Day hiking in the Rockies
 

In 2 weeks, my family & I will be traveling to Glacier National Park (US); Jasper & Banff National Parks as well...We all like hiking very much and would be interested in knowing any "hikes not to be missed." Does anyone have any suggestions for some 6-10 mile hikes in any of these parks? We're especially interested in scenery & wildlife...any ideas? thanx

For Glacier I have 3 to suggest.
The Highline Trail from Logan Pass.
It is spectacular. You can walk as far as you like before stopping and returning because the trail goes on for a long ways. The immediate objective would be Haystack Butte which is obvious to your left as you begin the hike. The trail also leads to a hikers shelter known as Granite Park Chalet.

A second favorite is the trail to the Grinnell Glacier. You can shorten it a critical amount by taking the boats across the two lakes to a dock on the far side. It is a steady uphill climb and you should be prepared for snow, mud, and rocks.

A third one is Iceberg Lake. It is a 10 miler to a lake that lies beneath 3,000 foot cliffs.

Unfortunately, as early as you are going, some of the trails may not be open yet because of snow. We were there in early July 2 years ago and the Highline trail was still closed because of snow and ice. So I hope you are not disappointed.

For the Canadian Rockies, let me suggest you order from Amazon a copy of the Canadian Rockies Trail Guide by Brian Patton and Bart Robinson. It will list more hikes than you can take in a lifetime. I consider it to be the best hiking guide in the English language, even better than Kev Reynolds classics on The Valais and the Berner Oberland in Switzerland.

If you don't want to do that, bookstores in Banff and Lake Louise village will have it for sale. The book is a classic that is now in its 7th edition. So it has stood the test of time and the market place.

Bob,
I went looking for the Trail Guide that you suggested, 7th edition, at Barnes and Noble today, and they didn't have it. Tried to find it on Amazon.com and it's a bit confusing, as they are saying it's out of print and only these used ones are for sale. However, I belive some of them are the old edition. Can you tell me how many pages are in the most current one?

PS Iceberg Lake is 10 miles total.
It is uphill going to it and the reverse returning. The trail head is in near the cabin area at Many Glacier.
The boat to take the Grinnel hike leaves from the hotel boat dock.

Regarding the hiking guide - your best bet is to purchase it once you are in Canada. I know that there are tons of copies at The Book Den in Banff (on the main street = Banff Ave.), and I think that you should also be able to find it in bookstores in Calgary.
There are a lot of other guides to hikes, walks and attractions of the Rocky Mountains as well; so you will have a large choice.
Another book to consider by Brian Patton is "Parkways of the Canadian Rockies - A Road Guide" - a descriptive mile-by-mile log of the Rocky Mountain parks. It's coil-bound and convenient to use. I have seen copies in Banff as recently as this past February.

Another suggestion - try Amamzon.ca instead of Amamzon.com (it's the Canadian branch of the on-line bookstore and quite often there is a difference in the books that are available).

Sorry!! I just checked amazon.ca and they don't have it either.

However, there is some good news. Try this website - it's for the bookstore in Banff:
http://www.banffbooks.com/hiking.php

hibiscushouse

I drove myself crazy trying to get a copy of the Trail Guide last fall because it was so highly recommended on this site. I ordered it from Amazon.com 3 different times, because they said they had it--only to have them tell me (after a week or two)that they couldn't get it--but never took it off their list. I even ordered it from a "hard to find book site" and after waiting a while, was finally told they couldn't get it either. I think it is published in Canada, so Borealis's idea may work for you. When we arrived in Banff--there were plenty of copies available in many different book/gift stores (in Banff and Jasper).

Thanks to the both of you. It looks as though I will have to wait until I get to Canada to pick on up. We leave on the 22nd, so I'd be worried it wouldn't arrive at my house in time if I ordered it.
Cheers.

Thanks everyone for all the help...we'll be sure to buy a copy of both books...By the way hibiscushouse...we're leaving on the 22nd also out of Arizona from 110 degree heat to 50s & 60s sounds pretty darn good...have a safe trip...godspeed.

You can find the book and order it from:
http://www.canrockbooks.com/

You will have to drill down under the keyword hiking on the right side of the screen. The book is listed on the second page of the hiking guides.
It is $14.95 US, with some shipping added. The store uses the shopping cart logic to do the sales.

I am amazed that a book for such a popular area is so hard to find.
My old source, the Adventurous Traveler bookstore has been taken over by Amazon and it has virtually nothing anymore of interest to hikers.

The fact that nobody carries hiking books means that the Kev Reynolds series of books on hiking in Switzerland are going to be almost impossible to find.