Overview
Join this motorcycle tour in Canada with Pohutukawa Motorcycle Touring. This motorcycle tour of Southern Alberta and British Columbia of Western Canada gives you a close-up view of beautiful scenery ranging from rolling prairie to rugged mountains. You will experience riding through the rugged Canadian Rockies, rolling foothills, and endless northern forests while enjoying great roads ranging from gentle sweeping corners to twisty sections intermixed with fantastic scenery. Picking up your bike and leaving Calgary, you will ride through the rolling foothills and prairies of the Southern Alberta; home to many large cattle ranchers and wide-open prairie vistas. Experience the Canadian bush and wildlife up close.
Highlights
- Starts and ends in Calgary
- Ride through Southern Alberta's rolling prairie land
- Ride on wild roads, through wide-open mountain countryside
- Ride into the foothills that run south alongside the Rocky Mountains
- Walk on a glacier, visit majestic waterfalls, and ride through thick northern forests
- Pass beautiful lakes and fantastic mountain scenery
- See the Canadian Rockies up close
- 12 nights accommodation
Itinerary
Day 1: Calgary, 34 kilometers / 20 miles (0.75-hour riding time)
After arriving at Calgary International Airport, you will be met at the airport and shuttled to your hotel to check in and then to pick up your bike. Today is set aside to allow you to settle in and rest up before the adventure begins tomorrow.
Day 2: Calgary to Waterton Lakes National Park, 430 kilometers / 266 miles (approximately 8.75 hours)
Leaving your hotel and the city behind you, you will head out into the foothills that run south alongside the Rocky Mountains. Stopping for breaks and lunch on the way to allow you to settle into the tour and grab some photos of the amazing scenery. The roads are in good condition and along the way, you will enjoy optional stops to visit an RCMP fort / museum and interpretive center showing how the early inhabitants of the prairies lived. The ride will end at the peaceful mountain town of Waterton for the night, where you are surrounded by mountains and wildlife.
Day 3: Waterton Lakes National Park to Creston, 382 kilometers / 230 miles (approximately 7.5 hours)
After a western breakfast, you will ride into the mountains on well-maintained roads, alongside clear lakes, with trees down to the edge of the roads in places. As you climb higher the mountains become more rugged.
Day 4: Creston to Osoyoos, 385 kilometers / 230 miles (approximately 7.75 hours)
Today will take you on some wild roads, through wide-open mountain countryside. This is "big sky" country where you can see forever while enjoying the ride. Tight turns take you down into lake country and up to mountain meadows. Today is a wild ride from start to finish, with lots of photo stops.
Day 5: Osoyoos to Merritt, 460 kilometers / 275 miles (approximately 8.5 hours)
Today is a smooth day with easy roads and vast scenery. Enjoy the ride. Have your GoPro ready. This is a riders' day.
Day 6: Merritt to Vernon, 220 kilometers / 130 miles (approximately 5.75 hours)
Today is a shorter day, so just sleep in and you will start on the road a little later. A easy cruise along the lake shore with amazing views make this a relaxing day.
Day 7: Rest day in Vernon
Today is a free day for you to catch up on all those important things like sorting out photos, writing down all the key points, and even getting that pesky laundry taken care of. Maybe enjoy exploring the local area.
Day 8: Vernon - Tete Jaune, 460 kilometers / 275 miles (approximately 8.75 hours)
Heading north east and following the great roads through the quite mountain passes, you will pass beautiful lakes and fantastic mountain scenery. Great riding, and lots of photo opportunities.
Day 9: Tete Jaune - Saskatchewan River Crossing, 270 kilometers / 160 miles (approximately 7.5 hours)
Leaving BC and entering Alberta, this smooth road will take you through to Jasper for a well-earned brunch. From here, you will ride along the “Icefield Parkway” which climbs over many passes, giving you fantastic views and great photo opportunities. Along the way, you can stop for an optional walk on a glacier, visit majestic waterfalls and ride through thick northern forests, before stopping for the night, in a peaceful location, where you are surrounded by mountains and wildlife.
Day 10: Saskatchewan River Crossing - Radium Hot Springs, 265 kilometers / 160 miles (approximately 7.5 hours)
Continue south and then west on the Trans-Canada Highway for a while through lush mountain forests before turning south before stopping for the night in a sleepy mountain town. An optional soak in the hot pools followed by a relaxing dinner ends a great day.
Day 11: Radium Hot Springs - Strathmore, 455 kilometers / 275 miles (approximately 9.75 hour)
Leaving town and heading east takes you into world famous Banff National Park towards the township of Banff. Stops along the way showcase these massive mountains and put you in the center of one of the most beautiful parts of the Canadian Rocky’s. This is a medium mileage day; however, with numerous stops it is a full day. Leaving the park and following the Highway, before turning south and then east brings you to your stop for the day.
Day 12: Strathmore - Calgary, 275 kilometers / 165 miles (approximately 8.75 hours)
Riding north through the open prairies brings you to the “Bad Lands” of Alberta. An optional stop at a museum displaying the area and the Dinosaurs that roamed the land at one time allows you get an up-close understanding of them. Leaving the town and riding west through canyons brings you back to Calgary and your stop for the night. A group farewell dinner brings this day to pleasant close.
Day 13: Calgary
After a relaxing breakfast and a short ride, you will drop off your bike and catch your shuttle to the airport. This shuttle ride is filled with talk about the adventure you’ve just had and the fun experienced. If you want to stay on for additional nights that can be arranged.
Ride Details
- Terrain
- asphalt
- Bike
- rental bike (Harley, BMW, Triumph, Yamaha, KTM, Honda, Kawasaki, Indian models)
- Mileage
- 3,700 kilometers / 2,210 miles
- Daily rides
- 24 - 460 kilometers / 20 - 275 miles
What's included
- Bike rental
- Printed daily ride guide
- Shuttle fees (transfers to and from the hotel, airport, and bike rental location)
- Ferry fees
- 12 nights' accommodation
- Some national and provincial parks fees are required for travel
Not included
- Airfare
- Insurance coverage and damage waivers (bonds) on rental bikes
- Optional equipment add-on’s to rental bikes
- Fuel
- All meals
- Various attractions
- Special / optional events
- Incidentals and other costs once inside various attractions (i.e. rental of bathing suits or towels)
Accommodation
Your accommodation will be ranging from modestly priced cabins to deluxe quality hotels.
Getting There
This tour will take place in Canada including Calgary, Waterton, Creston, Osoyoos, Vernon, Tête Jaune Cache, Saskatchewan River Crossing, Radium Hot Springs, and Strathmore. [+](https://www.tripaneer.com/pohutukawa-motorcycle-touring/13-day-self-guided-canadian-rockies-motorcycle-tour-in-western-canada# "Zoom in") [−](https://www.tripaneer.com/pohutukawa-motorcycle-touring/13-day-self-guided-canad
