How To Read A Map For Camping And Canoeing

Your phone shows a dot on a screen until it doesn’t and that’s usually the exact moment the trail splits or the shoreline stops making sense. We’re Pamela and Tim from SuperGoodCamping.com, and we’re on a mission to help families get outside with more confidence. Map skills aren’t old-school trivia; they’re the difference between a stressful guess and a calm, clear choice when you’re hiking, camping, or paddling with no service.

We dig into why paper maps still matter, especially in places where coverage is dodgy or disappears fast. We compare the map types you’ll actually see on real trips: simple Ontario Parks park maps for car camping, trail maps for day hikes, and topographic maps for backcountry travel and canoe routes where contour lines and portages matter. We also talk digital navigation tools like AllTrails, Gaia GPS, maps.me, and Avenza, plus how downloading maps ahead of time and carrying a battery pack turns your phone into a helpful backup instead of your only plan. Satellite imagery can add context too, as long as it supports rather than replaces a proper map.

Then we make map reading feel doable: orienting your map with a compass or the sun, matching landmarks to what you see around you, understanding scale so “not far” doesn’t become a two-hour slog, and using contour lines to avoid surprise climbs. We share practical habits, common mistakes, and a quick pre-trip checklist, plus why good navigation supports Leave No Trace by keeping you from wandering off trail. If you want to feel grounded in the outdoors and teach your kids a skill that makes camping more fun, this one’s for you.

Subscribe for more simple camping skills, share this with a friend who relies on their phone, and leave a review with your best navigation tip or your funniest “wrong turn” story.

As promised - the app suggested by Jeff of Maps by Jeff: ArcGIS Earth

Transcript

Welcome And The Navigation Problem

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello and good day. A welcome to the Super Good Camping Podcast. My name is Pamela.

SPEAKER_01 0:04

I'm Tim.

SPEAKER_00 0:04

And we are from Supergoodcamping.com. We're here because we're on a mission to inspire other people to get outside and enjoy camping adventures such as we have as a family. Today's episode, we want to talk about, say you were on a hike or a piling trip where everything seemed to be going great until suddenly it wasn't. And the trail splits or the lake splits and there's no sign, your phone says no service. And you're standing there or sitting there in your canoe thinking, was it left or right? That moment right there is exactly why maps still matter. In today's episode, we want to talk about how to confidently use maps when you're camping or canoeing. Whether you're car camping for the weekend or heading into the backcountry, understanding your map can completely change your experience from stressful and uncertain to calm, confident, and actually enjoyable. By the end of this episode, we hope you'll know what types of maps to use, where to find them, and how to read them, even if you've never done it before.

Why Paper Maps Still Matter

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Why maps still matter? Let's start with something important. Your phone is not a navigation plan. In many parks, cell service disappears fast, especially the stuff that I love to do in the backcountry. But even in front country.

SPEAKER_00 1:21

Trying to get a signal.

SPEAKER_01 1:22

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, you I mean, you know, Highway 60, there's cell service in in Algonquin Park, but it doesn't take a long ways in before you'd like, oop, nope, or it's dodgy, uh, which is also another issue. But apps are helpful, uh, but they depend on battery downloads. Sometimes the accuracy isn't that uh isn't isn't perfect for for lack of a better term. Uh maps, on the other hand, don't die. They don't glitch, they don't need signal, they do need light, so keep that in mind. Having a flashlight, a headlamp, uh, some of I actually don't know if the maps by Jeff have the same ink that he had in the Unlost Fi ones, but the Unlost Fi ones would last much farther into the evening uh in low light. They they just picked up what little light was out there. So keep that in in in mind as well. They give you a big picture view, something GPS often doesn't. You need you can see the entire trail, nearby lakes, elevation changes, and alternate uh routes all at once.

SPEAKER_00 2:25

Yeah, so imagine like you've got a big map like this where you're trying to look at the same thing on a screen this big.

SPEAKER_01 2:31

Yeah, yeah. So it it either is a blown-up version and you're only seeing you know 12 feet in either direction, or you're an itty bitty little thing and and it and it's you're trying to put an entire park on something this big. And for those of you listening, that's something this big.

SPEAKER_00 2:49

So think of your phone.

SPEAKER_01 2:50

Think of your phone. That's exactly it. Yeah, it's not just about safety, it actually makes your trip better. You've you've got there's so much more available to you to get to. So you can plan more efficient routes, uh better viewpoints, find better viewpoints, avoid overly difficult trails, and feel grounded in where you are. You can get a sense of where you're at. There's a leave no trace aspect to it. When you wander off trail, you're doing environmental damage to the local ecosystem. Uh uh, if you know what you're doing, you're like less likely to wander off trail.

SPEAKER_00 3:28

Well, I'm thinking back to our discussion with Hab Wilson, uh, the trails are planned in a very specific way, too. Like, well, just kind of think, well, trail is trail, it's just, you know, it's just where people walk through. But he was very meticulous about like where the trail went, having the least ecological damage.

Choosing The Right Map Type

SPEAKER_01 3:47

Yep, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 3:48

Yeah, so types of maps, not all maps are the same, and knowing which one to use makes a difference. Uh, so you've got your basic park map. So certainly Ontario Parks provides those. You can get one in like a paper version. They have the little newsletter which will have a park map inside, or download it ahead of time from Ontario Parks, or state national parks will also have similar go to the park website or get the newspaper when you get there. They're simple, easy to read, uh, perfect for car camping, especially, and even just to navigate to where exactly your particular campsite is. It'll show you the campgrounds, it'll show you roads, beaches, and where the major trails are. But there's not a lot of detail. So if you don't know that there's going to be this huge hill based on the Ontario Parks map, but you're not going to know that. Um, they don't have much detail when it comes to terrain, but that's where a topographical map comes in. Uh top of maps show elevation using contour lines. So the closer, closer the line is together, the steeper the terrain is at that point. These are good for backcountry hiking or canoe trips because they tell you what the land actually feels like. So if you're going to be doing a portage and the lines are really close together. Look at all the pretty lines. There's so many of them. Uh then there are trail maps, which are a bit more detailed than park maps. So they'll show distances, loop options, sometimes difficulty levels, and then there are digital maps. Digital maps, again, may or may not be useful if your phone dies. Apps like all trails, Gaia GPS and maps.me, uh, can be incredibly helpful as long as you download everything before you go, but still you've got to rely on your phone. Battery is still working. Uh, but that's a backup, not your only plan.

SPEAKER_01 5:27

And so so just throwing it in there, uh a lot of people use Avenza. Apparently, that is about to change to a subscription service. I will try to pull up, I know that uh maps by Jeff. Jeff uh uh made a post about that specifically. He has suggested another app that is I'm blanking on, but I'll find out what it is and put it in the show notes. But that will be a free app.

Where To Find Good Maps

SPEAKER_00 5:56

Uh and then lastly, as far as mapping, satellite imagery can give you a visual sense of the landscape where the forests are dense, where the water is, but best used alongside other maps. So, like even just Google maps, you can zoom in on the satellite view and just kind of get your bearings of what's where.

SPEAKER_01 6:13

Uh where do you get maps? The good ones. The easiest place is, you know, um like for here in Ontario, the Ontario Parks uh website, they have downloadable PDFs you can save or print. You can also buy maps. Just I just bought one at Frontenac.

SPEAKER_00 6:34

Just add it to our collection.

Best Maps For Each Trip

SPEAKER_01 6:36

Because you can never have too many. Um and that came from Ontario Parks. I think I got it in uh about a week, something like that. So no biggie. When you arrive, grab the physical copy at the gatehouse, or or you can grab like a physical copy of the one like the one from Frontenac that I just bought. Uh, or you can get the newspaper version, which is it's it's just drawn lines and stuff. There's no there's no topography, there's no there's nothing. Um even if you don't think you'll need it, take it anyway. Worst case scenario, you've got some fire starter. Uh more detailed maps, especially topographical maps, uh, which I think I want to say MR. Uh Ministry of Natural Resources here in Ontario are the ones that that put out the topographical maps. But Natural Resources Canada is a good one as well. And don't overlook out local outfitters, you know, whether it's uh anybody, uh, Algonquin Outfitters, if they're they're one of but opiango outfitters, you know, you can go to Mountain Equipment Co-op. That's uh probably where I bought my first topographical maps was Mountain Equipment Company. Yeah, anybody. Uh I'm sure that pretty much all the adventure outfitting companies uh all have maps when you walk in the door. I mean, it's that's one of the first things you need to do to get yourself outdoors.

SPEAKER_00 7:59

So, what are the best maps for different types of trips? If you're car camping, a simple park map is usually enough. So you just need to know how to get to where your campsite is and and then find maybe the trails if you want to go hiking and where the where's the swimming beach and where's the dog beach, and that stuff will all be on your, at least on your Ontario Parks map. For day hiking, a trail map or an offline map works well, but you should still carry a paper backup. Uh, if you're heading into the backcountry, this is where things change. So you want a topographical map, ideally waterproof, and you should strongly consider carrying a compass as well, because maps not that good to you if you don't know what way you're pointing. And for canoe trips, topographical maps that include portage routes are essential. Distances on water can be deceptive, so it might look like it's not that far, but it's really farther than you think. And knowing where you'll need to carry your canoe matters, so you knowing how to get to the portage and which direction you're going when you get there, all of that is where you need your map.

Map Reading Basics In The Field

SPEAKER_01 9:01

Yeah, well, I've been there, done that. Well no, as long as I can see the sun, what's overcast today? How's that working out for you? Ah, poop. Uh, how do you use a map? So this is an intimidating part for most people, and uh it it's not there's lots of points to it, but it's really not that big of a deal. First thing you do is orient your map. So there's where your compass comes in in handy, or uh if you can see the sun, so you know where east and west are at least. Um and here in in Ontario, I think probably here in Canada, you can also tell where south is, because the it never the sun never quite gets over top if it's that whatever arc it's making is that's south. Turning it so you match the direction you're facing. If there's a lake to your right in real life, it should be on the right side of your map as well. Look for landmarks, uh, lakes, rivers, trails, intersections, hills. These are your reference points. Instead of thinking, where am I? Think what do I recognize around me, and try to line that up with the map. Uh and and this is one I'm very guilty of. Understand distance. I I map it's only this far apart. Yes, maps have a scale, and distances are often longer than they look. A short line on a map could be a two-hour hike depending on terrain, and that's absolutely my kryptonite. Stomp on my foot so often for that one. Speaking of terrain, contour lines. They really, really, really matter. The lines are close together, it's steep. If they're spread out, it's flatter. That helps you avoid surprises like a sudden exhausting climb, especially.

SPEAKER_00 10:40

Or at least mentally preparing yourself for the sudden exhausting climb you're gonna get.

SPEAKER_01 10:45

Here's a simple example. Let's say you reach a fork in the trail, one path seems wider, the other narrower. Instead of guessing, you check your map. You look for the direction you've been walking, nearby features like a lake or hill, the shape of the trail. And suddenly you're not guessing anymore. You're confirming. That's the shift. Maps turn uncertainty into clarity.

Habits, Mistakes, And A Checklist

SPEAKER_00 11:07

So a few tips and tricks. A few simple habits can make a huge difference. Always carry a physical map, even if you love your apps and your phone. Uh, take screenshots of your route before you go, just in case. So it you could also like just if your app trail map thing is not working, having screenshots of what it should look like also as a backup. Mark key points. So your campsite, your car, the trailheads, check distances ahead of time so you're not caught off guard with the distance kryptonite. Uh, use natural handrails like rivers or ridgelines to stay oriented. So you see that this is on one side, this is on the other side, those are your handrails. And if you're camping with kids, teach them basic navigation. It's not just useful, it actually makes the experience more fun for them.

SPEAKER_01 11:56

Yep. Common mistakes. And I am looking at the list, I have made the majority of these mistakes. Some of the most common ones are relying only on your phone. I haven't made that one. Uh not checking the scale of the map. Guilty. Guilty. Ignoring elevation. Guilty. Not updating your position as you move. I might have done that as a rookie move in the early days. Maybe. I'll I'll I will take half guilty on that. Starting a hike without reviewing the route first. I that one I haven't done either as as well. Uh they're small things, but they're often what lead to people getting lost. I mean, it's it's a pretty easy thing to do, man. It happens far more often than we would like.

SPEAKER_00 12:44

Yeah. Uh so just a quick checklist before you head out. You've got your paper map, you've got your compass, you've downloaded some maps on your phone, you've got a portable battery pack so that if your phone battery dies, you've got a way of getting a charge and something to mark your map. That's where the Jeff's maps have a lamination, right? You could just use a uh washable marker, wipable marker.

SPEAKER_01 13:09

And uh crayons work well as well.

SPEAKER_00 13:12

Crayons. And then um well as well. Uh pencil if you just if you don't want whatever you're doing to be permanent on your I know because lat long maps, I think you can mark them with pencil, right?

SPEAKER_01 13:24

And just uh and it will erase off. Um yeah, there's different versions of waterproofing. So check with wherever you buy the map. Hopefully they know what the manufacturer, or there's a a note from the manufacturer on what's best too, because I'd mark the crap out of my maps. At the end of the day, using a map isn't about being an expert. Trust me on that one. It's about feeling confident. Um, it's about knowing that if something changes, if a trail disappears, which has happened, if your phone dies, you're still completely in control. And honestly, it makes camping more enjoyable. Stop worrying about where you are and start paying attention to everything around you because you can go to the map if you start to have any doubts. So you can it gives you the ability to absorb that wonderful nature that you're out in. Before your next trap, download a map, print it out, actually use it, even on an easy trail. You can also print out uh some Google Google Earth. Is it Google Earth? Yeah, you can print out some some maps from there, like for you know, uh whatever. Something in literally in your backyard and go and look at it or at yourself and do test runs before you go into something, something bigger and and potentially scarier. The best time to learn navigation is before you need it.

SPEAKER_00 14:42

Not when you're in a panic because you're oh my god, we're lost. I don't know where we are.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

The sun's going down.

Practice, Confidence, And Closing

unknown 14:48

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 14:49

Thanks for listening. I hope you have found this helpful. Share it with someone who loves camping or someone who needs to learn how to read a map. Uh, also, you can download our transcripts for step by step instructions. And if you would like to reach out to us because you're not sure about maps or anything else, you can always email us anytime. We're at high at supergoodcamping.com. That's H I at Supergoodcamping.com. And we will talk to you again soon.

unknown 15:12

Bye.

SPEAKER_00 15:13

Bye.