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Activities
Horseback Holidays: Trail Riding
If you’re the type of traveler whose soul’s only at peace when you’re sure of your next horseback ride, come roam around Alberta with a happy heart! Wherever Albertans have settled, you’re within easy range of that most perfect of all combinations – beautiful country and 1,500 pounds of friendly horse. From our historic northern Peace Country, famed for its fur trade beginnings, down through the rolling hills, lakes and river valleys of Central Alberta and south to the Big Sky vistas of our southern cattle country, you’ll find hundreds of opportunities for trail rides, alone or in the warm company of cowboys and cowgirls who know the local lore and all the right trails. The trail riding’s at its peak in our crowning geological glory, the Canadian Rockies. In their high country, their forested eastern slopes and their ranchland foothills, our outfitters and cowboy guides are waiting to share their very special worlds – and their fabulous horses – with you. Whether you take a half-day ride out of Banff that includes a morning or evening steak BBQ meal by the Sundance Canyon Trail, a day-long ride on a ranch in the indescribably beautiful Porcupine Hills or touring through a lakeside poplar forest in a 24,000-acre recreation area just 25 minutes away from a city of a million people, we guarantee you’ll satisfy your need for a good ride. No matter which choice of ride you make from the hundreds our outfitters offer, you’ll always find great horses, guides you’ll instantly trust (and whose yarns will keep you fascinated!), western-style campfire meals and lots and lots of Mother Nature at her stunning best. We’ve got more than 150 outfitters throughout our province who collectively offer several hundred riding experiences of vastly different kinds. Check them out. Pick your special ride. And enjoy!
Horseback Holidays: Horse Back Tours
When it comes to getting far away from the hum-drum, we Albertans have long known that four legs are much more effective than two. People in our parts not only enjoy one of the most beautiful natural environments on earth, but they’ve got horses to take them far deeper into that beauty than most people ever dream of. From our northwestern Peace Country all the way south to the US border, Alberta’s internationally-respected network of horse back tour outfitters is waiting to take you high into the Canadian Rocky Mountain back country. Up to sunny alpine valleys exploding in wildflowers. Up to 360-degree vistas that no camera can do justice to. Up to ecosystems that’ll amaze you with their delicate beauty and their stubbornness. From a simple overnight trip to a 14-day odyssey so deep into wilderness country that you’ll soon forget your own cell phone number, these horse back trips will live long in your memory. You’ll meet cowboy guides brimming with tales of local and natural history, and about some of the amazing experiences they’ve had along the way. They’re wonderful cooks, too – you will eat hearty! You’ll meet other horse-lovers from all over the world – outfitters are full of stories about strangers who met on a horse back tour and became life-long friends or mates. Some of these tours involve setting up camp every night. Others use back country cabins. Still others ride into base camps complete with solar power and gourmet chefs, then take day trips from there. Some take you up to high mountain pothole lakes in search of cutthroat, Arctic grayling or the famed golden trout. Others bring along interpretive guides, and even grizzly bear specialists! No matter what kind of experience you want from your Rocky Mountain holiday, in Alberta you’ll find wonderful opportunities to have that pure western experience on horseback. Here’s a list of some of Alberta’s outfitters. Visit their web sites and see what adventures they offer. The hard part of your trip will be choosing from among them. And the easiest will be making friends with your horse!
Horseback Holidays: Working Ranch Vacations We’re proud to have a special breed of rancher in Alberta, men and women who enjoy the company of guests who share their love of the land. They have created special private spaces in their homes, or built and furnished nearby stand-alone cabins, and they’ve invited the world to come and share their down-home hospitality, their lifestyle, their natural surroundings and, of course, their horses! An Alberta ranch vacation can be virtually anything you want it to be. Most hosts have connections to local outdoor adventure outfitters and guides, so you can spend your days white water rafting, fly fishing or trail riding in the mountains, then return for an outdoor Alberta striploin steak barbeque and a campfire (or a hot tub soak!) under a crystal-clear sky ablaze with more stars that you ever thought possible. Or, if you prefer, saddle up and ride out with honest-to-gosh cowboys as they check herds and fences. At various times of the year, in the spring, mid-summer and fall, you can help out on cattle drives that involve hundreds of head. In many cases, we’re talking BIG ranches, too! One, located in the beautiful Porcupine Hills just one valley east of the Rockies, is a 4,000-acre spread where you can ride out and see herds of elk and deer mingle with Texas Longhorns and Crossbred cattle, as well as Percheron, Appaloosa and Quarter horses. Many of these ranch vacations are also available in the wintertime. Alberta ranch vacations are mini-lifetimes filled with new friends, great food, wide open spaces in clean, clean air, an infinite variety of adventure and activity... ...and horses, horses, horses! |
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