Moon Canadian Rockies: Including Banff & Jasper National Parks

Loved this moon guide. Very good restaurant tips and general information. Might need an update though.

Before heading to the Canadian Rockies for the first time, I spent time reviewing and reading several guidebooks. This one is notable for its really broad overview of the Canadian Rocky area and covers a wide variety of topics such as restaurants, hikes, lodging, sites to see, etc. I used it a lot during the trip and it really made a positive difference in my experience (e.g., by being able to choose great restaurants in the evening, by choosing lesser-known but really cool sites to visit, etc.). It also provided good history of the area, and descriptions of the flora and fauna, all of which interests me when I travel to an area. I used much of the information later to create a photo album with much more interesting verbiage on the places and sites. I am an avid hiker and backpacker, and therefore did not have the expectation that such a general guide would meet all of my needs in providing detailed and extensive information about trails. This book is not intended for such, and therefore should not be considered a fault. It is probably sufficient for most who enjoy an occasional hike. For those looking for detailed and more thorough hiking information, I highly recommend the hiking "Bible" of the area: "Canadian Rockies Trail Guide", by Brian Patton and Bart Robinson.

just spent 10 days in the canadian rockies and this guidebook made the trip great. it's an amazing area and information in this book is well organized and let's you plan your trip well. one thing we did find off was the grading system for hikes, some "easy" hikes were definitely not. outside of that this guidebook was very complete and accurate, from sights, to restaurants and lodging. one of the best travel books i've ever used.

2007's "Canadian Rockies" is the latest Moon handbook on the swath of wonderful parks that straddle the Canadian Rockies from Jasper through Banff to Waterton on the U.S. border. Packaged in a convenient size and packed with a variety of information, "Canadian Rockies is a superb guide for planning a vacation in a area full of opportunities. The guide covers Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Kootenay, and Waterton National Parks, along with the Kannaskis Country provincial parks just west of Calgary. Information is provided on a range of accomodations, restaurants, museums and tourist exhibits, and opportunities for recreation. The guide includes a nice selection of maps and photographs. Segments on local history provide context for each area. The guide includes information on access to the parks and cautionary warnings on interacting with the abundant wildlife. Depending on the season, the Rockies offer hiking, camping, boating, biking, golf, or skiing at a variety of venues. For example, each park narrative includes a representative sample of day hikes and longer hikes. This reviewer and his family are frequent visitors to the Canadian Rockies and found unsurpassed opportunities for hikes to spectacular terrain accessable in few other places in North America. This guide is very highly recommended to those planning a vacation in the Canadian Rockies.

This is, without doubt, the best 'travel' book written for those travelling through the Canadian Rockies. I lived in the Canadian Rockies for 2 ½ years and now when friends and fellow travellers ask me for advice about the Canadian Rockies (i.e. What to see...what to miss, Where to stay...and what roads to take for better wildlife viewing, etc) I always tell them about this book (and one other - The Canadian Rockies SuperGuide by Graeme Pole).The main reason this book leaves others like it (lonely planet, Frommer's, The Rough Guide, etc) way behind is because 'Even locals will learn something'. (Get yourself to the top of the Jakeroy Glacier trail and you'll get an understanding of how well this author knows the Rockies).While most travel guides tell you about the mainstream tourists destinations, this book continues past those to inform the reader about the lesser-known (and in many cases...Better) areas of the Rockies. The benefit of this extra information is the reader will be able to explore the Rockies...and find their very own, special part of the Rockies...away from the 4 million per year tourist herds. This is a 'travel guide' full of information on what to see, places to stay, places to eat, and much more - if that's what your after - you wont find better. ('ALBERTA and the NORTHWEST TERRITORIES handbook' and 'BRITISH COLUMBIA Handbook', by the same author, are also the best choices for your money).(The Canadian Rockies SuperGuide - by Graeme Pole, is a great book for in-depth information about tourist sites, and certainly gets my recommendation, but covers nothing close to the range of information you will find here).