As the Canadian National Parks System celebrates the country’s 150th birthday with free admission to all parks in 2017, there’s a new map app that seasoned outdoor adventurers, weekend warriors and casual daytrippers alike will all want to download. Free for Android, iOS and Windows, Avenza Maps makes the days of fumbling with paper (always impossible to fold back up, right?!) obsolete, allowing users access to PDF maps on their smartphones via their device’s built-in GPS receiver—all without data or Wi-Fi. We chatted with director of sales and marketing Doug Smith about how the app works, and how it can get us geared up for all of our summer adventures! —Kat Jovanovic
What are some of your favourite national parks across Canada?
As a Toronto-based company, the entire Avenza team is thrilled to celebrate Canada’s 150th this year. We’ll be venturing to many of our favourite national parks, especially thanks to Parks Canada’s offer of free admission throughout 2017. Some of my personal favourites are Bruce Peninsula National Park in Ontario, Glacier National Park in B.C. and Fundy National Park in New Brunswick.
How can Avenza Maps help us enjoy Canada’s great outdoors?
The Avenza Map store contains high-quality professional maps created by cartographers, map agencies and organizations, and they all work 100 per cent offline. We have maps suited to hiking, camping and outdoor recreation along with related points of interest, including parking, lookouts and potentially hazardous areas to avoid. The best part? Hikers and campers can always see their location on the map using their device’s GPS, even if wireless service is unavailable.
How can we customize the app to suit our personal adventurer style?
Users can record their tracks, measure distances to better plan their activities and use the placemarks to capture locations and geotagged photos so they can save and share the best moments of their adventure.
What are your top five travel essentials when exploring the great outdoors?
My top five would be: navigation (maps and compass); first-aid supplies and sun protection (sunglasses and sunscreen); insulation (extra clothing) and good, comfortable shoes; hydration (extra water) and nutrition (extra food); and fire (waterproof matches/lighter/candles).
Got any ideas for fun ways to celebrate Canada on its 150th birthday?
Unleash the adventure within you! Explore the wilderness or try something different, such as surfing at Pacific Rim on the west coast of Vancouver Island or exploring the caves at Bruce Peninsula Park. Wherever your destination, Avenza has your maps covered.
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