Popular Day Hikes is a series of bestselling books written for visitors and locals looking to hike scenic trails from well-established staging areas.

This new edition of Gillean Daffern’s bestselling, full-colour guidebook has been completely updated to include new trails, fresh photographs, and revised access information for one of Alberta’s favourite destinations for outdoor enthusiasts.

Located on the eastern slopes of the Canadian Rockies, Kananaskis Country is just a short drive west of Calgary. The areas of Canmore, Bow Valley, Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, Highwood, Elbow, Kananaskis Valley, Smith-Dorrien, Sheep and Jumpingpound all offer a wide range of choices for those day trippers looking for unique and irresistible views throughout this world-renowned mountain range. From easy, short day walks to ridgewalks – with a pitch or two of easy scrambling – there is something in this volume for everyone. Some of the trips included are:

Ha Ling Peak

Barrier Lake Lookout

Ribbon Falls

Upper Kananaskis Lake

Ptarmigan Cirque

Burstall Pass

Picklejar Lakes

Mount Burke

Nihahi Ridge

Each hike includes:

detailed directions to trailheads

colour maps and photographs

seasonal information

round-trip distances

trail commentary

difficulty ratings

Gillean Daffern has been exploring Kananaskis Country for decades and understands its landscape and history intimately throughout every season of the year. She has also been writing and publishing bestselling trail guides to Kananaskis Country for over 30 years and is the author of the renowned five-volume series Gillean Daffern’s Kananaskis Country Trail Guide, which is moving into its 5th edition and has sold well over 100,000 copies since it was first published in 1979. She also travels to mountain areas outside of Kananaskis Country, and in particular enjoys visiting countries off the beaten tourist path. Gillean is the co-founder of Rocky Mountain Books and, along with her husband, Tony Daffern, was awarded the Banff Mountain Festival’s Summit of Excellence Award in 2006. She lives in Calgary, Alberta.

Gillean Daffern's profile page