"How far is it to the Canadian Rockies?"

The Canadian Rockies and the national parks within them are huge. To get the most out of your trip, it's a good idea to plan in advance. Below are links that we've checked for quality of presentation and accurate information.

Parks Canada Websites: These are the official national park websites. They include weather info, trail reports, safety and wildlife info, park maps and more. w   Banff National Park w   Yoho National Park w   Jasper National Park

Where to stay to take in one of our interpretive shows:

We do regularly scheduled interpretive shows at the following hotels. For more information and the current schedule click here.

Other recommended hotels:

w Paradise Lodge
w Baker Creek Chalets
w Storm Mountain Lodge
w Cathedral Mountain Chalets

Companies that can arrange your personalized trip:

w Off the Beaten Path Bozeman, Montana

Websites for Canadian Rockies trip planning:

w Digital Banff
Created by locals for locals and visitors alike.
w Banff Lake Louise Tourism
The local tourism bureau has a very good site.
w Canadianrockies.net
Another large site that we advertise on.
w The Field and Yoho National Park Guide
A beautiful site about Yoho. The main town, Field, is only 20 minutes from Lake Louise.
w The Icefields Parkway
An interactive guide to the road between Lake Louise and Jasper.

Other Links for Trip Planning:

w Gem Trek Maps
w Earthfoot.org
This website provides info and links to small, personal.ecotourism operators around the world.

Other activities and guides you may be interested in:

w Ben Gadd, Interpretive Guide in Jasper
w Wild Water Adventures
Whitewater rafting.
w The Athabasca Icewalks at the Columbia Icefield
w Monique Hunkeler, Marriage Commissioner
Mountain marriages by Monique!
w Fernie Nature Tours
Excellent guide in the Fernie area (closer to Waterton Lakes National Park).

Nature of the Canadian Rockies:

w The Bear Den
w The Searching Wolf
w International Wolf Center
w The Marmot Burrow
w World Lynx
w Canadian Wildlife Service - Hinterland
.......Who's Who
w The Animal Diversity Web
w US Forest Service Fire Effects Information
Accurate biology and habitat information on the plants and animals of N.A. Research citations included.
w Kimball's Biology Pages
An online biology textbook with illustrations.
w The Cornell Lab of Ornithology
w The Fatal Light Awareness Program
Help prevent migratory bird deaths in cities.
w The Ultimate Ungulate Page
Your guide to the world's hoofed mammals.

Miscellaneous:

w Alpine Threadworks
Our friend, Neil Warren, makes beautiful, waterproof tote bags of all kinds.
w Roger Hostin - Canadian Rockies Photography
w John E. Marriott - Wildlife and Nature Photography
w Rocky Mountain Peak Finder

Our Donations and Volunteer Work

A portion of our profits are given to wildlife conservation and research. Each year, Great Divide Nature Interpretation makes donations to the following organizations:

The Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area
The Lake O'Hara Trails Club
Rocky Mountain Eagle Research Foundation
Wings Over the Rockies Bird Festival - Conservation Fund
The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative

We also donate free hiking or snowshoeing trips as fund raisers for various organisations. For example, Taste of the Nation, the Calgary Youth Singers, the Friends of Yoho National Park and the Rocky Mountain Eagle Research Foundation.

And we do extensive volunteer work with the Interpretive Guides Association, the local MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) project and Wings Over the Rockies Bird Festival.

Going Carbon Neutral

In 2008, Great Divide Nature Interpretation decided to go carbon neutral. To reduce the CO2 emissions produced by our business and home, we have taken the following steps:

1. We buy wind-generated electricity from Bullfrog Power.

2. We’ve made every effort to reduce the amount of energy we use. We’ve installed a programmable thermostat, use CF bulbs and eliminated phantom power through the use of power bars. We also try to consciously avoid wasting energy.

3. Using several different internet “CO2 emission calculators,” we determined how much CO2 our office, vehicles and household produce. We now purchase carbon offsets to compensate for the CO2 emitted by all aspects of our business, home and life.

This does not cancel out the CO2 we emit, but it does prevent an equivalent amount from being put into the atmosphere. The fees paid to Climate Care – the gold standard offsetter company we’ve chosen – are used to fund the installation of windmills and solar panels, and the construction of biomass electricity generators and run-of-the-river hydro projects throughout the world.

If you are looking into how you can reduce your CO2 footprint, try searching the internet for green electricity providers in your area, and organizations that can offset your CO2 emissions.

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