From there, we wanted to ride through town and head back towards our vehicles by riding on Vermillion Lakes Drive and a portion of the Legacy Trail. We'd end up a few kilometres from our vehicles and send a couple of adults ahead to finish a short section on the TransCanada Hwy. T
he loop ended up being just short of 20 km and only took an afternoon to ride with many stops.
Family Version of the "Bow Valley Bomber"
Doug Eastcott came up with the "Bow Valley Bomber" loop in his book, Backcountry Biking in the Canadian Rockies. Back when he first wrote about this circuit, the Legacy Trail had not been built yet and much more highway riding was involved.
Today, almost the whole loop can be completed on trails or quiet roads. There was only one section at the end that required some highway riding and we sent the dads to complete this part. They rode ahead while the kids played at the third Vermillion Lake and were back at the vehicles before we had even left the lake.
Today, almost the whole loop can be completed on trails or quiet roads. There was only one section at the end that required some highway riding and we sent the dads to complete this part. They rode ahead while the kids played at the third Vermillion Lake and were back at the vehicles before we had even left the lake.
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| Family-friendly Bow Valley Bomber |
Healy Creek to Sundance Canyon
Starting at the Healy Creek trailhead, we rode approximately 5 km to the junction with the Sundance Canyon Trail in Banff. The trail was wide, relatively easy with a few hills that could be walked by younger children, and was great for novice riders wanting an easy mountain bike ride.
This is wide doubletrack riding on a nice gravel/dirt surface with few roots. Chariot friendly even.
We chose to ride the trail in the direction towards Sundance Canyon from Healy Creek thinking it would be more downhill. In hind site though I don't think it matters which direction you ride the trail. You'll go up and down in both directions with roughly 94 to 98 metres of elevation gain in either direction.
See the Healy Creek Trail on Trail Forks.
This is wide doubletrack riding on a nice gravel/dirt surface with few roots. Chariot friendly even.
We chose to ride the trail in the direction towards Sundance Canyon from Healy Creek thinking it would be more downhill. In hind site though I don't think it matters which direction you ride the trail. You'll go up and down in both directions with roughly 94 to 98 metres of elevation gain in either direction.
See the Healy Creek Trail on Trail Forks.
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| Easy mountain biking on the Healy Creek Trail |
This was the most difficult part of the ride and once we reached the Sundance Canyon trail we had easy coasting on the paved trail back towards the Town of Banff.
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| Family biking on the Healy Creek Trail in Banff |
Sundance Canyon to the Banff Townsite
The Sundance Trail is 3.5 km one way and starts at the Cave and Basin Historical Site. From where we entered the trail, we had perhaps 2.5 km to ride and it was mostly downhill. The trail is paved, wide, and easy going after riding Healy Creek.
You'll be sharing the trail with horse traffic and with hikers so children need to be encouraged to be respectful of other trail users and to get over to the side as necessary. (especially when horses are passing)
See the Sundance trail on Trail Forks.
You'll be sharing the trail with horse traffic and with hikers so children need to be encouraged to be respectful of other trail users and to get over to the side as necessary. (especially when horses are passing)
See the Sundance trail on Trail Forks.
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| Views on the Sundance Trail, Banff |
Rather than climb up to the Cave and Basin site, we followed the horse trail down by the river leading towards the Banff Recreation Grounds and downtown Banff.
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| Riding from the Sundance Trail to the Banff Recreation Grounds |
We stopped at the Recreation Grounds to play at the bike park and playground. We then headed into the town to get ice-cream before getting back on the trails. Here is a map of the Banff Town trails if you'd like to see where you'll be heading.
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| Playing in the Banff Bike Park at the Banff Recreation Grounds |
And NEW for 2018: There is a super awesome skatepark at the Banff Recreation Grounds now. And kids will love it as a rest stop before continuing the loop.
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| Playing at the new skatepark in Banff |
Central Park to the Fenland Loop
The next section was easy peasy and fun. We followed the paved pathway along the Bow River (map here) from Central Park over to the Banff Canoe docks. From here we got onto the Fenland Loop Trail which is an easy gravel/dirt mountain bike trail (wide and flat with a few roots) shared with hikers and dog walkers. Please be respectful and make way for folks on foot rather than running into them.
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| Easy riding along the river downtown Banff |
We didn't do the entire Fenland Loop (though you certainly could as it's only 1.8 km in length and flat) as we were making our way over to Vermillion Lakes Drive. We tried to turn left at all junctions to head for the paved Vermillion Lakes Drive.
Once we got to the bridge leading to the Vermillion Lakes Drive, we jumped onto the paved road and continued our journey back towards the Healy Creek trailhead.
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| Family mountain biking doesn't get much easier than on the Fenland Trail |
Vermillion Lakes Drive and the Legacy Trail
The Vermillion Lakes Drive Road is 4.3 km in length and you'll pass by three beautiful lakes on this section of your ride. The riding is easy, paved, and relatively flat. Note that you will be sharing the road with traffic but the speed limit is low and cars always give us wide berth on this section. We've never felt scared and we just remind the kids often to stay on the side of the road.
See a PDF map of trails here from the Banff National Park website.
See a PDF map of trails here from the Banff National Park website.
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| Road riding on Vermillion Lakes Drive |
There are many docks to stop at along the way and children will be entertained at each one. Once you get to the end of the road, you'll get onto the farthest section of the Legacy Trail (the paved trail running between Canmore and Banff) and you'll ride it 1.6 kilometres to the junction with the Trans Canada HWY and the Highway 1A. (This will be the end with children and adults should bike back on the highway to reach the vehicles at Healy Creek.)
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| Finishing off our ride on the Legacy Trail which parallels the TransCanada Hwy |
Ending our Ride
We hadn't quite reached 20 km and thought this would be a nice round number so we rode up the Highway 1A on the shoulder of the road for a couple of kilometres at the end.
The dads were waiting for us here after having ridden ahead to get the vehicles from Healy Creek. If you don't want to ride on the 1A, do the Fenland loop a couple of times instead to reach 20 km or else ride further up the Sundance Canyon trail.
The dads were waiting for us here after having ridden ahead to get the vehicles from Healy Creek. If you don't want to ride on the 1A, do the Fenland loop a couple of times instead to reach 20 km or else ride further up the Sundance Canyon trail.
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| Finishing our trip with a short ride along the 1A Highway |
Safety Notes
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| Vermillion Lakes |
Wildlife is plentiful in this area of Banff and many people see bears on these trails. Ride in a group, have bear spray handy, make noise (especially around water and when riding around blind corners,) and give all animals wide berth. I came across a couple of large elk and got off the pathway, going around to give them space.
It's also wise to check trail reports and look for warnings before starting out. There are often bear warnings on the Fenland Trail and trails get closed on occasion if there is a problem animal in the area.
Check the Banff National Park website for information on trail trail closures, trail reports, and safety bulletins.
More information on Biking in Banff
The Best Family Bike Trails in Banff National Park
Tour de Banff - the Ultimate Family Mountain Bike Tour
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| Tour de Banff: Vermillion Lakes Drive section |
Looks like a great ride! Could this be done pulling a double chariot?
ReplyDeleteyes, the whole thing would be fine with a double chariot.
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