Alberta Trail Riding: You're in Horse Country!
If you like to accomplish things, horseback trail riding in Alberta and its western cousins, cattle drives, do pose some interesting and rewarding challenges.
“We had three fellows from the West Coast come to participate in one of our cattle drives,” says LeAnne Lane, owner of Willow Lane Ranch. “We were talking at the supper table and telling them what to expect and I explained: ‘You have to ride far up into the trees to get the cows out.’ And the guy from Vancouver looks at me and asks: ‘How high up those trees can they climb?’”
Now that’s an achievement. In Alberta’s cowboy country, when it comes to pushing yourself to your limits, anything’s possible. Almost. Extricating cows from trees, though…well, you’d be blazing a new trail and definitely receiving free rounds at the local saloon. It might help if you’re riding Pegasus.
If you like to get out and achieve something on your holiday, the word “braggable” – hey, look what I did that I bet you didn’t – likely ranks high in your personal vocabulary.
There’s no doubt that trail riding is a braggable commodity. The longer and higher the trail, the more you can brag to whoever will listen about what you’ve accomplished. And believe me, if you go on a horse packing trip of even a few days, you’re probably entitled to brag. If you’ve heard of “earning the vertical,” which is a term for the arduous, step-by-step conquering of a mountain before being able to ski down, then “earning the hurtable” describes what you might feel like if you’ve ridden long and hard in the saddle on challenging terrain.
I did a two-day trip some time ago with Lazy H Trail Co. near Cochrane and it’s seared into my memory (and, I’m sorry to say, my buttocks) as if with a smoking branding iron. That program was originally designed for the British Army Adventure Training Unit in Canada. At the end, I slipped whimpering from my horse to the ground, like the obligatory whipped rider in a Clint Eastwood movie, who is always sent as a bad omen to the horrified townsfolk. (“Anybody else man enough to try this?”) I’d never ridden a horse, and while I thought I was in great shape, I was humbled by the experience. But, sadly, I continue to brag about it, as you’ve just learned.
If you want to try something new – whether it’s a full-on six-day pack trip or just an hour-long, scenic mosey – trail riding is a blast. Alberta has trails and terrain to suit every skill level. And you can get some great deals with the Travel Alberta Holiday Card.
Trails Challenge: Insider’s View
To give you an insider’s view of some prime Alberta trails, we asked the outfitters and guides to choose a horseback riding trail in their region, then describe what you’d see and experience on it. Here’s a sneak peek (all trails include beginners to expert).
Horseback Riding Trail, Edmonton
Bill Wesson, owner of Lost Guide Tours, which operates out of Edmonton and tours southwest of Rocky Mountain House, describes the “Lost Guide Lake” trail, which is part of a six-day tour for beginners to experts. This particular trail ride is five hours, return.
“Our base camp is on Ranger Creek, a tributary to the Ram. Going to Lost Guide Lake, the day begins with coffee and food, then we bring the horses in off the meadow right in front of the camp, saddle up and ride across a bench with meadows and wildflowers and onto Ranger Creek.
We ride up Ranger Creek for about one hour and cut up into the timber, up through a draw, continually climbing to reach the alpine meadows. Then we walk across the alpine meadows and there’s elk and deer, and it takes about another hour to get up through the timber to the alpine meadow. About a half hour walk across the alpine meadow and you can overlook an emerald lake with sheer cliffs falling into it. We tie up our horses at Lost Guide Lake, and the traditional lunch is a bagel, smoked salmon, cream cheese and capers and a squeeze of lemon.
Then we ride back the same way. We named our business Lost Guide Adventure Tours after Lost Guide Lake because it’s extremely remote; it’s one mountain over from the northern border to Banff National Park.”
Horseback Riding Trail, Alberta South
Terri Nelson of Nelson Ranch describes the four-hour “Cowboy Cookout Ride” – you can also learn more on the Mountain Meadow Trail Rides website.
“Arrival at the Nelson Ranch lets me know that I am now in the heart of cowboy country. There is a sound like thunder, and a herd of 60 horses are being brought in from lush pasture to be saddled for the day’s ride. My mount, a stunning palomino mare named Misty, has been personally selected for my intermediate riding background. Each of the horses has been trained to be responsive, and we are allowed to move around and ride beside each other and visit – no nose to tail riding done in this outfit! Our guide is a 4th generation Nelson horseman, and we watch as he gives a demonstration on western neck reining – and then we are off to the high country.
We meander along a country lane, with aspen groves and diamond willows along the trail. We are gradually climbing in elevation, and we ride beside the beautiful high country “Beaver Dam” lake – some Canadian geese with their goslings glide along the surface of the water. The ride dips down into a valley filled with a dazzling array of wildflowers. We cross a shallow stream and start a steady incline through wilderness forested area – populated with jack pine, spruce, balsam and red fir. It is shady beneath the tall pines, the air thick with woodsy smells. The horses are high country horses – steady of foot & familiar with the wilderness terrain – and they are willing to listen and respond! This is riding at its best. Our guide stops at a secluded spot surrounded by tall shady pines and soon a crackling campfire is blazing, the steaks are sizzling and the smell of homemade baked beans mingles with the wood smoke – a traditional cowboy feast.
We mount up for the return loop back to the Ranch – and we crest a high lookout ridge, with a breathtaking view of the Rocky Mountains. The ride and dinner may have been only four hours in duration, but it felt like I had stepped into a time and place where the spirit of the West lives on.”
Horseback Riding Trail, Alberta Central
Grosso Outfitting and Baldy Mountain Trail Rides, based in Nordegg, specializes in Alberta Rocky Mountain hunts and trail rides. Clayton Grosso says the family-oriented tours with small groups are one-hour trips from the village.
“You do the East Bush Ride, and once you leave the village you are into timber. You go up about 800 ft and travel one mile and then come down by rock quarry, where they are mining limestone, and back to camp. The Ghost Mountain Mine Site ride goes up through town into a national mining site (I have permission to go in as long we don’t get off the horses). The old coal mine entrances are still there and the machinery and old boxcar – everything looks like it was just shut down yesterday. You go back down to the town same way you come up.”
Horseback Riding Trail, Calgary
Inside Out Experience books through Calgary and provides an outlet to Boundary Ranch horseback trail rides in Kananaskis. Rick Guinn, owner of Boundary, describes a feature trail during a two or three day pack trip.
“We pack up here at 5,000 feet elevation and take off to ride 45 minutes in the valley floor, then we start to climb in elevation for our final destination, which is 7,300 ft., taking us on a ride from 10 a.m. to arrive at camp about 4 p.m.
After about two hours, we are in scattered poplar trees and then into some of the new growth pine forest. We climb some more elevation and stop and tie up the horses, and we look down on the waterfalls of Evan Thomas Creek; from that vantage point we look for some mountain goats on cliffs above waterfalls, then spend a few minutes there to stretch our legs and relax and meet some of the other guests on the trip.
We get back on the horses and head up another 1.5 hrs and stop right on the creek to have lunch and do a campfire and coffee and tea. When we are looking down on the waterfalls, we lose a little elevation and then we get on the creek itself, which is winding up a narrow canyon. There are four or five other tributary creeks we cross that all run into the Evan Thomas, which feeds into the Kananaskis.
From there we load back up again and start climbing considerable elevation for 1.5 hours. The ranch is right in the middle of the Rockies and you keep your eyes open for big horn sheep which are on the open alpine slopes above us.
You go through swampy areas where you can find grizzly bear tracks on the trail, and we start to break out into more alpine country, close to 7,000 ft. and trees become a lot sparser. We start to arrive in the little valley where the camp is situated. It opens up to a large alpine meadow and the tent camp is at the end of that valley along a small creek.”
Horseback Riding Trail, Rockies
Janet Brewster Stanton, general manager of Brewster’s Kananaskis Guest Ranch, takes you on a two-hour horseback ride along the Bow River gorge, surrounded by mountains, to the heart of the cowboy experience.
“You start at the stables of the guest ranch and you’ll see the Yamnuska Mountains – a spectacular location,” says Janet. “You leave the stables with your guide and you are right on the edge of the Bow River. The glaciers have created a natural gorge and there is a steep drop to the river bed on the right, and as you wind along the trail, to the left there are towering mountains.”
“As you get down further, there are more trees and you can see the river,” she says. “There are cliffs on the opposite side of the river and a few rapids and beautiful blue colors. You climb up a bit higher and you get even more mountain views. And as you turn around back to the ranch, you have the whole western panorama.”
There is another horseback ride, also two hours, that goes into the Yamnuska Mountains and there are trees and lakes as you travel around, so there is variety you can choose from. If you have never ridden – “many of our guests have little or no riding experience,” says Janet – the horses are all saddled and bridled for you. You get a brief instruction about how to go left and right and stop and you’re always with guides who are authentic cowboys and cowgirls.
The Yamnuska mountain range is famous, having been in numerous movies shot in Alberta aside from Brokeback Mountain, including Legends of the Fall with Brad Pitt and Open Range with Kevin Costner.
Horseback Trail Riding, Alberta North
Lois Allen of Peace Valley Guest Ranch says when you leave the guest ranch at the north shore of the Peace River you ride through the Griffin Creek and through the valley and into the hills and along the Peace River, where you get to see the river. At the highest point you get a really great view, looking out and over. The trails are usually about two to three hours and there are several viewpoints with some fairly steep hills for the more experienced riders. It’s beautiful scenery and there is usually deer on the way and a lot of wildflowers.
