Calgary to Banff

[cwm]

Hi everyone,

I am hoping to ride from Banff to Missoula next summer on the Great Divide (I do know the route does not take in Missoula; I will get off the route).  I will likely fly to Calgary.  I wonder if anyone's ridden from Calgary to Banff and/or if anyone knows a source of info for bike touring in Canada that might help me map out a route.  It's not very far but I'd sure like to avoid riding on the Trans-Canada and from Google maps it looks like there are alternatives.  I fits rode the MT section of the Great Divide in 1998 and am really looking forward to doing the Canadian section. 

Thanks a lot,

Christian

[adventurepdx]

Hey Christian-

My girlfriend and I biked from Calgary to Banff last year. There didn't seem like any easy way of biking out of the city. We used Hwy 1A, which is basically a freeway getting out of town (legal to ride). 1A remains a wide divided highway with ample shoulders until Cochrane, and from there it becomes a two lane with decent shoulders and low-moderate traffic, as most through traffic is on Trans-Canada (Hwy 1) to the south. There is about a 10 or 20 mile section of 1A that is shoulderless. We were warned about this section, but there was barely any traffic, so it wasn't much of a worry in that department. The pavement is crap on that section, however. 1A will lead into Canmore, the town on the outside of Banff National Park, and from there you can take a bike path all the way into Banff townsite. (It parallels the Trans-Can.) Not too much in the way of services on this route, besides Calgary, Canmore, Banff, and Cochrane there is some stuff in Exshaw. You could do it in a day, but it'd be a long one. Hotels in Cochrane and a provincial campground at Ghost Lake.

[cwm]

Thanks a lot for the info!   I need to decide--I've got time--what to do: ride or take the shuttle and just get started on the Great Divide.  How to get my bike to the beginning will be a bigger dilemma than how to get to Banff.

Thanks again

Christian

[tonythomson]

I rode Calgary to Banff and it's not all that interesting except to see the mountains getting closer.  if you have the choice of not riding there and spending longer in the Rockies take that because it is wonderful place to cycle.

[adventurepdx]

I rode Calgary to Banff and it's not all that interesting except to see the mountains getting closer.

I didn't find the route boring, but it's no Banff, for sure. I think the key is taking 1A, which goes through some nice countryside before entering the park itself.

[bobkyhotn]

Hi,  this thread is 13 years old.   Does anybody have updated info on cycling from Calgary to Banff?  I am planning a GDMBR trip in June 2025

I made this route following 1A. 
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/49665638

I made this route which avoids some of 1A.  I posted it to Facebook forum and was told that Star Ranch Road west of Cochrane is off limits, reserved land. 
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/49725656

[adventurepdx]

Hi,  this thread is 13 years old.   Does anybody have updated info on cycling from Calgary to Banff?

I only rode it once in 2011, so no new data.
I'd suggest contacting a Calgary area bike shop to see if they have more recent intel. My shop of choice would be BikeBike:
https://www.bikebike.ca/