Disclosure: This Mom Bikes is independently owned and the opinions expressed here are our own. Complete privacy policy & disclosure found here. Attempting trips in the backcountry requires a certain degree of experience and skill, especially with young kids in tow. Please only attempt what you are capable of and always be prepared. This Mom Bikes attempts to keep this route information as current as possible but always check trail reports and weather before leaving, and expect things to change suddenly in the mountains. This Mom Bikes is not responsible for your safety.
Beginning in the parking lot behind the enchanting Banff Springs Hotel, riding in to Mount Rundle backcountry campground via Spray River West Trail in Banff National Park and overnighting is a wonderful family-friendly trip, especially as a first trip. You can even celebrate your successes with a dip in the hot springs and/or brunch afterwards!
Contents
Overview
- Start/End: Spray River parking lot (behind Banff Springs)
- Route type: out-and-back (or loop)
- Campground: Mount Rundle Backcountry (Sp6), Banff National Park
- Distance (one-way): 6.2 km (up Spray West side to then down Spray East ~100 m to campground)
- First trip: August 2019
- Terrain: Spray River West Fire Road is in the best shape of all of the fire roads I’ve ridden in the area. Relatively smooth, minimal flood damage from 2013.
- Notes specific to kids: A great beginner backcountry trip.
- Highlights: Easy access, close to Banff, relatively quick trip in even for our two-family group with small kids (~45 mins) so a good after-work special.
When to go
Snow leaves this valley late in the season because it is so steep and shady. You might still find snow in (early) June. Otherwise July through September are your best bets if you wish to travel snow-free by bike. We have camped here in July (2018) and August (2019).
Campground dates
This is a year-round campground. Check out my buddy Doug’s website, coldbike.com, for family winter camping fatbikepacking (or snowshoe or xc ski) trip reports on this route.
Reservations are made through Parks Canada central reservation system online or in person at their visitor centre in Banff. The backcountry campground name is Mount Rundle and the code is Sp6.
Some trails and fire roads take time to drain if we’ve had recent snow melt or rain. Consider the following when planning your trip:
Spray River West fire road is quite firm, overall, and in my opinion I don’t think that it is hugely affected by water (unlike Cascade fire road, for example). When we rode Spray River West in the summer of 2019, it was a relatively wet season and the trail did not seem soft. Double check the trail conditions (see below) for up-to-date information.
However, if you make this into a loop (see below), expect parts of Spray River East to be soft, especially near the golf course, due to moisture and/or horse traffic. Spray River East is an overgrown fire road that was adversely affected by the 2013 floods in spots. It is still totally rideable (and is the way we took when we rode Goat Creek-Banff-Legacy Trail-Canmore), just not as well maintained as Spray River West.
When we went
We did this trip August 2019. We met early afternoon at the trailhead and zipped out after a lazy breakfast. It was the perfect little overnighter.
Where to start
You’ll want to start from the trailhead located just after Banff Springs Hotel. It’s a bit weird but follow Spray Avenue until you reach the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, drive past the drop-off area and go under the archway (still technically Spray Ave.), then the road splits as it starts to veer downhill and to the right, take a right and that road will dump you in the parking lot (there are no pit toilets here). This is the trailhead for Spray River West Trail/fire road. On Google Maps, Spray River West fire road is called “Spray River Trail”.
Map
Ride along Spray River West until you hit a small grassy clearing. There is a wooden information kiosk here. If you keep going straight here, you will go to Goat Creek Trailhead. Turn left to cross the river (there is a metal bridge wide enough for a double Chariot to get through). The campground is located shortly after, there is a small sign with a map; the tenting sites are the first part of the campground that you will see coming in from this direction (the cooking/bear locker area is at the far end, down about 100 metres or so).
Make it a loop
There is a trail on either side of the Spray River. The easiest way is to go out-and-back along Spray River West. You will cross the river to get to the campground and technically that means you are on Spray River East trail. Feel free to return back to Banff this way, too! This side of the river is well travelled but more overgrown and less maintained than the Spray River West. We’ve done it with kids and enjoyed it!
Spray River East trail dumps you out at the golf course (stay right when the trail forks here, even though Google implies that you go left, we tried and ended up on the golf course so had to turn around) and that will take you to Golf Course Road, turn left onto the road.
Cross the river and then keep right if you want to ride to Bow Falls (recommended!). Otherwise, to get back to your car, turn left immediately after crossing the river and go past the Waldhaus Restaurant & Pub. There is a road here that connects to Spray Avenue that joins to the road that goes to your car; or, it looks like you can ride through the field by the river and then take a quieter dirt road up through the trees that dumps you just below the parking lot.
Make it longer
If you want to turn this into a longer more challenging family adventure, then consider starting at Goat Creek! You can either end your trip the next day in Banff, or consider riding back along the Legacy Trail to at least Canmore, as described in this post.
The trail
The trail is a double-track fire road. The terrain is undulating with some decent climbs (for families). The substrate is mostly compact and well-maintained. There is some minor run-off damage, for sure, but everything was rideable for us. There is some loose gravel and even bigger rocks in some short sections but, overall, this is the easiest fire road we’ve encountered in the Rockies, so far.
Difficulty
I consider this the easiest possible bikepacking trip that I’ve done yet. Riding with kids and in a group often means slow progress for us, but this trip we managed 45 mins to the campground and about half an hour to get back to the parking lot. We joked that some adults could have ridden back into town to go to the pub!
While the terrain is gently undulating, there are no super crazy long climbs or anything. Some kids may walk certain climbs, for sure, but I consider this to be hero terrain for most riders.
Our set-ups
Our friends had their toddler in a rear-mounted Yepp seat and both of them were riding city bikes (i.e. 700 cc, not big knobby mountain bike tires) — they are good and experienced riders, for sure though. They also pulled a double Chariot with gear.
I had my 4.5 year old on her own 16″ bike attached to my bike with a FollowMe Tandem. I used my Surly Troll set up with Xtraterrestrial tires. My eldest was on her 20″ Frog 55 and carried a bit of gear in her panniers. My husband rode our Bike Friday Haul-a-Day and had no clearance issues with the low rear derailleur hanger.
The campground
Mount Rundle backcountry campground is situated in a steep valley and it is beautiful. The view from down at the river’s edge is quite lovely. The campground, pit toilets, and designated cooking/food locker area are situated in the trees and you can’t really see out.
I’ve heard rumours that it is good to avoid the Friday night scene due to potential partying (because of its proximity to Banff town site), but have yet to experience a problem, myself.
Conditions
Unfortunately, this campground does need some significant maintenance. Bear lockers were installed in 2019 (replacing cable bear hangs). One outhouse is not exactly fit for use (watch out for the hole upon entrance) and at least two of the sites are covered in rubble from the spring 2013 floods. There are no formal tenting pads at this campground, but you will find numbered spots — it’s all first-come first-serve and those markers are just meant to demarcate approximately suitable areas to pitch a tent.
Bears
Like all campgrounds (front- or backcountry), this campground is in bear country, as well as the home to other wild megafauna. Not to dissuade you but it seems worth a mention: because of the proximity to Banff and high use by less experienced campers, in addition to the seemingly high population of bears in this steep valley, this campground does face the occasional closure, unfortunately, due to “problem” bears frequenting the site. Be sure to always practice leave no trace camping principles, including cooking away from the sleeping area (there is a designated cooking area) to help reduce human-bear interactions.
Always travel with at least bear spray and know how to use it. We always make sure that our kids are playing within range of us being able to see them and vice-versa.
Tips
Know before you go:
- Trail conditions
- Local weather forecast (but it is the mountains and mountain weather can change quickly)
There is patchy mobile cell service along the route and in the campground but don’t rely on it.
Other trip ideas:
- Goat Creek-Mount Rundle-Banff-Canmore Loop
- Jewell Bay
- Little Elbow to Big Elbow (clockwise on the Elbow Loop)
- Little Elbow to Romulus (counterclockwise on the Elbow loop)
- Cascade River
- Spray Lake West
- Other family-friendly ideas
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