Finished Atikaki and Whiteshell Route Finder

I finished the Route Finder for all of the parks on the Manitoba-Ontario border, which includes Atikaki, Nopiming, Manigotagan River, Whiteshell, and Woodland Caribou. Go to the interactive map to try it out!

There are some "problem areas"

• As you can see, I was only able to complete the Route Finder for the southern portion of Atikaki Provincial Park. I don't have any portage or campsite information yet for the northern or western areas of the park.
• I didn't have any portage information for the Eagle-Snowshoe Conservation Reserve (the area between Nopiming and Woodland Caribou). To make the Route Finder work between Snowshoe Lake and Eagle Lake, I just "assumed" there were no portages on the river. This is obviously not true since there are rapids and falls on the river, so keep this in mind if using the Route Finder in this area.
• The map that I had of Whiteshell Provincial Park just noted that there were many portages, rapids, and falls on the Whiteshell River. I don't know where most of those portages are, so I did not complete the Route Finder on this river.

Portage and campsite locations are approximate. If you have any GPS tracks of portages or exact campsite locations, please contact me so I can make the maps more accurate.

The Route Finder is a unique tool that you can get estimated paddling times and distances between any two or more points. The distances and times are broken down between paddling and portaging, and the map shows the shortest route between the points. Right now it works for the Boundary Waters in Minnesota, Sylvania Wilderness in Michigan, Quetico and Woodland Caribou in Ontario, and Atikaki, Nopiming, Manigotagan River, and Whiteshell in Manitoba.

Woodland Caribou PP Route Finder Finished!

I finished the Route Finder (paddling time/distance calculator) for Woodland Caribou Provincial Park! I worked hard the last few nights to finish up the northern half of the park. You can use the new Route Finder on the Manitoba-Ontario Wilderness paddling map.

Completed Canoe Routes in Woodland Caribou and Nopiming

If you are new, I should explain what the Route Finder is. The Route Finder is a unique tool that you can get estimated paddling times and distances between any two or more points. The distances and times are broken down between paddling and portaging, and the map shows the shortest route between the points. Right now it works for the Boundary Waters in Minnesota, Sylvania Wilderness in Michigan, Quetico and Woodland Caribou in Ontario, and Nopiming and Manigotagan in Manitoba. More areas will be added soon!

The Quetico Route Finder took me a year to create. Woodland Caribou is slightly larger than the Quetico, and it only took me about a month to finish. I must be getting better at this! Next up are Whiteshell and Atikaki.

WCPP, Nopiming, Manigotagan, and Atikaki Route Finder Progress

I completed the Route Finder for the backcountry canoe routes for Nopiming Provincial Park and Manigotagan River Provincial Park. You can now calculate time and distance estimates for the routes in these parks.

I have also continued working on the northern Woodland Caribou Provincial Park routes. You can see my progress in the image below. Along with this, I have connected Wallace Lake in Atikaki Provincial Park to the Obukowin Lake and Wanipigow River entry points in Woodland Caribou. Wallace Lake is the usual starting point for these two entry points.

It shouldn't be too much longer until I have Woodland Caribou completely finished and I start working on Atikaki and Whiteshell.

Paddle Planner.com Video

Tired of the map and string method of measuring paddling distances? Try PaddlePlanner.com!


This is our first try at a video promoting the website. I think it turned out pretty well considering our very limited resources.

Woodland Caribou Route Finder Progress

I'm making good progress on the Route Finder for Woodland Caribou. The entire southern portion is completed. Since this is the most traveled section of the park, the Route Finder should be usable for most people. The green in the image below is the portion that is completed and usable.

New Maps and Tools

As we transition from paddling season to planning season, I thought I would give an update on the website and announce a few new maps and tools.

Added Manitoba-Ontario Interprovincial Wilderness Area

That's a long name, but it also is a big area. The wilderness area includes Woodland Caribou Provincial Park in Ontario and Atikaki and Nopiming Provincial Parks in Manitoba. Though not part of the wilderness area, I have also included the adjoining provincial parks - South Atikaki, Wallace Lake, Manigotagan River, and Whiteshell. These parks combined encompass over 3 million acres, about 3 times the size of the Boundary Waters, and include some of the most pristine paddling in the world. 

I am about halfway through adding the Route Finder to Woodland Caribou (I haven't started the other areas). The green area below is what I have completed so far (the yellow dots are portages). The Route Finder will work in the green area but will give an error if you try to route anywhere else. I periodically update my progress on the blog. 

You can access the new maps from the interactive maps page.

Maximum Distance/Time Tool Added to Route Finder

I'm not really sure what to call this, so I'll just have to explain it. The Route Finder was originally designed to give a time and distance estimate when you have a starting point and a destination. What if you don't have a destination, only a starting point? Where can you go in, for example, 4 hours? Most of my short weekend trips I start at an entry point and go for 3-5 hours. I don't have a set destination in mind. When trying to plan this in the past, I have had to do several calculations to figure out how far I can go. With the new tool, I can now specify a starting location and the time/distance I want to go, and the possible locations will be highlighted on the map. This tool will also come in handy when trying to plan day trips from a campsite.

The calculation takes more resources and more time than a regular Route Finder calculation, so I had to place limits on the tool's time and distance. Free accounts can plot up to 4 hours or 12 miles. Paid accounts can plot up to 8 hours or 24 miles. When using the tool, you need to be patient as the calculation can take a long time, especially if it is trying to plot over 4 hours. Though it should be rare, if the calculation takes over 5 minutes, it will give an error and stop.

Future Plans

My goal is to complete the following before planning season gets into full swing next January. I'm not sure if I'll be able to do all of it, but I'll certainly give it a try.

• Add Algonquin Provincial Park - I have everything I need except for campsite locations. Getting permission to use any existing campsite data might be a little tricky, though.
• Ability to export map images - I have almost finished making a tool to export a map to an image. You can always do it right now with screenshots, but this will make it easier.
• Revamp Photo Upload Process - The photo upload and edit process currently can be a little confusing. I am going to revamp it and add some more tools, such as a way to bulk upload or edit photos.
• Trip Planning Application - My vision is to have the ability to completely plan a trip on the website - permits, outfitters, gear and food lists, maps and routes, communications with other group members  - and keep all of the information in one spot with the ability to print a trip plan or store it as a PDF. It will be a big project, but I'm hopeful on getting it done before next planning season.

As always, I am open to suggestions and ideas. If there is something you would like to see on the website, just send me an email.

Woodland Caribou Route Finder Progress

I have started working on the Route Finder for Woodland Caribou Provincial Park. Since it is as big as the Quetico, it will probably take quite a while to finish. In the image below, the green is what I have completed so far. The Route Finder will work for that area but will give an error if you try to route anywhere else.