BDR: backcountry adventure routes come to Canada
On November 4, 2026, Backcountry Discovery Routes (BDR) announced big news for Canadian riders: the American organization is coming to Canada. At the same time, BDR named MotoMotto/Touratech Canada its exclusive Canadian distributor of official BDR maps and decals. The maps are already on sale online at motomotto.ca, and soon at dealers across the country. No more cross-border shipping costs or long waits to get the gear: everything is now available close to home, just as the first Canadian routes arrive.
If you don’t know BDR, here is the idea: since 2010, this nonprofit has built off-highway routes for adventure and dual-sport motorcycles, first in the United States. Hundreds of miles of gravel, forest roads and quiet back roads, with free GPS tracks, digital maps, route condition updates and documentary films, all on RideBDR.com. BDR is also about rider education, safety campaigns, and bringing business to the rural communities along the way. About fifteen routes already exist south of the border, and since 2022, shorter loop routes called BDR-X have joined the lineup.
The Canadian program starts with two routes. The first, the Vancouver Island BDR-X, launches in January 2027: a figure-8 loop of 805 kilometres (500 miles) through the most remote reaches of Vancouver Island. It crosses mountain ranges, visits saltwater shorelines and lakes, with developed and dispersed camping along the way. Despite the isolation, the island’s tiny towns offer food, fuel and lodging. And the ferry ride from the mainland is part of the adventure in itself. Then, in 2028, comes the British Columbia BDR, a full-length route across the province. More Canadian routes are planned for the years ahead.
For us, this changes something: Canadians have been riding American BDR routes for years, especially the ones near the border — the North East BDR, the Adirondacks BDR-X, and the Montana, Washington and Idaho routes, with the Michigan BDR coming in 2027. Now the route is coming to us, with no border crossing to reach it. And Canada is not arriving empty-handed: the Trans Quebec Trail (TQT) already covers more than 8,000 kilometres across Quebec since its launch in 2021, and the Trans Canada Adventure Trail (TCAT), coast to coast, will be fully relaunched in 2027. BDR plans to work with Classique Ridaventure, the nonprofit behind both routes, to welcome American riders coming to ride here.
In practical terms, these routes are built for adventure and dual-sport bikes, at home on gravel and forest roads — not touring-bike territory. GPS tracks, digital maps and route information are on RideBDR.com. The official paper maps and decals are available from MotoMotto at motomotto.ca: the company, founded in 2013 in the Montreal area, is also the Canadian distributor of Touratech, the German adventure equipment brand. Its Beloeil store, in the Montreal area, also stocks Klim, REV’IT! and other adventure brands, and riders can shop online or in store. For Vancouver Island, plan for the ferry, and aim for the fair season, when the forest roads are clear. As BDR executive director Inna Thorn puts it: adventure riders see no borders.
A first Canadian route in January, a big one in 2028, and home-grown routes already in place: backcountry adventure riding has never been this close to home. So, would you ride the Vancouver Island BDR-X as soon as it launches? Tell us in the comments. And for more motorcycle travel ideas, voyagemotoquebec.com.
Photos
Main photo: two adventure motorcycles on a dirt road. Photo: Cadams7649, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. This photo illustrates the BDR riding style; the scenery is in the American Southwest, not on Vancouver Island.
