Version 5 of Jeff's Map Algonquin Park Released

Just when you thought that Jeff's Map of Algonquin Park couldn't get any better, version 5.0 was announced today. Jeffrey McMurtrie wrapped up work on his extensive map of Algonquin Park, fixing a few mistakes, adding portage lengths and best of all... adding canoe route travel times.

Start with a pile of great info such as access points around the park, and the level difficulty to get to them, then add on a baseline of what kind of paddler you are using the handy guide, then you can determine the length of any journey throughout the entire park.

 If you saw the Killarney map I released last year, you probably noticed that I added an estimated travel time for each segment of canoe route. Now I’ve improved the formula I use and added times to the Algonquin map. For one thing they’re really great if you’re skimming the map and want to compare alternate routes at a glance, but they’re also really handy since.. well, they’re probably better than any estimates you can quickly come up with while you’re planning your trip.

Okay, but still, how accurate are they? Well, in coming up with my formula I looked at almost 100 data points from a wide variety of canoeists. Excluding breaks I found than 9/10 times I could accurately guess how long a portage would take (excluding breaks) ±2 minutes 90% of the time. Paddling times were almost as good. Certainly enough to be a useful estimate. - Jeffrey McMurtrie

The map also includes an improved colour scheme, notes to make it easier to reserve the campsite you desire, noise warnings (local mining, etc), nature reserves and historic zones, new canoe routes, and more. Be sure to head over to Jeff's Map and order yours today! The maps are split into four zones (Western, Northern, Eastern and Southern), and can be purchased individually for $15 each (there are discounts at the Jeff's Map site if you purchase more than one section at a time), and there is a wall map of the entire park for $85. Maps will also start appearing at participating outfitters near you in Ontario as well.

[Related: Trail Swag Interviews: Jeffrey McMurtrie]