Hiking Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Parks, 3rd: A Guide to More Than 60 of the Area's Greatest Hiking Adventures (Regional Hiking Series) [Paperback]

Erik Molvar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2007 | Series: Regional Hiking Series

This comprehensive guide covers more than 850 miles of trails.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

For more than twenty-five years, FalconGuide® has set the standard for outdoor recreation guidebooks. Written by top outdoors experts and enthusiasts, each guide invites you to experience the endless adventure and rugged beauty of the great outdoors.
Discover the wonder of these two spectacular parks as Hiking Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Parks leads you along 850 miles of trail - from short nature hikes to backcountry treks. Veteran hiker Erik Molvar provides all the information you need to get the most out of hiking this International Peace Park with its glistening glaciers, scenic lookouts, peaceful lakes, and remote wilderness.

Look inside to find:

Hikes suited to every ability

Accurate directions to the trailhead and detailed trail descriptions
GPS-compatible maps

Mile-by-mile directional cues
Difficulty ratings, average hiking times, best hiking seasons, and more

About the Author

Veteran author and backcountry explorer Erik Molvar discovered backpacking while working on a volunteer trails crew in the North Cascades of Washington. He is the author of more than a dozen FalconGuides for such places as Glacier National Park, the Bob Marshall Wilderness, Olympic National Park, Zion and Bryce Canyon National Park, as well as Colorado's Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: FalconGuides; 3rd edition (January 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762736321
• ISBN-13: 978-0762736324
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,884 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > Travel > Canada > Provinces > Alberta
  • #3 in Books > Travel > Canada > National Parks
  • #17 in Books > Travel > Reference & Tips > Food & Lodging > Parks & Campgrounds

More About the Author

Veteran author and backcountry explorer Erik Molvar discovered backpacking while working on a volunteer trails crew in the North Cascades of Washington. He is the author of more than a dozen FalconGuides for such places as Glacier National Park, the Bob Marshall Wilderness, Olympic National Park, Zion and Bryce Canyon National Park, as well as Hiking Colorado's Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing!, March 3, 2008

By 

Judy (Troy, MT, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hiking Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Parks, 3rd: A Guide to More Than 60 of the Area's Greatest Hiking Adventures (Regional Hiking Series) (Paperback)

Hiking Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Parks, 3rd: A Guide to More Than 60 of the Area's Greatest Hiking Adventures (Regional Hiking Series)

We owned the "Revised" edition of this book, and misplaced or loaned it. When we started thinking about next year's hike, we searched high and low and realized we couldn't do it without this book! We went to the bookstore and purchased what we THOUGHT was the same book. WRONG! We purchased the 3RD EDITION, and it just was NOT the same! The index is about half as thorough. The real disappointment, though is that the elevation profile charts have been removed. They were invaluable in the revised edition. The 3rd edition has added some neat GPS compatible maps if that's important to you, but we'd gladly trade them for the Elevation profile charts.

We took the 3rd edition right back to the bookstore. Luckily, we were able to find a revised edition on Amazon Marketplace for half the price!

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Bring back the good stuff, February 13, 2008

By 

Ronald J. Priestley (Iowa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hiking Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Parks, 3rd: A Guide to More Than 60 of the Area's Greatest Hiking Adventures (Regional Hiking Series) (Paperback)

This edition is not what it used to be. Gone are the elevation profiles and maps that are easy to read and contained on a single page. Now you get maps that may be GPS enabled but they don't align across pages at all. Without the elevation profiles you don't have any idea of the hike, what gives?? If you can get your hands on an earlier edition do it and forget the new one.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good reference guide, August 27, 2007

By 

S. Payne "mtnbikechick" (Ontario) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hiking Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Parks, 3rd: A Guide to More Than 60 of the Area's Greatest Hiking Adventures (Regional Hiking Series) (Paperback)

I used this, along with Best Easy Day Hikes to plan a trip to Glacier. I wouldn't necessarily use it as the only reference guide, but it was a good start and was helpful for mileage and difficulty ratings for each trail. I also generally do quite a bit of research for my trips on the internet. This did come in handy one day we were trying to fill an afternoon with a shorter hike, though. It was good to have more detailed information about each trail to assist in that decision.

One thing to be warned about at Glacier - especially if you go early in the season (we went 1st week of July)- information from Rangers is not always accurate or up to date. We were told several trails were closed due to snow that we found out too late weren't. We missed one very good hike due to this. We also were told the Highline trail would only take us a couple of hours. When we got to Granite Park Chalet (4.5 hours later) we found out the trail generally takes at least 4 hours. You will want to add in time for picture taking and possible traffic jams (by mountain goats and such) and if you go early in the season, crossing of snow fields. We also found out that several people were advised not to hike the Highline when we did due to some dangerous snow fields (narrow trail covered in slick snow with a sure to be dead drop off if you should slip). I guess my suggestion would be to ask several people instead of relying on advice from just one. It is a beautiful park that everyone should see once - I would recommend the Highline, Swiftcurrent, and Hidden Lake trails.