Calgary's Best Hikes and Walks

Frits Pannekoek is an associate professor of heritage studies, director
of information resources at the University of Calgary, and the author of
A Snug Little Flock: The Social Origins of the Riel Resistance of
1869–70.

Lori Beattie, an enthusiastic hiker, skier, and snowshoer who operates
Fit Frog Adventures when she is not writing guidebooks, has done Calgary
walkers a great service. Calgary’s Best Hikes and Walks outlines 37
walks that anyone from novice to expert could undertake with great
enjoyment. The book is easy to carry in a knapsack, and the cover is
reasonably weather resilient. Most important, all of the hikes are well
mapped.

Beattie combines hikes through established neighborhoods like Mount
Royal as well as through Calgary’s remarkable natural trail systems.
Fish Creek Provincial Parks is one of the most remarkable of its kind in
Canada and is not enjoyed enough by Canadians. While the book focuses on
walking, many of the trails can also be cycled. The introduction
illustrates pre-walk warm-up exercises. Readers will also appreciate the
categorization of hikes at the back of the book (Summer Home and Garden
Hikes, Fall Colour Hikes, Dogs’ Favourite Hikes, Trail Training Hikes,
Rainy Day Hikes, etc.).

Each of the walks is accompanied by a very brief discussion of the
history of the landscape. These discussions do little to help the walker
deconstruct the hiking environment. (What are the nuances of the various
streetscapes? What is specifically Calgarian about them?) But that would
be another book; this one is highly recommended for the novice or
experienced Calgary urban walker.