Coquitlam, BC – What started out as a living room enterprise by two brothers from Trail, BC has grown into a cross-country venture that embraces Canada’s great outdoor spaces. The widely-popular  Backroad Mapbook series tackles BC`s Kootenay Rockies region with a comprehensive new 144-page guide.
“Fishermen, families who enjoy camping, hikers and hunters, people who like canoeing or cruising backroads — we appeal to all of them,” explains company co-founder Russell Mussio.
This broad appeal is the reason the Kootenay Rockies BC Backroad Mapbookhas been the local guidebook of choice  for over 15 years and a National Bestseller. It combines reference information with highly detailed maps which feature up-to-date forest service and logging roads, extensive trail systems and a wide range of recreational features that are not found on other maps.
The series was born out of the Mussio brothers` frustration with what was available for exploring BC`s backcountry.  Russell recalls. “We’d literally have a different map or guidebook for hiking, for canoeing and for fishing, along with a few outdated Topo maps with us; it was  almost comical. It felt like we had to carry  around  a  box  full  of  stuff  in  the  bush  with  us.” Nearly 20 years later, the rudimentary maps have evolved, the printing press has been replaced and the small apartment has been upgraded to a working office and warehouse where Russell no longer needs to sleep.
The in-depth reference and map information requires a team of local researchers and writers to ensure regional information is accurate and noteworthy. Also, relationships with fishing and outdoor clubs, park superintendents, hiking enthusiasts, Government Ministries, and of course, feedback directly from readers, contribute to maintaining the most up-to-date maps available. Partners like ATV BC, BC Parks, Golden Hikes, Camping & RV in BC, Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC, Trails BC and Recreation Sites and Trails BC were instrumental in providing insider details for readers.
The universal appeal for taking off into the backcountry has seen the Backroad Mapbooks series expand to include GPS Maps, Digital Editions and twenty-eight books for BC, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario as well as the Maritimes with over 1.5 million books in circulation.
For more information, check out http://backroadmapbooks.com/main/index.html
We’ve been using the Backroad Mapbooks for years on for our “off the beaten track” road trips. They are a great resource for any area of BC. Just need more time to explore!