Jump to content

Best Maps to Load for Geocaching?


Recommended Posts

I have just purchased a new Garmin Oregon 700 to replace my 11 year old Garmin GPSr.   It has been a long time since I have used or messed with a GPSr and I am way out of the game.

Are there a good/best set of maps I should get upload to the unit for geocaching?   Free or paid?  I would love to be able to see trails and roads both.

 

I didn't get a unit with topo preloaded, but it got me thinking about whether I should be looking for better maps for this unit or not.

I see that the birds-eye satellite images are supposedly pretty poor.  Is there another satellite image map source I could upload in place of these?

 

TIA!  Any comments or help is greatly appreciated.  I am feeling a bit lost at the moment.

Link to comment

I'm not sure that link is the best place to start. There are plenty of threads in the forum on maps for garmin devices, but I can't seem to get the forum search bar working at the moment, so I'll just list a few of the common sites (based on your location in the US):

For topo maps (may or may not have trails displayed, but there are some trail overlay maps you can download here as well):
https://www.gpsfiledepot.com
The maps you'll get here, for the most part, are not routable. But they do give you a good frame of reference plus tons of landmarks as POIs to use while navigating. Roads are pretty decent, but only as up to date as the maps, so if caching in brand new neighborhoods, keep that in mind.

 

For routable street maps that are kept up to date, use OpenStreetMap: https://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/

These won't come with topography, but then I've found that the OSM topo maps that you can download aren't super nice to look at either. But, you will be able to route along roads and trails, if they have been added to the map.

There are some variations on the OSM map, such as https://extract.bbbike.org/ It gives you maps in different visual styles to choose from.

You have the right idea looking for community made maps. They can be just as good or better than the expensive maps that Garmin sells.

  • Helpful 1
Link to comment
5 minutes ago, Atlas Cached said:

Yep, every one of those links plus a dozen more are listed at the link provided in my earlier post. An excellent resource.

If they are, it's not immediately apparent. None of those sources are listed on the maps page, for example. However, it's a good resource for how to install maps once they are downloaded.

Link to comment
1 hour ago, Mineral2 said:

Ah, there it is. I'm going to go on record stating that gpsRchive has terrible design, even though I recognize that it's maintained as someone's side project with little to no outside funding. Great resource, could use an updated UI.

Here's the direct link so that others don't have to suffer. :laughing:

 

Duly noted!

 

What's the link to your website?

Link to comment
2 hours ago, Mineral2 said:

Ah, there it is. I'm going to go on record stating that gpsRchive has terrible design, even though I recognize that it's maintained as someone's side project with little to no outside funding. Great resource, could use an updated UI.

Here's the direct link so that others don't have to suffer. :laughing:

Well, the design's certainly entertaining. As a new Garmin user, I'm starting to think that the idea behind GPSrArchive is to get people used to the garmin approach: perfectly logical to the point of being impossible to follow.

 

In this case, though, the problem was that there's a direct link answering the question, but that wasn't the link posted. Thanks for tracking it down for me. I tried to figure out what was being pointed at, but never did.

Link to comment
Pe 06.06.2019 la 6:34, Atlas Cached a spus:

Da, fiecare dintre linkurile lor, plus alte zeci sunt listate în legătură oferite în zona mea anterioară. O resursă excelentă.

Poate cineva sa-mi sugereze un site de unde sa descarc o harta topo geocaching gratuit cu romania pentru GPS Garmin Oregon 450, sau sa-mi trimiteti linkul direct?

 

Edited by v@lybra
Link to comment
5 minutes ago, v@lybra said:

Poate cineva sa-mi sugereze un site de unde sa descarc o harta topo geocaching gratuit cu romania pentru GPS Garmin Oregon 450, sau sa-mi trimiteti linkul direct?

 

English Translation:

 

"Can someone suggest me a site where to download a free topo geocaching map with Romania for Garmin Oregon 450 GPS, or send me the link directly?"

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...