Controversy and contradiction have become the blood and guts of most of today’s blogs, but sometimes there’s room for a little of what’s good in life. A case in point: my just-concluded trip to the Canadian Rockies and Glacier National Park in northern Montana.

Now I’m not sure you’re up for a travelogue, and if you clicked here to download John Denver’s old ditty, then maybe this is as far as you want to go. But for anyone considering a summer escape to what has to rank as North America’s most beautiful, unadulterated terrain, I’ve got recommendations for you.

Let’s start in Banff (Alberta), Canada’s oldest and most renowned national park. Located a little more than an hour west of Calgary, Banff was created in 1885 around a collection of thermal hot springs. However, over the past century Banff has been greatly expanded to include Lakes Louise, Moraine (pictured above) and Minnewanka as well as hundreds of skyscraping peaks, miles and miles of pine forests, and even the 8,000-person town of Banff itself.

We spent three days in Banff, which unless you’re an avid hiker, mountaineer or cyclist is probably the perfect sojourn. Touristic must-sees include a visit to the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, a ride up the Banff gondola for a panoramic view of the town and surroundings, and a drive up to Lake Louise and Lake Moraine.

Meanwhile, our hotel, the Buffalo Mountain Lodge, was the essence of mountain chic, and a dinner of grilled quail and bison ribeye served at the lodge’s Sleeping Buffalo restaurant (all washed down with Quails’ Gate Merlot from neighboring British Columbia) was superb. In fact, dining in Banff’s better restaurants is almost guaranteed to be a top-shelf experience. For game lovers, the Maple Leaf Grille on the corner of Banff Avenue and Wolf Street is rock solid and offers wide appeal; but it’s also expensive and touristy, as is all of Banff in peak summer. (Just how many tacky souvenir shops does one town need?) For more creativity and fewer Asian patrons taking digital photos of their elk tenderloin, try Coyotes on Caribou Street or the Bison Mountain Bistro on Bear Street. For quirkiness, fondue and food you cook yourself over hot rocks, the venerable Grizzly House on Banff Ave. is a trip. As for cocktails al fresco, I haven’t had a better mojito than the one made by bartender George Kaplun at Timbers on Wolf Street, while breakfast at Melissa’s on Lynx St. is down-home and delicious. For beers and live music, the Rose & Crown on Banff Ave. is the place to hit.

Five hours to the south, and directly across the border in Montana, is the town of Whitefish and easy access to Glacier National Park. Whitefish is one of these fast-growing mountain communities with just enough modernity and quality to rank as a true destination. Our stay at Betsy and Woody Cox’s Good Medicine Lodge was a treat because it is a modern and comfortable place with a hot tub, complimentary drinks in the evening and excellent breakfasts. Of all the B&Bs we’ve stayed at over the years, Good Medicine has been our favorite. For dinner on Whitefish Mountain, Café Kandahar, a multiyear recipient of Wine Enthusiast’s Award of Unique Distinction, features Andy Blanton’s New Orleans-meets-St. Moritz cooking; and the wine list overseen by manager Dennis Hertrick is uniquely good (Sea Smoke 2005 Southing Pinot Noir with Blanton’s richly sauced game dishes? Yum Yum). We also wined and dined with smiles on our faces at McGarry’s Roadhouse (right across Wisconsin Ave. from Good Medicine Lodge) and at Tupelo Grille, a seemingly out-of-place but very nice southern-inspired restaurant downtown. (Sleight of Hand Gewurztraminer from Washington paired with Low Country Shrimp and Grits? You bet, even in northern Montana.)

As for Glacier, I need to leave some surprises for you. But suffice it to say that it is the most stunning, awe-inspiring park I’ve ever visited, and I’ve been to Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Acadia, the Everglades and many others. And it was here, after a number of strike-outs in Yellowstone and elsewhere, that I finally saw grizzly and black bears, as well as bighorn sheep, mountain goats (above) and marmots.

And now I’m back in humid New York City, watching the Olympics and wishing I was still out west. Oh well, we will always have the memories. And should you take this amazing trip, you will as well.

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