogations, get our helmets and meet our horses. We then left on an easy one hour race along the Bow-Blue Glacial River. We have gone through the hot natural sulfur sources which arise from the cave and the historic basin – the birthplace of the Canada National Parks system.

Cowboy Cookout Horse and Wagon
Cowboy Cookout Horse and Wagon

We then went to the woods towards our meeting point in the 3 -thousand cabin to enjoy a real Western hospitality! Here we met those who chose to take a walk in a covered trolley on the barbecue.

Since we gave our steak orders when we registered, we had to wait until a few minutes after our arrival to sit down to our hearty. The steak was perfectly toasted and we filled our belly with a traditional steak cowboy meal, oven potatoes, beans and Caesar salad. With everything we barely had room for dessert!

Steaks on cowboy barbecue grill
Steaks on cowboy barbecue grill

After dinner, there was time to enjoy the campfire and play Western style games, such as Lassoing and Horse irons. Unfortunately, Mother Nature did not quite cooperate and he started to rain while we stood for the return. Fortunately, the rain did not last all hour, just long enough to soak up our jeans (note to oneself – bring rain pants!)

The luminous side was really the rainbow that we saw on the rocky mountains at the end of our return hour and the Wapitis that grazed next to the path.

Horse riding in Banff
Return to stables

Despite the weather, we both really enjoyed our experience with Banff Trail Riders. The food was much better than what I expected and it added something unique and fun to our path. In fact, I think this option was the best choice because it really made it possible to maximize our time in Banff.

Stinging advice in Banff

If you plan to go and go on horseback in Banff National Park, here are some tips to keep in mind:

  • The walks in trails leave the rain or the shine, so be prepared with appropriate equipment or wait to book until you see the forecasts and hope there is still space;
  • Closed -end shoes such as hiking boots or good sneakers, as well as comfortable long pants (ideally resistant to bad weather) are recommended;
  • Spray with an insectifuge as soon as you arrive – these horses attract flies;
  • Wear / bring sunglasses, even for the evening ride;
  • You may want to wear a shirt or a vest with a pocket large enough to adapt securely to your mobile phone if you want to take photos along the way;
  • Use the bathroom in the stables before leaving and suck it and use the outbuildings on the barbecue site, otherwise the junk walk can make you regret;
  • On this note, bring a disinfectant for the hands;
  • You can save money if you book online in advance.
Bow River and Mountains in Banff

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Horse riding in Banff, Alberta, Canada with Banff Trail Riders

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