Reddit reviews Canadian Rockies Trail Guide

There's really nothing too complicated about it. I assume you'll just be day-hiking, so just do some reading on bear safety, put some food, warmer clothes, and bear spray in your backpack, and start walking! Most official trails are well marked and difficult to get lost on. Hiking boots are nice, but absolutely not necessary.

These books are excellent resources and will tell you the basics, as well as the goods on all the trails:

Classic Hikes in the Canadian Rockies - Graeme Pole

Canadian Rockies Trail Guide - Brian Patton & Bart Robinson

You could also join the Alpine Club of Canada. They do a lot of organized trips, with a focus on mountaineering and climbing. There is also an Edmonton Hiking group on meetup.com that does lots of walks in the River Valley with the occasional planned trip to the mountains.

Note that most trails will be snow covered until later than you might think (late June/early July) - check here for trail reports for the mountain parks.

If you need anything else, please feel free to PM me.

If you come to Banff National Park I would recommend grabbing this book. https://www.amazon.ca/Canadian-Rockies-Trail-Guide-Patton/dp/0981149189

Lot's of amazing day and multi-day. Their are so many hiking trails in the area, but most people will stick to the major ones.

Yeah, you should not be walking into the backcountry randomly - those are the people who get carried out - sometimes alive, sometimes not.

Grab a trail guide (I've used Brian Patton's guide for decades), and plan a modest overnighter. Aim for 10-12km each way, and figure out what you need to take. Expect that you'll get terrible weather, understand that carrying 50lb on your back is going to crush you when climbing hills, and imagine cooking over a tiny burner with half-numb hands. I'd say get a book on hiking as well - The Complete Walker used to be fantastic, but I'm sure there are others out there.

Maybe as a run-up, do a few day trips. Head up to a pass and back down, something under 20km round trip. With a day-pack, you'll get an appreciation for how long that is, at least. And you'll also get to see just how gorgeous the high country is.