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Canadian Rockies Trail Guide

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First published in 1971, the Canadian Rockies Trail Guide was the original guidebook with accurate distances and detailed descriptions to the trails of the Canadian Rockies.

Whether you're a Canadian Rockies local or a visitor, the Canadian Rockies Trail Guide provides the best resource for hiking in the region, with everything from short interpretive trails to week-long backcountry treks. Now in its 9th edition and known affectionately as the "Bible" by outdoor enthusiasts, the popular tome has evolved into the most comprehensive and well-known guidebook to hiking in the region.

Having spent their entire adult lives hiking in the Canadian Rockies and writing about their experiences, authors Brian Patton and Bart Robinson are regarded as the ultimate authority on hiking in the Canadian Rockies. The Canadian Rockies Trail Guide is the only hiking guide to the region recommended by Fodor's, Frommer's, and Lonely Planet, and has even been recommended by the New York Times. With over 280,000 copies in print, the Canadian Rockies Trail Guide is one of the best-selling non-fiction books in Canadian publishing history.

The Canadian Rockies Trail Guide

- 227 Canadian Rockies hiking as well as dozens of interesting side trips.
- Hikes for Pick the perfect trail for your ability and interests, from short interpretive strolls to week-long backcountry treks.
- Planning Trail outlines, distance, elevation, and estimated hiking time for every trail.
- Directions and Trailhead driving directions, including GPS location, as well as regional maps.
- Advice from the Authors Brian Patton and Bart Robinson are the ultimate Canadian Rockies hiking resource for accurate trail information and trusted opinions.
- Hiking Expert advice on gear, first aid, camping permits, and ethical hiking, plus background information on climate, landscape, and wildlife.
- Trip Information sources, backcountry lodges, map recommendations, and safety tips.

464 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

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Brian Patton

49 books1 follower

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5 stars
35 (51%)
4 stars
20 (29%)
3 stars
10 (14%)
2 stars
3 (4%)
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Profile Image for Kristy Johnston.
978 reviews34 followers
September 10, 2018
This is quite the comprehensive guide to hiking in the Canadian Rockies and includes far more area than I was able to cover in the 10 day vacation that I spent there. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because a few of the hikes were a little confusing on the distances because of the optional side trips (a 9 mile loop ended up being 13 miles after a side excursion, and I'm glad we didn't do the other side excursion because we would have missed a spectacular avalanche at the Victoria Glacier) and because we got lost a couple of times looking for trailheads. It's quite descriptive but things (and signage) do change. I have the 2017 publication. This in combination with the Hiking with Barry blog (I found some of his combination hikes to have more accurate milage/km) were great tools for our 10 days of exploration.

My husband and I stayed at the Fairmont Chateau in Lake Louise and either took shuttles or drove out to different regions from there each day for hiking and viewing wildlife/flowers. Definitely recommend taking a guided ice walk at the Athabasca Glacier. If you plan on driving the Icefields Parkway, I also recommend his ebook Icefields Parkway Driving Guide as there is great background and information on stops that are not marked on the road including a great waterfall that is down a trail hidden off a scenic viewpoint. We saw dozens of people stop there for the view but we only saw one other couple (who admitted they were locals) on the trail to the waterfall simply because the trail is unmarked and no-one knew it was there.
Profile Image for Pablo.
67 reviews
December 12, 2013
Nicely written, great recommendations and good hikes. This book is essential if you are visiting Banff, Lake Louise, or Jasper. It is sad that some really good trails in Canmore are not covered. Good pictures and highlights. It made hiking easier in the rockies! If you have a short limited amount of time on the rockies, this book is a good place to pick which hikes to do.
Profile Image for Ian.
438 reviews120 followers
September 24, 2019
A Canadian classic and my introduction to hiking . We have used it for 30 plus years (probably time for an updated edition). Authors manage to cram a lot of detail into a compact volume. My favourite line remains "The hiker will pay dearly for the view." We did but it was worth it
Profile Image for Markus.
86 reviews2 followers
August 21, 2015
I would have rated this book higher had I not already read the book on Isle Royale National Park (USA) by Jim Dufresne. To be fair, Isle Royale is a much smaller park, and is only one, while Brian Patton covers the ENTIRE Canadian Rockies. I found myself wishing that Patton would have gone into greater detail. It felt like he was trying to cover too much information in one book. There were a few occasions where he mentioned a "more popular" trail combination, but did not list that as a single trail, leaving me to piece it together from multiple pages. I wish that Patton would have used his knowledge and experience to go further in depth, possibly causing the book to be broken up into a few volumes to cover the entire Canadian Rockies.

With my grievances aside, this book is well done, and a must for anyone going into the Canadian Rockies for day hiking or backpacking.
528 reviews1 follower
July 29, 2008
Apparently, not too many hiking books on the Canadian Rockies. Good popular hikes listed here with quite a bit of detail.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews

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