+Mitch2742 Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 I'm sure this has been asked a thousand times but I'm having trouble finding answers. I recently bought an eTrex 20. My first GPSr. What kind of maps should I install for geocaching? I installed a topo map when I got it but it doesn't really seem to be of much use? What type of map shows trails, etc. Went to a forest today and I was looking at a blank screen! Quote Link to comment
+on4bam Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 I'm sure this has been asked a thousand times but I'm having trouble finding answers. I recently bought an eTrex 20. My first GPSr. What kind of maps should I install for geocaching? I installed a topo map when I got it but it doesn't really seem to be of much use? What type of map shows trails, etc. Went to a forest today and I was looking at a blank screen! I don't have an Etrex but if you're looking at a blank page something is wrong. Topo maps should have a lot (if not all) trails on it. Does the Etrex load the map? Is it active (on?) Is it an officially bought Garmin map? Quote Link to comment
+Mausebiber Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 Many maps are available, from Garmin and other sources. Please read this, it might help you finding your first maps: http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OSM_Map_On_Garmin/Download Once the map is loaded, you want to check if it is on the device and make it active. Quote Link to comment
+BAMBOOZLE Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 On all my units I use the Garmin City Navigator on the mini SD card. Just pop it in and you're good to go with detail maps of the whole U.S. and the card can be moved to another unit if you like. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 Most topo maps don't show trails, other than long standing major ones, but those are likely to be wrong in many places. Unlike roads, trails are very fluid and are constantly re-routed, moved, closed or opened. There are websites where you can download tracks of trails, but take them with a grain of salt for the above reasons. I agree with the previous post, if you are looking at a blank page you did something wrong. You should be seeing contour lines, roads, streams, lakes etc. Perhaps you downloaded to the wrong directory, perhaps you don't have that map level turned on in your GPS. There are a number of things that can go wrong. Be sure to check the instructions for the map you used as well as the owner manual of your GPS. Quote Link to comment
+on4bam Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 Most topo maps don't show trails, other than long standing major ones, but those are likely to be wrong in many places. Unlike roads, trails are very fluid and are constantly re-routed, moved, closed or opened. There are websites where you can download tracks of trails, but take them with a grain of salt for the above reasons. I disagree. It might be a regional difference but I'm often surprised at the amount of trails that are on the OSM maps. As OSM maps rely on user input so if there's bad coverage in your area and you're an OSM user, upload your tracks to make maps better. For some areas here in Belgium OSM coverage is even better than the expensive Garmin Top maps. The countries I've used the maps for were more than adequate for caching. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 Most topo maps don't show trails, other than long standing major ones, but those are likely to be wrong in many places. Unlike roads, trails are very fluid and are constantly re-routed, moved, closed or opened. There are websites where you can download tracks of trails, but take them with a grain of salt for the above reasons. I disagree. It might be a regional difference but I'm often surprised at the amount of trails that are on the OSM maps. As OSM maps rely on user input so if there's bad coverage in your area and you're an OSM user, upload your tracks to make maps better. For some areas here in Belgium OSM coverage is even better than the expensive Garmin Top maps. The countries I've used the maps for were more than adequate for caching. OSM maps will have trail data were there are people who take the trouble to add them. Most other mapping products show very little in the way of hiking trails. Quote Link to comment
+on4bam Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 OSM maps will have trail data were there are people who take the trouble to add them. Most other mapping products show very little in the way of hiking trails. Exactly. That's why I said it was regional. It seems that OSM is very well supported around here which makes maps better with every update. For an upcoming trip to Australia I have installed OSM maps and it looks like they have a lot of trails on them. We'll find out when we're there but at least in Belgium, Norway, Greenland, Spain, Netherlands, Denmark OSM have very good coverage. The point is to upload your track when you walk a track that's not yet on them. Quote Link to comment
+ecanderson Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 In Germany, I find the level of detail in OSM almost everywhere to be overwhelming! Even small paths in parks are clearly identified -- which has proved beneficial to me more than once. I keep both a topo and OSM map loaded, and use whichever is most appropriate to the area in which I'm caching. With the uSD slot, there's no reason to load just one or the other. Quote Link to comment
+coman123 Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 http://trailmaps.torontogeocaching.com/ We have a great group in Ontario, building a trail map project Quote Link to comment
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