Planning an outdoor adventure is easier when you can see the bigger picture. The BRMB Web Map lets you explore detailed mapping on a larger screen, turn on Adventure Layers for the activities you're interested in, research trails and Points of Interest, get directions and bring everything together before heading into the field.
The BRMB Adventure Layers include information for fishing, hunting, paddling, parks, recreation sites, trails, ATV/OHV riding, snowmobiling, wildlife viewing, winter recreation and more.
In this guide, we'll use a camping trip to Lake of Two Rivers in Algonquin Provincial Park to show how the Web Map can help plan a day of fishing, paddling and biking.
Start with Your Destination
For this example, we're staying at Lake of Two Rivers Campground and want to find a nearby lake where we can fish, with the option to paddle or bike there from the campground.
We'll use the Web Map to find our destination, explore the available Adventure Layers and compare the different ways we could reach our fishing spot.
Get Directions to Your Starting Point
First, let's get directions to the campground.
Use the Search tool in the top-left corner of the Web Map and search for Lake of Two Rivers. Select Lake of Two Rivers Campground from the results and the map will zoom to the area.
Right-click the map at your destination to open the coordinates and Directions options, then select To Here. Enter your starting location to generate driving directions to the campground.
The Web Map will display your route along with the distance and estimated travel time. Click the blue route line and select “Add to Trip” to save the directions with the rest of your plans.
Explore BRMB Adventure Layers
Now we can start exploring what there is to do around the campground.
Select the BRMB Adventures icon in the top-right corner of the Web Map to open the Adventures panel. From here, you can turn individual Adventure Layers on or off depending on the activities you're interested in.
For our Algonquin trip, we'll turn on:
- Fishing Adventures: Stocked Fishing, Unstocked Fishing and Ontario Fish Zones
- Paddling Adventures: All Paddling Adventures
- Mountain Bike Adventures: All Mountain Bike Adventures
Research Adventures
With all three activities displayed, the map can initially look busy. Zooming into the area around Lake of Two Rivers Campground makes it much easier to see the individual trails, paddling routes, fishing locations and other features nearby.
Looking south of Lake of Two Rivers Campground, Whitefish Lake looks like an interesting option.
The map shows us several useful pieces of information immediately. The Old Railway Bike Trail passes along the western shore, a paddling route runs through the lake and road access is available from the north and south.
Select the Fishing symbol on Whitefish Lake to open fishing information for the lake in the panel on the left side of the screen.
Select the Paddling symbol to view information about the paddling route instead. This same approach works across BRMB Adventure Layers: select an Adventure feature on the map to see the information available for it.
Explore Trail Details & Elevation
We can also investigate the Old Railway Bike Trail.
Select the Bike symbol to view information about the trail. You can also click anywhere along the trail line and select View Elevation Profile to see the elevation chart for the route. The elevation profile gives you another useful piece of information when deciding whether a trail fits your plans.
Save Adventures to a Trip
So, if your plan for the day is to try and nab a trout in Whitefish Lake, you've got several options. Stop at the lake while hiking or biking the Old Railway Bike Trail, paddle through on a day trip from Lake of Two Rivers, or simply drive to either end of the lake and cast away.
Once you've found places and routes you want to include, select the Adventure feature and choose Add to Trip. You can add it to an existing Trip or create a new one.
BRMB Adventure features can be added to your Trip along with directions and other information you've gathered while planning. This gives you one place to organize the different parts of your adventure before heading out.
Trips saved to your BRMB Maps account can then be accessed from the BRMB Maps app.
Take Your Plans into the Field
Your Trips sync with your BRMB Maps account and can be found in the app under Your Data > Trips. Before heading somewhere without cell service, download the Trip and save the maps you'll need for offline use.
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Share or Export Your Trip
Want to send your planned adventure to someone else? Open the Trip Planning Tool and use the Copy Link option to generate a link you can send to friends or other members of your group.
You can also use Export to download your Trip as a GPX or KML file for use with compatible GPS devices, Google Earth and other mapping software.
Add Photos & Reviews
BRMB Adventures also include community information where available.
After your trip, you can add photos and reviews to help other Backroad Maps users learn more about the places you've explored.
Photo uploads are now faster, with improved visibility so you can more easily see which photos you've already uploaded.
One Map, Plenty of Ways to Explore
The same process can be used for adventures across Canada. Research waterfalls in British Columbia, explore wildlife viewing opportunities in Alberta, plan a snowmobile trip in Quebec or look for ATV/OHV routes in the Maritimes.
Start with a destination, turn on the Adventure Layers relevant to your trip and use the Web Map to see how trails, routes, recreation opportunities and access fit together.
Then save the places and routes you need, access your Trip from the BRMB Maps app and take your plans into the field.
