Customer Reviews

50 Walks and Hikes in Banff National Park

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a shorter, less detailed but more colorful version of the author's Canadian Rockies Trail Guide. It is likely adequate for most families visiting the Canadian Rockies and looking for hiking suggestions, but it is disappointing that the hikes are not rated in terms of difficulty and scenery. All hikes are not created equal. The Canadian Rockies covers a lot of territory, so you may have to drive a good ways to get to a trailhead, which leaves less time for hiking. But I also found "Don't Waste Your Time In The Canadian Rockies: The Opinionated Hiking Guide" too detailed and hard to use for vacationing hikers (as opposed to residents and more frequent visitors).

As it is written by the authors of the well known Canadian Rockies Trail Guide, you know that the trail descriptions are going to be accurate and the information useful. Each of the 50 trail descriptions has a color map, color photos, and interesting tidbits, like where the trail name came from. For casual hikers, this is the book I would recommend for anyone heading to Banff.

Settling for "road sites" in Banff is like settling for vanilla ice cream without any toppings. This small booklet gave an excellent overview of some of the best hikes in Banff National Park. During September 2010 my wife and I took some of those hikes. We were never disappointed in the reviews provided by authors Brian Patton and Bart Robinson. If you're coming to Banff for more than shopping and you really want to SEE the Park, you MUST leave the road behind.

The book helped us find a few hikes that we wanted to do while at Lake Louise and Banff. It's also easy to carry with you.