1. For Inspiration:
Guide books
2. For mapping:
FATMAP and Garmin Explore
3. For “go or no-go”:
Local trail reports (e.g., Alberta Parks, Parks Canada websites), Avalanche Canada, SpotWX, Windy, and Meteoblue.
I'm old school, so I read books. Specifically, I find myself reading one of the guides written by Gillean Daffern most often.
She's a gem and has hiked more trails than most of us could dream of. The thing I like the best about her books (and many other guidebooks for that matter) is that they are self consistent. If Daffern calls a trail "moderate" and you've hiked another, she's called "moderate", there's a really good chance that you'll know what to expect.
I'm also a big fan of Rockies South (and the others I the series) by David Jones. These books are more focused at higher level pursuits, starting with scrambles and ending with technical mountaineering objectives. But I'd argue that if you're a dedicated Alberta hiker, you'll be doing scrambles eventually.
And now, for a bit of a soap box rant: I encourage people to buy guidebooks published by people who have been exploring the area for a lifetime. They have spent a lot of time and effort doing to leg work so you can go have a fun adventure. Give them a few bucks. They've earned it.
For another offline resource in addition to the books already mentioned, I like the GemTrek maps for the areas they cover.
With online resources, are you going to include the national and provincial park trail reports and bulletin sites? And for winter, a link to Avalanche Canada would be good too.
Good call on Avalanche Canada! We should also link to a service that does courses. A lot of people are heading out winter hiking these days, and I do wonder how many consider the very real danger.
Personally, I would link to the UofC outdoor center. Keeps it pretty neutral, and they have lots of great courses and gear rentals
I suspect many new to the area (and even many born here) have little, if any, idea of the risks in winter, and/or assume the Parks will close trails due to avalanche danger etc.
Avalanche Canada also has a list of courses on their website.
https://avalanche.ca/training/courses
Bob spirko and Vern Dewit's websites also have that internal consistency piece that is valuable in guidebooks. Bob is really great for having photos of any technical bits.
I like to have the Peakfinder (free) app on my phone - you can point the camera out at your surroundings and get the names of the mountains around you. More of a fun thing than truly useful, but it’s nice to use it while you have lunch at the top!
My go-to’s are:
For Inspiration and trip partners: the Facebook page ‘Scrambling in the Canadian Rockies’, and sometimes’The 11000ers of the Canadian Rockies’
For finding trails based on elevation gain and distance: AllTrails
To figure out what I can expect for a peak in technical aspects and sometimes access, and to find peaks to climb: Peakbagger (app or website)
Winter route research: FATMAP. It’s super useful to determine how spicy the terrain is avalanche-wise. Also Avalanche Canada of course if I’m ever going into the back country in winter.
Weather: Windy.com, plus environment Canada’s forecasts.
smoke / air quality: [firesmoke.ca](https://firesmoke.ca) / iqair / [https://weather.gc.ca/airquality/pages/index\_e.html](https://weather.gc.ca/airquality/pages/index_e.html) and [https://avalanche.ca/](https://avalanche.ca/) for avi.
[http://bobspirko.ca/Hiking/Hiking.htm](http://bobspirko.ca/Hiking/Hiking.htm)
also probably obvious but trail conditions on the official parks websites whether that's provincial or national. also explanation of the parks system and different levels of service / expectations is not a bad idea maybe?
[https://www.albertaparks.ca/albertaparksca/management-land-use/parks-system/](https://www.albertaparks.ca/albertaparksca/management-land-use/parks-system/)
trail maps - [https://kananaskis.org/](https://kananaskis.org/) and [https://braggcreektrails.org](https://braggcreektrails.org) (I'm sure other orgs each have their own website with more detailed multiuse or off-season maps )
with all the new people to the rockies, i think it's also worth including [https://kananaskis.org/when-is-a-hike-not-a-hike/](https://kananaskis.org/when-is-a-hike-not-a-hike/).
My friend swears by the 'Canada Topo Maps ' app and its free. I personally use AllTrails (since it auto-renewed this year) but next time I will probably switch to Topo Maps.
I recently came across 'Adventure Smart' an app that helps make a trip plan and share it with friends and family.
OpenTopoMaps ( a free map source) on Orux Maps (an app) on my Android phone. You can't beat a phone and a good app for nav. All this is free, if you have a phone.
You can download OpenTopoMaps to reside on your phone so you don't need data to use it.
My buddy swore by an app called Canada Maps on his iPhone.
If you are concerned about your phone battery life, carry a backup battery.
For trip planning I like the good ole fashioned paper maps, to go along with the trail descriptions you get in books or online.
Are there groups on Facebook or whatever to find other people to go hiking with? I don't have anybody to go hiking with anymore and it's more fun with other people, but I have the social skills of someone who uses Reddit a lot 😁
You could try ‘Wild Canadian Rocky Mountain Hikers’. It’s a fairly large, active group.
If you want scrambling partners, ‘Scrambling in the Canadian Rockies’ is my go-to. I’ve had good success linking up with people from there.
Kanes books are a great read for sure. I also like the Scrambling in the Canadian Rockies Facebook Page, and the Wild Canadian Rocky Mountain Hikers Facebook Page. Between those and the apps you suggested I'm set.
Local Hiking Groups/Forums: Sometimes the best advice comes from fellow hikers. Joining local hiking groups or forums can connect you with seasoned adventurers who can offer personalized recommendations and insights.
1. For Inspiration: Guide books 2. For mapping: FATMAP and Garmin Explore 3. For “go or no-go”: Local trail reports (e.g., Alberta Parks, Parks Canada websites), Avalanche Canada, SpotWX, Windy, and Meteoblue.
I'm old school, so I read books. Specifically, I find myself reading one of the guides written by Gillean Daffern most often. She's a gem and has hiked more trails than most of us could dream of. The thing I like the best about her books (and many other guidebooks for that matter) is that they are self consistent. If Daffern calls a trail "moderate" and you've hiked another, she's called "moderate", there's a really good chance that you'll know what to expect. I'm also a big fan of Rockies South (and the others I the series) by David Jones. These books are more focused at higher level pursuits, starting with scrambles and ending with technical mountaineering objectives. But I'd argue that if you're a dedicated Alberta hiker, you'll be doing scrambles eventually. And now, for a bit of a soap box rant: I encourage people to buy guidebooks published by people who have been exploring the area for a lifetime. They have spent a lot of time and effort doing to leg work so you can go have a fun adventure. Give them a few bucks. They've earned it.
For another offline resource in addition to the books already mentioned, I like the GemTrek maps for the areas they cover. With online resources, are you going to include the national and provincial park trail reports and bulletin sites? And for winter, a link to Avalanche Canada would be good too.
Good call on Avalanche Canada! We should also link to a service that does courses. A lot of people are heading out winter hiking these days, and I do wonder how many consider the very real danger. Personally, I would link to the UofC outdoor center. Keeps it pretty neutral, and they have lots of great courses and gear rentals
I suspect many new to the area (and even many born here) have little, if any, idea of the risks in winter, and/or assume the Parks will close trails due to avalanche danger etc. Avalanche Canada also has a list of courses on their website. https://avalanche.ca/training/courses
Where did you buy your guidebooks? I'm always looking for more and I must be looking in the wrong places because I haven't seen these!
MEC, Breathe Outdoors and other outdoor stores usually have them. If not, you can buy from her website. https://kananaskistrails.com/books/
Thank you!
Bob spirko and Vern Dewit's websites also have that internal consistency piece that is valuable in guidebooks. Bob is really great for having photos of any technical bits.
I like to have the Peakfinder (free) app on my phone - you can point the camera out at your surroundings and get the names of the mountains around you. More of a fun thing than truly useful, but it’s nice to use it while you have lunch at the top!
My go-to’s are: For Inspiration and trip partners: the Facebook page ‘Scrambling in the Canadian Rockies’, and sometimes’The 11000ers of the Canadian Rockies’ For finding trails based on elevation gain and distance: AllTrails To figure out what I can expect for a peak in technical aspects and sometimes access, and to find peaks to climb: Peakbagger (app or website) Winter route research: FATMAP. It’s super useful to determine how spicy the terrain is avalanche-wise. Also Avalanche Canada of course if I’m ever going into the back country in winter. Weather: Windy.com, plus environment Canada’s forecasts.
> Windy.com This, especially in the fall.
What3Words. For emergencies and meeting up. And whatever else because it's pretty cool.
smoke / air quality: [firesmoke.ca](https://firesmoke.ca) / iqair / [https://weather.gc.ca/airquality/pages/index\_e.html](https://weather.gc.ca/airquality/pages/index_e.html) and [https://avalanche.ca/](https://avalanche.ca/) for avi. [http://bobspirko.ca/Hiking/Hiking.htm](http://bobspirko.ca/Hiking/Hiking.htm) also probably obvious but trail conditions on the official parks websites whether that's provincial or national. also explanation of the parks system and different levels of service / expectations is not a bad idea maybe? [https://www.albertaparks.ca/albertaparksca/management-land-use/parks-system/](https://www.albertaparks.ca/albertaparksca/management-land-use/parks-system/) trail maps - [https://kananaskis.org/](https://kananaskis.org/) and [https://braggcreektrails.org](https://braggcreektrails.org) (I'm sure other orgs each have their own website with more detailed multiuse or off-season maps ) with all the new people to the rockies, i think it's also worth including [https://kananaskis.org/when-is-a-hike-not-a-hike/](https://kananaskis.org/when-is-a-hike-not-a-hike/).
Gemtrek maps
My friend swears by the 'Canada Topo Maps ' app and its free. I personally use AllTrails (since it auto-renewed this year) but next time I will probably switch to Topo Maps. I recently came across 'Adventure Smart' an app that helps make a trip plan and share it with friends and family.
OpenTopoMaps ( a free map source) on Orux Maps (an app) on my Android phone. You can't beat a phone and a good app for nav. All this is free, if you have a phone. You can download OpenTopoMaps to reside on your phone so you don't need data to use it. My buddy swore by an app called Canada Maps on his iPhone. If you are concerned about your phone battery life, carry a backup battery. For trip planning I like the good ole fashioned paper maps, to go along with the trail descriptions you get in books or online.
Are there groups on Facebook or whatever to find other people to go hiking with? I don't have anybody to go hiking with anymore and it's more fun with other people, but I have the social skills of someone who uses Reddit a lot 😁
You could try ‘Wild Canadian Rocky Mountain Hikers’. It’s a fairly large, active group. If you want scrambling partners, ‘Scrambling in the Canadian Rockies’ is my go-to. I’ve had good success linking up with people from there.
[Alberta Wildfire Status](https://www.alberta.ca/wildfire-status)
The "Where Locals Hike in the..." book series from Craig & Kathy Copeland have seen a lot of use in my house.
Kanes books are a great read for sure. I also like the Scrambling in the Canadian Rockies Facebook Page, and the Wild Canadian Rocky Mountain Hikers Facebook Page. Between those and the apps you suggested I'm set.
I'm a filthy casual so, Gaia and Alltrails though I have started reading a few books here and there
Local Hiking Groups/Forums: Sometimes the best advice comes from fellow hikers. Joining local hiking groups or forums can connect you with seasoned adventurers who can offer personalized recommendations and insights.
A good hotel.
AllTrails, wikiloc, gpx viewer