Banff Trail Riders

What Banff Trail Riders does

Banff Trail Riders is a privately held outdoor tourism operator founded in 1962 in Banff, Alberta, Canada, specializing in guided horseback riding experiences, backcountry lodge vacations, and western-themed adventure activities within Banff National Park. The company maintains a herd of 300+ horses at Warner Stables—the only outfitter based directly in the Banff townsite—and operates two backcountry lodges (Sundance Lodge and Halfway Lodge) inside the National Park, plus the Trail Rider Store retail location on Banff Avenue. Its service portfolio spans hourly trail rides (Bow River, Spray River, Sundance Loop, Bow Valley Loop, Sulphur Mountain), multi-day pack trips (Erling Strom Trail, Sundance Explorer), wagon and carriage rides with cowboy BBQ cookouts, winter sleigh rides, wedding carriage services, pony rides for children, and group event hosting at Boones Barn.

The company's revenue model is primarily transactional and direct-to-consumer, with per-experience pricing ranging from approximately US $27 for 15-minute pony rides to US $3,353 for the six-day Halfway Lodge backcountry expedition. Additional revenue streams include backcountry lodge accommodations (including ski-in/snowshoe-in winter packages), event venue rentals, and the Trail Rider Store's western wear retail operation. Customers span individual tourists and travelers to Banff National Park (primary), families with children, wedding parties, corporate groups, and experienced equestrians seeking multi-day wilderness adventures. Distribution is direct via horseback.com with online booking, multi-currency pricing (USD, CAD, EUR, AUD, GBP), installment payments through Klarna and Affirm, and cross-referral partnerships with Discover Banff Tours and Chinook Rafting. Marketing relies on Instagram (@horsebackbanff), TripAdvisor (1,456+ reviews, Travelers' Choice 2025), and earned media coverage.

The business has no meaningful proprietary technology infrastructure; its competitive position rests on physical assets (horses, stables, backcountry lodges, retail storefront), a 60+ year brand heritage recognized as a Canadian Signature Experience, and an exclusive regulatory position as the only outfitter with backcountry lodges inside Banff National Park. The company is privately held with no disclosed external investors, underwent an ownership transition and rebrand in 2014, and operates under a seasonal model anchored by summer trail rides and winter sleigh/lodge packages.

Name

Banff Trail Riders

Legal name

Banff Trail Riders

Website

https://horseback.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Banff Trail Riders is a privately held horseback riding and outdoor tourism operator in Banff, Alberta, offering guided trail rides, backcountry lodge vacations, sleigh rides, and western-themed adventure packages to tourists visiting Banff National Park.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Equestrian Tourism Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520), Tour Operators (56152), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation (487)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Hiking, Trekking & Backpacking Tour Operators (THAAADAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Winter Adventure Experiences (Ski Touring, Snowshoeing, Dog Sledding) (THAJABAH)

Keywords

• Outdoor adventure tourism
• Guided horseback trail rides
• Backcountry lodge vacations
• Winter sleigh ride services
• Horse-drawn carriage tours

Headquarters

HQ city

Banff

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Guided Trail Rides and Tours: The primary revenue stream comes from offering guided horseback riding experiences ranging from 1-hour rides to multi-day backcountry pack trips. Pricing varies from approximately US $27 for pony rides to US $3,353 for multi-night backcountry lodge experiences. All bookings are one-time transaction-based.
2. Retail Store Sales: The Trail Rider Store at 138 Banff Ave sells western wear, cowboy boots, hats, accessories, and souvenirs. The store is located in the heart of Banff Avenue's historic 100 block and is a heritage business of Banff National Park.
3. Backcountry Lodge Accommodations: Revenue from overnight stays at Sundance Lodge and Halfway Lodge, including meal packages. Sundance Lodge accommodates up to 34 people (26 in winter) with all-inclusive packages including accommodation, dinner, breakfast, and packed lunch.
4. Event Hosting and Weddings: Boones Barn venue hosts up to 120 people for weddings and events, available October to April. Additional revenue from carriage rides and sleigh rides as wedding extras.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Banff Trail Riders sells guided horseback experiences ranging from short pony and trail rides to multi-day backcountry pack trips, together with wagon, carriage, and winter sleigh rides. It also operates Sundance Lodge and Halfway Lodge, hosts weddings and private events, offers packaged outdoor activities, and sells western wear and souvenirs through the Trail Rider Store.

Product overview

Banff Trail Riders operates as a diversified outdoor adventure company offering guided horseback riding experiences and related recreational services in Banff National Park and the Canadian Rockies. The core product portfolio spans three main categories: Hourly Trail Rides (1-4 hour horseback experiences including Bow River, Spray River, Sundance Loop, Bow Valley Loop, and Sulphur Mountain rides); Wagon and Carriage Experiences (wagon rides with BBQ cookouts, downtown carriage tours, and wedding carriage services); and Winter Sleigh Rides (40-minute group sleigh rides plus private options for couples, families, and groups). The company also offers extended Backcountry Lodge Vacations including multi-day pack trips to Sundance Lodge and Halfway Lodge, along with ski-in/snowshoe-in winter lodge stays at Sundance Lodge. Additional services include group event hosting at Warner Stables, pony rides for young children, stables tours, combo packages with partner operators (rafting), and the Trail Rider Store retail outlet. The company holds a portfolio of two operational lodges (Sundance Lodge and Halfway Lodge) and two stable locations (Warner Stables and Banff Springs Corrals). With over 60 years of operation since 1962, Banff Trail Riders is the exclusive horseback riding operator in Banff and the only outfitter in the Canadian Rockies with lodges inside the National Park.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hourly Trail Rides One- to four-hour guided horseback rides through Banff National Park and the Canadian Rockies, including the Bow River, Spray River, Sundance Loop, Bow Valley Loop, and Sulphur Mountain routes.
• Pony Rides Fifteen-minute horseback experiences for children ages 3 to 7, providing young children with an introductory ride.
• Wagon Ride with BBQ Cookout A three-hour wagon ride along the Bow River followed by a cowboy barbecue dinner at 3 Mile Cabin and western games.
• Horseback Trail Ride with BBQ Cookout A three-hour horseback ride at the base of Sulphur Mountain followed by a cowboy barbecue meal at 3 Mile Cabin for guests ages 8 and older.
• Banff Downtown Private Carriage Rides Private horse-drawn carriage tours departing from downtown Banff in 15-minute, 30-minute, and one-hour durations, with customizable routes.
• Wedding Carriage Ride A private wedding carriage service with pickup, tour, and drop-off for up to one hour at Banff locations, intended for wedding transportation and photography.
• Stables Tour A 1.5-hour guided tour of Warner Stables covering its horse corrals, barns, more than 300 horses, horseshoeing demonstrations, and historical stories.
• Banff Winter Sleigh Rides Forty-minute group horse-drawn sleigh rides through Banff's winter mountain meadows with views of Sulphur Mountain and the Bow River Valley.
• Private Sleigh Rides Private horse-drawn sleigh experiences for two, four, or groups of 9 to 16 people through Banff's snowy mountain meadows.
• Sundance Lodge Overnight A two-day, one-night horseback trip to Sundance Lodge that introduces travelers to a multi-day Banff backcountry experience.
• Sundance Lodge Explorer A three-day, two-night horseback vacation following the Bow River to Sundance Lodge with mountain scenery and wildlife viewing.
• Erling Strom Trail Lodge
• Halfway Lodge A six-day, five-night horseback trip to remote Halfway Lodge at the base of Allenby Pass, with access to high mountain scenery.
• Ski and Stay Sundance Lodge A winter retreat at Sundance Lodge reached by 11.6-kilometre or 16-kilometre cross-country ski, snowshoe, or fat-bike trails, including accommodation, dinner, breakfast, and a packed trail lunch.
• Banff Log Cabin Rental Exclusive-use rental of Sundance Lodge for up to 26 guests, including all-inclusive meals and hot showers, with access by cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or fat biking.
• Warner Stables Weddings and Events A wedding and private-event venue at Warner Stables' Boones Barn, accommodating up to 120 to 200 guests and offering carriage rides, sleigh rides, and customizable celebrations.
• Kananaskis River Raft + Horseback Ride Combo A May-through-September combination of family-friendly whitewater rafting on the Kananaskis River and a riverside horseback ride for guests ages 8 and older.
• Trail Rider Store A physical western-lifestyle store at 138 Banff Ave selling cowboy boots, hats, western wear, leather goods, jewelry, and souvenirs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Thousands of positive reviews across TripAdvisor and other platforms
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Discover Banff ToursminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership with Discover Banff Tours for cross-selling complementary tour activities. Discover Banff Tours offers small group tours including sightseeing, whitewater rafting, wildlife watching, grizzly bear and wolf sanctuaries, guided hikes, rock climbing, and mountaineering.
• Chinook RaftingminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership with Chinook Rafting as part of the 'Our Family' group of Banff adventure companies, offering combined outdoor experiences.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Chinook Rafting: Banff-area whitewater rafting operator and existing partner within the same 'Our Family' group of Banff adventure companies. Directly comparable outdoor adventure operator in the Banff region with joint combo products already in market.
• Bar W Guest Ranch: Montana dude ranch offering guided horseback rides, wagon rides, and ranch vacations. Closest US regional analog with similar multi-day horseback lodge-experience product targeting experiential leisure travelers.
• Discover Banff Tours: Banff-based tour operator offering small-group sightseeing, wildlife watching, rafting, and guided hikes. Already an active channel partner of Banff Trail Riders and shares the same Banff tourist customer base with complementary offerings rather than direct horseback overlap.
• Anchor D Guiding Outfitting: Western Canadian outfitting company near the Alberta Rockies providing horseback riding, hunting, and ranch experiences. Comparable business model around guided horseback adventures targeting tourists and outdoor enthusiasts.
• Canadian Outback Adventure Tours: Banff-based small-group adventure tour operator offering wildlife, photography, and hiking tours. Targets the same Banff visitor segment with day-level outdoor experiences and competes for similar experiential tourist dollars.
• Banff Sightseeing Tours: Banff sightseeing and shuttle tour operator competing for the same tourist visitor segment. While not a horseback specialist, it competes for the broader tourist-day budget allocation in Banff.
• Jasper Riding Stables: Horseback trail ride outfitter in Jasper National Park offering hourly rides, dinner rides, and backcountry trips. Closest direct horseback-riding peer operating in an adjacent Canadian Rockies National Park with similar product mix.

Broad incumbents

• Brewster Sightseeing / Banff Jasper Collection: Established incumbent tour and sightseeing operator in Banff and Jasper, part of the broader Banff Jasper Collection. Competes for the same tourist visitor spend across multiple activity categories including transport and sightseeing tours.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/horsebackbanff
• Xx.com/HorsebackBanff
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/banff-trail-riders

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Banff Trail Riders