Our Most Popular Guidebooks

Here at Map Town we carry a huge selection of outdoor recreation guidebooks of all types. Here are a few of our most popular guides to help you plan your next excursion. If you know of a great Canadian Rockies travel book, Alberta travel guide or British Columbia travel guide that we don't carry please let us know and we can always special order it for you!

Some of our most popular Alberta and BC guide books:

Canadian Rockies Trail Guide Hikers affectionately refer to The Canadian Rockies Trail Guide as "the bible." When it was published in 1971, it was the first Canadian Rockies hiking guidebook with accurate distances and detailed descriptions to the trails of the mountain national parks. After several major revisions, it evolved into the most comprehensive guide to trails in the national and provincial parks of the Canadian Rockies. The seventh edition is totally revised and expanded by 90 pages to cover the trails of the mountain national parks and five of the most accessible provincial parks. Click here to order Canadian Rockies Trail Guide.

Don't Waste Your Time in the Canadian Rockies These are boot-tested opinions on which are the best hikes in the Canadian Rocky Mountain parks, which ones you should avoid, and why. The writers rate each trip Premier, Outstanding, Worthwhile, or Don't Do. This kind of advice is available only from the Don't Waste Your Time guidebook series. Reading this Canadian Rockies hiking guide is like consulting an honest friend who has vast hiking experience and wants you to enjoy a memorable adventure. Click here to order Don't Waste Your Time in the Canadian Rockies.

Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies Completely revised and updated with over 50 new scrambles, this guide includes 156 easy peaks with a wide range of difficulty suitable for novice climbers and experienced hikers who want a little more challenge. Illustrated with 188 route photos. This is an excellent guide for any hikers that want to push themselves a little bit farther and try some scrambles that aren't overly crowded. Click here to order Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies.

Backcountry Huts & Lodges For the steadily increasing number of backcountry vacationers who enjoy the rugged grandeur of the mountain but still appreciate having a roof over their head at day's end, this comprehensive travel guide to wilderness lodging in Canada's Rocky and Columbia mountains is a must. You will find a wealth of information about 124 warm havens from the primitive to the palatial to enjoy after strolling over alpine ridges, scaling granite spires, hiking through alpine meadows, carving turns on glaciers or casting a line in an alpine lake. Click here to order Backcountry Huts & Lodges

Geological Wonders in Alberta The authors of this guide have modelled this book after successful guides used for bird watchers and plant enthusiasts. This is not a text book, it is a field guide, something to take with you on day trips or long vacations around Alberta. The photos, colour drawings, superb maps and text combine to open the world of the geologist to everybody. Each site has its own fascinating story but these are linked to background information that paints a picture of the geological history of Alberta that is both compelling and easy to understand. Click here to order Geological Wonders in Alberta.

Kananaskis Country Trail Guide Volume 1 If you're planning to spend a lot of time hiking in Kananaskis Country, this is the most comprehensive guide available to the trails in the area. Coverage in Volume 1 includes trails in the Canmore, Spray Lakes and Kananaskis Lakes areas. The emphasis is on major day hikes with many "unofficial trails," included, which may require route-finding skills and some minor scrambling. Click here to order Kananaskis Country Trail Guide Volume 1.

Kananaskis Country Trail Guide Volume 2 A companion to Volume 1 (above), this trail guide covers the Highwood, Livingstone, Sheep River, Elbow River and Jumpingpound regions of Kananaskis Country. The emphasis is on major day hikes with many "unofficial trails," included, which may require route-finding skills and some minor scrambling. Click here to order Kananaskis Country Trail Guide Volume 2

Classic Hikes in the Canadian Rockies A comprehensive Canadian Rockies travel guide to all of the best hikes. From day trips to extended overnight adventures, this book provides you with the information you need to experience the magnificent mountain environment of the Canadian Rockies. Each hike in introduced with detailed route and trailhead instructions. Full colour maps indicate the location and direction of each hike and point out the outstanding landscape features. The hike descriptions are supplemented with important information on history, geology, nature, as well as side-trip options. Click here to order Classic Hikes in the Canadian Rockies.

Handbook of the Canadian Rockies This is the one of the most comprehensive field guides to the Canadian Rockies you can ever read. This book covers geology, plants, birds, animals, history and recreation from Waterton Lakes in southern Alberta to the Yukon in northern Canada. You will find identification guides about everything from bats and bees to mushrooms and fossils, not to mention Rocky Mountain birds, mammals and flowers. An historical outline plus hiking and safety tips are also included. Lots of color photos and line drawings illustrate the text. Ben Gadd, a former Park interpreter, writes with a direct style that is a pleasure to read. Click here to order Handbook of the Canadian Rockies.

Backcountry Biking in the Canadian Rockies Backcountry Biking in the Canadian Rockies describes 228 mountain bike trails in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta and British Columbia. Completely revised and updated, the third edition introduces more than 50 exciting new trails, including trails in three new riding areas - Nordegg, Invermere and Cranbrook. Whether you're a beginner, an expert rider or a hard-core backcountry traveller, this Canadian Rockies travel book gives you all the essential information to make your trip safe and fun. Click here to order Backcountry Biking in the Canadian Rockies.

Ridgewalks in the Canadian Rockies Ridgewalks in the Canadian Rockies presents over 140 ridgewalks from Waterton Lakes National Park to Jasper national Park and in British Columbia. There are over 50 page of maps and more than 160 photos. Ridgewalking is an enjoyable, often challenging way to experience the landscape. Ridgewalks hold great appeal because of the views they offer: it's like being on a summit all day. This is the only guidebook that exclusively covers ridgewalks in the Canadian Rockies. Click here to order Ridgewalks in the Canadian Rockies.

Canadian Rockies Access Guide This is the most comprehensive - and best - guidebook we've found about day hikes in the Canadian Rockies. The trails in Banff and Jasper Parks are very well-represented, however, the trails in the Yoho, Kootenay, Waterton and Kananaskis areas are not covered in as much detail. Trail descriptions and directions to the trailhead are clear, while the writing is lively and informed. Complementing the 115 day hikes are useful sections with lots of specifics about other outdoor adventures such as canoeing, camping, cycling and even where to find wildlife. The authors are talented former journalists. Click here to order Canadian Rockies Access Guide.

Walks and Easy Hikes in the Canadian Rockies This trail guide covers 102 easily-accessible trails in Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Kootenay and Waterton Lakes National Parks ranging from viewpoints a few feet from the car to more strenuous half-day hikes to teahouses and hoodoos. Trail directions and maps are sketchy, but the book's strength lies in its color photos, interesting sidebars and historical and natural history notes. It's well-organized, so you'll be able to easily plot your outings as you tour the parks. Click here to order Walks and Easy Hikes in the Canadian Rockies.

Hot Springs of Western Canada A complete guide to Canada's hot springs, all of which are in western Canada. This book includes hot springs resorts and natural and hand-made hot springs pools that can be reached by car or require a walk, hike, or boat trip to reach. Some of the hot springs in the wilderness are especially appealing because they have excellent pools and are seldom visited. The book also provides information on how hot springs work and on the springs' water temperatures, water characteristics, and histories. Click here to order Hot Springs of Western Canada.