Cycling & Mountain Biking
Alberta offers ideal terrain for road riders and mountain bikers of all skill levels. Throughout the province, thousands of trails and wide-shouldered roadways—many of which loop through our national and provincial parks—mean many a return trip will be needed. Our cities boast hundreds of paved bike paths winding through scenic river valleys and municipal parks, as well as nearby venues for mountain biking.
Cycling
Road Tripping
Alberta’s classic bicycle routes include the Icefields Parkway—229 km (142 mi) of breathtaking scenery slicing through Banff and Jasper National Parks. Not to be missed is the Kananaskis Trail, which leads you over the Highwood, the province’s highest pass at 2,206 m (7,239 ft).
Guided road trips can be arranged with stays at lodges and resorts along the way. Independent cyclists can follow the same routes and opt to bed down at any of the numerous hostels and campgrounds that operate between Banff and Jasper.
Urban Biking
Most of Alberta’s municipalities offer cycling loops and trails. Near Edmonton, the Cooking Lake-Blackfoot Recreation Area features 100 km (62 mi) of trail.
Calgary has one of the most extensive bike path systems in the country. The city boasts a web of continuous pathways that add up to 460 km (286 mi).
Edmonton bike trails have a divided cycling system.
- 100 km (62 mi) of designated cycling routes
- 70 km (43.5 mi) of shared pedestrian/cyclist pathways
- 115 km (71.5 mi) of multi-use recreational trails
Mountain Biking
Where to Ride
Built for the twenty-fifth Winter Olympics, Nordic Centre in Canmore caters primarily to mountain bikers and skiers and features 60 km (37 mi) of mountain bike trails.
Canada Olympic Park, fifteen minutes from downtown Calgary, was built for the 1988 Winter Olympics and now boasts an extensive dirt jump park for riders of all abilities. Here you will find North Shore-style stunt areas, hidden obstacle courses and tight single tracks.
In nearby Kananaskis Country are 300 km (186.5 mi) of bike trails with some long-distance crowd pleasers such as the Big Elbow-Little Elbow Trail as well as the Elbow Sheep Trail.
Alberta’s southern-most park, Waterton Lakes National Park, tallies 150 km (93 mi) of trails through a spectacular convergence of mountain and prairie terrain.
In the southeastern corner of the province, Crowsnest Pass has a vast network of challenging backcountry trails.
Where to Race
Alberta hosts many of Canada’s elite mountain bike races.
- UCI World Cup
- 24 Hours of Adrenaline
- Tour d’Alberta
Find details on routes, rules and camps at Alberta Bicycle Association.
Related Holiday Ideas
Additional Resources
