Trail cartography / 2024

Trails of the Boundary Waters

BWCA Hiking Trails

A map of the hiking and portage trails that weave through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in my home state of Minnesota.

Hillshade
Imagery basemap

Map of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota, with hiking and portage trails over a hillshade and imagery basemap — Map by Jesse Friend. Select the image to explore it at full size.

A closer look

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northern Minnesota is one of my favorite places: a wilderness famous for canoeing, with an extensive network of trails for hiking and portaging.

I was working on a basemap made from a hillshade and imagery when I came across a video by John Nelson explaining the same technique. I tried his approach and was really happy with the result.