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    Red Deer River Ranches

    1.0 (1 review)

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    4 months ago

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    Banff Harley-Davidson - Store items

    Banff Harley-Davidson

    2.6(41 reviews)
    94.4 km

    So I really want to help fellow yelpers because this ride caused me a lot of consternation…read more A lot of reviews about not getting back your money if you are disqualified from riding. This is on their website as fair warning. But I think it's a bad policy. Weight. You can't be over 230 lbs. it's for the safety of the horse they say. A lot of folks complaining about how their weight scale is off and all. And not but just a little. Like 10+ pounds. It being on uneven ground etc. So a few days before I actually stopped eating like I normally would on vacation for fear of being disqualified. Not because I thought I actually would be over the max weight (I've never been that heavy in my entire life). But for fear their darn scale would be off. I actually had a dream the night before the ride that they disqualified me. Note they weigh everyone include kids. So the "may" be weighed in their website should probably be changed to "will" be weighed. Also note they decreased the maximum weight from 250 lbs in the past to 230 lbs currently if you read the reviews. So I guess the horses all got older? They're rescue horses though. So I think new ones coming in occasionally maybe. Who knows. Anyway the check in person and weigher denied this. But just have a look yourself on Yelp and Google Maps if you're interested. Also note YMMV on what happens if you're over. Some reviewers got slammed for being just a few pounds over. But I also saw them accept folks when I was there on site that were just a few pounds over. They were actually suggesting to those folks that they weigh without jacket etc. to hopefully make the cut. So it wasn't like they were hoping you'd fail. But if you do it goes to the unseen back office for review. And YMMV. Shoes. You must wear closed toe shoes to the ankle or face disqualification. But they didn't really check the shoes (like hey show me your shoes). I was concerned because I wore aqua shoes that are lower cut than sneakers to the ankle. Some of their notes say the shoes must be ankle height. Time. We arrived really early. You have to be there 30 minutes before the ride or else face disqualification without refund. The safety briefing doesn't start until 15 minutes before the ride. Before that they check if you've done the online waiver, weight, and helmet distribution. I read folks were turned away for not being there 30 minutes prior to the ride. Banff traffic is a B. So make sure you're early. Also there was a lot of construction on 93 and 1 when we were there. Some delays were more than an hour. Come to town early in the day and enjoy the city if you're driving in. You'll thank me later. Tips. Website says it's customary to tip. We had 3 guides. The guides said tipping isn't expected but it is appreciated. But they said it twice so I guess it is expected. They also said the tips go towards helping the cooks. So I guess it's shared and you can give it to whoever? It's confusing who to tip because there was no tip jar at the cookout and the cooks were not one of our guides. They should explain this all better. Or better yet just increase the price, pay them all more, and say tipping is not customary nor accepted as everyone is properly compensated through your generous payment for the ride. Cookout. I told our guide I was really looking forward to the steak because I heard beef is their specialty in Alberta. He gave me a timid yeah I think that might be right reply. We'll realize the steak isn't a premium cut. Event medium rare cooked to order it was chewy. The bread roll - wow that was like rock hard and dry like the Sahara. I could've played softball with it. Cole slaw looked good but lacked flavor. Mini potatoes were ok. Baked beans were meh but I suppose you gotta try them since it's a Canadian specialty I believe. The English do it better IMHO. Brownies were good. I tried to get one when we got our food but was told they'd bring it out to us. Well they called us to go and still no brownie delivered table side. Hmmm. They have gluten free rolls and brownies. Two outhouses are on site at the dinner. Also they have bug spray there. The trail. Ride back is nicer and woodsier. Ride over has more urban features like the paved road and tourists yelling at you. It's a slow pace. The guides are kinda strict compared to other rides we've been on. Lots of yelling stuff like go faster, don't talk so much, don't talk so loud, lean forward more, lean back more, lean to the right more, yada yada. The horses are rescue horses so they're special. And maybe need more TLC and attention and rules. Just consider that when booking.

    We did the 4 hour trail ride thru the gorgeous Bow Valley. Lynn was our trail guide and was so…read moreknowledgeable about the horses and also about the area itself. All of the horses appear well cared for and the other trail guides were also very helpful and good with the horses as well. We had an amazing time and really enjoyed having a light lunch by the Spray River and crossing the rivers with the horses was so fun! Thank you Lynn, my daughter and I had an amazing time. This was the hi-light of our trip.

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    Red Deer River Ranches - guesthouses - Updated July 2026

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