I’ve used the nat geo map file with Gaia for bwca
but not aware of a Gaia compatible map for
Quetico. Any info would be much appreciated.

I'm not aware of any maps in GaiaGPS that have campsites for Quetico (although you can add them as noted below), but quite a few have portages. You will want to verify portage locations on the Gaia maps you plan to use with other sources (paper maps, official Quetico Chrismar map, etc.) -- especially if you are going somewhere like the Falls Chain where you really need to know where the portages are on the river for safety reasons. If you find inaccuracies on your GPS map layer, you can manually create a "route" with the correct portage in the GaiaGPS application on PC (may be able to do on phone app as well). Once saved it will show up on your device.

Some thoughts on the maps I like to save on my phone for offline use in Quetico:
- Gaia Topo (feet) -- nice overall map and covers both US and Canada which is nice if entering Quetico from the south. Has some portages also.
- BRMB Paddling Trails -- Canada only, but very good detail and shows portages more clearly than some other maps
- National Geographic -- you mentioned this map which is great for BWCA but also covers southern Quetico -- has portages but no Quetico campsites. Not as detailed (resolution) vs maps above.
- Satellite with labels -- any of Gaia's satellite imagery maps will work, but this one also shows portages. These maps take up a lot of space on your phone, but they can be nice to have if looking for certain features (sandy beach,..)
- Shaded Relief -- a "nice to have" - if you like a more 3D perspective this gives a more visual representation of hills, etc. when layered with other maps.

A few other tips:
- While none of the above maps have Quetico campsites, you can import Quetico campsites (and / or portages) into Gaia if you can find files with them (in .GPX format, maybe others as well) - Gaia provides good instructions for how to import GPX files. Other posts on this message board can point you to where to find those GPX files for Quetico campsites.
- Saving imported campsites into folders within Gaia allows you to toggle them all on or off for displaying on the map -- sometimes can be nice to shut them off as they can clutter up the map view.
- If you save the maps you download for offline use to folder(s), along with other items like campsites, you can "share" folders in Gaia with your trip partners that also use Gaia. Then they can have all the same info on their phones as backup.

GaiaGPS is a great tool for BWCA and Quetico. That said, I encourage anyone using GPS to also use paper maps as they don't break, are much easier to use for big picture navigation, and it is hard to check Gaia on your phone while actively paddling.

Great info. Thx. I’m going to start with trying a
GPX file into Gaia.

I have used Gaia for years on my iPhone in Quetico. It is very good. I'm going to try it with my AppleWatch 7 this year (3 weeks), hoping that it increases the convenience of not having to wake the phone in the middle of a lake, as I'm solo. I just download my route from another site and campsites, portages are all there. If anyone has any experience with the watch I would love to hear.

Wispaddler: "Great info. Thx. I’m going to start with trying a
GPX file into Gaia.
"

Any luck with this?

Yep, worked great. Just find the site with Q sites and portages and download that file for your route and then import into Gaia app on your IPhone. Not really all that complicated plus Gaia provides support if needed. I went from French lake down Pickerel to Rawn which includes a bit of tricky navigation into Rawn narrows and Gaia really helped. Have also used in BWCA. I’m completely spoiled. Tip…bring along an Anker batt for charging as needed.

Wispaddler: "Yep, worked great. Just find the site with Q sites and portages and download that file for your route and then import into Gaia app on your IPhone. Not really all that complicated plus Gaia provides support if needed. I went from French lake down Pickerel to Rawn which includes a bit of tricky navigation into Rawn narrows and Gaia really helped. Have also used in BWCA. I’m completely spoiled. Tip…bring along an Anker batt for charging as needed. "

Nice. Just found the correct gpx files (most of them were broken) from a long time thread. So far looks good!

Just did a 70 mile trip in the Q with Gaia and it worked wonderfully