Internet Resources

Travel Planning

• Canadian Tourism Commission
• www.canadatourism.com [1]
• Official tourism website for all of Canada.

• Travel Alberta
• www.travelalberta.com [2]
• Learn more about the province, plan your travels, and order tourism literature. This official tourism site also has up-to-date event calendars, tips for traveling with children, and an extensive library of images.

Government

• Citizenship and Immigration Canada
• www.cic.gc.ca [3]
• Check this government website for anything related to entry into Canada.

• Environment Canada
• www.weatheroffice.gc.ca [4]
• Five-day forecasts from across Canada, including almost 100 locations through Alberta [5]. Includes weather archives such as seasonal trends and snowfall history.

• Government of Alberta
• www.alberta.ca [6]
• The official website of the Alberta government.

• Government of Canada
• www.gc.ca [7]
• The official website of the Canadian government.

Parks

• Parks Canada
• www.pc.gc.ca [8]
• Official website of the agency that manages Canada’s national parks and national historic sites. Website has information on each of Alberta [5]’s five national parks (fees, camping, and wildlife) and four national historic sites.

• Parks Canada Campground Reservation Service
• www.pccamping.ca [9]
• Online reservation service for national park campgrounds.

Accommodations

• Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts
• www.crmr.com [10]
• Small chain of four upscale resorts.

• Fairmont Hotels and Resorts
• www.fairmont.com [11]
• Lodging chain that owns famous mountain resorts such as the Banff Springs, Chateau Lake Louise, and Jasper Park Lodge, as well as historic gems in Edmonton and Calgary.

• Hostelling International–Canada
• www.hihostels.ca [12]
• Canadian arm of the worldwide organization.

Conservation

• Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley
• www.biosphereinstitute.org [13]
• Canmore-based organization mandated to gather and circulate information on management of the Bow River watershed. Online references include studies, publications, and human-use guidelines for the region.

• Bow Valley Wildsmart
• www.bvwildsmart.ca [14]
• This nonprofit organization has put together a wealth of information on how to stay safe in the Bow Valley watershed, including reported wildlife sightings.

• Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society
• www.cpaws.org [15]
• Nonprofit organization that is instrumental in highlighting conservation issues throughout Canada. The link to the Calgary [16] chapter provides local information and a schedule of guided walks.

• Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative
• www.y2y.net [17]
• Network of 800 groups working on conservation issues in the Canadian Rockies [18] and beyond.

Transportation and Tours

• Air Canada
• www.aircanada.ca [19]
• Canada’s national airline.

• Brewster
• www.brewster.ca [20]
• Banff-based operator offering day trips, airport shuttles, and package tours throughout the province.

• Rocky Mountaineer Vacations
• www.rockymountaineer.com [21]
• Luxurious rail service from Vancouver [22] to Banff [23] and Jasper [24].

• VIA Rail
• www.viarail.ca [25]
• Passenger rail service across Canada.

Publishers

• Gem Trek
• www.gemtrek.com [26]
• You can pick up basic park maps free from local information centers, but this company produces much more detailed maps covering all the most popular regions of the Canadian Rockies [18].

• Lone Pine
• www.lonepinepublishing.com [27]
• Respected for its field guides, this company has books on almost every natural-history subject pertinent to Alberta [5].

• Rocky Mountain Books
• www.rmbooks.com [28]
• Check out the catalog of this Calgary [16] publisher, and you’ll surely be impressed by the list of outdoor recreation guides.

• Summerthought Publishing
• www.summerthought.com [29]
• If you plan on doing lots of hiking, you’ll want a copy of the authoritative Canadian Rockies Trail Guide by this Banff [23] publisher.