About Us

Company Mission Statement

To provide the recreational enthusiast with the most up-to-date and detailed maps and information available in the outdoor market.

Mussio Ventures Ltd. is a family-run business that is in the business of producing, publishing, distributing and marketing outdoor recreation guidebooks and maps. We are best known for our popular Backroad Mapbook series, which is the best selling outdoor recreation guidebook series in Canada.

Russell and Wesley Mussio started the Backroad Mapbook Series in 1993. The brothers are avid backcountry explorers who love to pursue a variety of different activities. They came up with the idea when they realized it was rather cumbersome to cart a different book for each activity along with a stack of often-outdated maps.

Over the years, they have seen their small business grow to include up to 15 people at any given time working on various publications across the country. Most of the production work is done out of their office/warehouse in Burnaby, BC, but they have recently opened a sales and marketing office in Bewdley, Ontario and a research office in Lake Country, BC. They also contract work to writers/researchers found in some of the quietest places of the country.

The success of the company can be attributed to the unique type of product they offer. The emphasis on maps has allowed them to carve out a niche in the very competitive outdoor recreation guidebook market. Their books offer a unique combination of detailed maps covering specific areas of a province along with descriptions on everything from fishing holes to hidden trails.

Although our books get a lot of positive feedback, we are always looking for ways to improve them. It is through listening to our consumers, retailers and knowledgeable people that we are able to constantly improve our guidebooks. In fact, we encourage any comments or updates on any of our products. This constant search to make the best product available to the consumer at a reasonable price has been a successful formula for the company.

Our goal is to produce the most complete and up-to-date recreation guides in Canada. Within a few years, we hope to expand into Northern USA and to have at least one mapbook for all Canadian provinces. Our ultimate goal is to have the Backroad Mapbook Series be considered 'The Guidebook Series' for exploring the Great Outdoors throughout North America. We also publish the Fishing Mapbook Series and a few other guidebooks and maps throughout Canada.