Moon Handbooks Alberta by Andrew Hempstead (2004, Paperback)

Moon Handbooks Alberta Including Banff, Jasper, and the Canadian Rockies is the ultimate overview for traveling within Alberta, Canada. This book contains 467 pages of travel information but is still small enough to tuck in a backpack for easy reference. Furthermore, this book has plenty of fairly detailed maps, complete with accurate distance scales, for easy travel planning or reference while you travel.

There are twelve chapters in Moon Handbooks Alberta: Introduction, On the Road, Calgary, Dinosaur Valley, Southern Alberta, West of Calgary, Banff National Park, Jasper National Park, Central Alberta, Edmonton, Northern Alberta, Resources. The introduction chapter contains an overview on Alberta and its various regions. This detailed information includes geology, climate, flora, fauna, history, economy, and the government of the province. The next chapter, On the Road, contains general information and contacts for outdoor recreation; arts and entertainment; accommodations and food; transportation; and information services within the province of Alberta. The Resources chapter contains further information on suggested readings and internet resources.

The rest of the chapters in Moon Handbooks Alberta focus on particular geographical regions within Alberta. The first paragraph or page of each regional section describes a little about the region. After this overview, individual sights, recreation areas, special events, accommodations, food services, information services, and transportation services are depicted in detail. Depending on the size and general amount of facilities in a given region, there may be only one or two entries per category or over a dozen. Each entry contains the location, contacts, costs, and a short paragraph description of the facility or event featured. Several black and white maps accompany each section, clearly marked with the various facilities described in that particular section.

Some facility or event categories are described in extreme detail. For instance, there are six pages about the Calgary Stampede held in Calgary every July. This mini-section reflects the history of the Calgary Stampede and then sets out the events, entertainment, food services, accommodations, and transportation services available during the ten-day event. Specifics such as costs and contacts are also printed under each entry.

Though some medium sized towns are described in Moon Handbooks Alberta, most of this book focuses on cities and larger towns. Thus, not every town in Alberta is discussed in this work. No doubt such a complete book would no linger fit so easily in a backpack for easy reference. Therefore, if you are looking for something to do or some place to stay in a small Alberta town this book will not detail these specifics. Nonetheless, the regional coverage of this work is such that there is probably a pertinent entry or two a short distance from most any small town in Alberta. In this way, entertainment, accommodation, and food are but a short commute away from anywhere in Alberta.