So yesterday I was looking through and organizing all my maps to start planning a couple of longer-haul trips for this coming summer. I have two generations of McKenzie maps, both clearly labeled: the old white maps with copyright dates around 2001, and the new shaded maps with copyright dates 2015 and forward. Those are straightforward.

But my Fishers all show a copyright date of 1983, and there seems to be no way to distinguish when they were printed, and what date their campsite information is from. For example, I have three F-16 maps and I know that one is from a 2002 trip, one from a 2014 trip, and one from a 2017 trip. They all look identical, and I don't actually know which one is from what trip. I haven't scoured the three maps to see if there's any difference, but a quick spot check appeared to show them identical. Is Fisher updating their campsite information as it changes? If so, how can I tell when that information was updated? If not, why do I own any Fisher maps?

On Fishers website it says:

"Campsite, portage, trail, and other relevant information on the Minnesota side is provided and reviewed annually by the U.S. Forest Service for accuracy."

No changes likely just means that the campsites haven't changed in the last 15 years. I don't have one of their maps in front of me, so i am not sure if there is a way to tell when the information was updated or what year it was published.

I don’t know why you own Fisher Maps. I take both. I look at campsite and portage locations as rough guides. Some ‘dots ‘ are inaccurate or don’t exist. Just be flexible and don’t stress over details.

The most current map information seems to be on this website under the maps and entry points tab. I have and use both the McKenzie and Fisher but update from this online resource that often gives me photos and details about campsites, portages and things to see not on either of the commercial maps.

what 'Old Salt' said. sometimes campsites are closed for one reason or another. did you realize they dig those pit toilets by hand? if the terrain doesn't allow a new pit or perhaps just from overuse, it's closed. allow flexibility. for example: site 898 on Cherokee Lake has been closed at least 2 or 3 years now but it still shows up as a red dot on the online map. (it should be purple to denote closure)
McKenzie or Voyageur maps for my ventures.

Not a big deal Tom, stuff up there doesn’t change too much. Lakes, streams, trails are going to be the same. Some campsites change, no big deal, just move on to the next.

All of the maps printed were drawn off of the ones that were made from the USGS Topo. I have stacks of them. Most were drawn in 1960s and updated in purple. Usually only a swampy area or a stream is redrawn in purple. I have no problem navigating with a 30-40 year old map because the stuff I’m looking at does not change much.