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The Best Digital Map for Overlanding on GAIA GPS
The Best Digital Maps for Overlanding on Gaia GPS
Half the fun of overlanding is dreaming up all the places you’ll go on your next trip. Nothing ramps up the excitement like drawing out a route on your favorite map and planning side excursions, lunch spots, and campsites with the best views.
But with all the different maps that are available these days, the choices can be overwhelming. You can order both paper and online maps directly from the Forest Service, National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, or the US Geological Survey. Or you can find all these maps — and more — in one place on Gaia GPS. Gaia GPS offers hundreds of maps and weather overlays that cover the entire globe.
We teamed up with the experts at Gaia GPS to bring you a list of the very best digital maps in Gaia GPS’s catalog so can plan and execute your next overlanding adventure with ease.
USFS Roads and Trails
The United States Forest Service (USFS) Roads and Trails map is probably the single most useful map layer for overlanding in the US. This map highlights maintained routes, 4x4 trails, back roads, and little-known paths across U.S. national forests and grasslands.
Use the USFS Roads and Trails map to find information on road surface, maintenance level, and trail width. Click or tap on a road or trail to learn if the route is passenger vehicle friendly, and if it’s paved, gravel, or made from native material. Additionally, color coded trails indicate which activities, like hiking, biking or motorized sports are allowed on each trail. Just tap or click a trail to learn more details.
USFS Roads and Trails often displays more roads and trails than any other map, making it very helpful for route planning. It can also help you get out of a jam: if you are following a road that ends, you can use this map to find new route opportunities.
MVUM - Motor Vehicle Use Maps
The Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUM) use data from the Forest Service to bring vehicle-accessible roads to maximum visibility on the map. As a supplement to the USFS Roads and Trails layer, MVUM maps indicate which type of vehicles are allowed on a road or trail. It also provides information on seasonality, usage, and the condition of various roads. Just tap or click on the route to learn more.
The MVUM layer typically contains the most up-todate information on which Forest Service roads are open to motor vehicles, which helps ensure you don’t break any rules or drive where you aren’t supposed to. Not all USFS lands have an MVUM, but this map data serves as the legal standard for trail access regardless of any signage on the ground. MVUM is modeled off of the paper maps, making it easy to switch between paper and digital.
Gaia Topo
Gaia GPS’s flagship map — Gaia Topo — is free to use and shows most Forest Service roads and 4WD trails. Best yet, this map provides worldwide topographic map coverage, allowing you to access your map even if you cross the border or sail across the ocean.
Gaia Topo brings more details into focus as you zoom into the map. This design makes the map source efficient to download, meaning large swaths of land — even entire states — can be downloaded in a matter of minutes. The apps baselayer also has selectable points of interest, land ownership designation, and many more details that make it easy to discover places to stop along your journey.
Public Lands
The Public Lands layer helps you find places to camp on BLM land, and identify land ownership like national parks and forests across the US. Pair the public lands layer with USFS to find free, dispersed campsites as you travel off the grid.
Topo maps are invaluable, but there are times when you want a snapshot of the physical characteristics of land. That’s where satellite imagery comes in handy. Get a birdseye view of the landscape to discover terrain features, potential camping spots, and small secondary trails that lead to open areas. Satellite imagery makes it easy to scout out clearings for dispersed, unmarked, and/or hardto-find campsites.
Cell Phone Use Coverage
Wondering whether you’ll have cell service on your adventure? Wonder no more, because the Cell Phone Use Coverage Map tells you how deep your cell service provider reaches into the backcountry. Find out ahead of time, whether you can access internet or send texts while exploring the back roads. Discover where cell service exists anywhere in the United States including Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. Find out where your network provides 3G and LTE coverage for AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, and Southern Linc carriers.
USFS 2016
The USFS 2016 map brings topographic coverage of all 172 national forests and grasslands in the US. Easy-toread Forest Service road numbers make route planning simple. This is the most up-to-date, rasterized map available from the US Forest Service and includes labeled trails, roads, and vegetation shading. This map is great for planning hiking, backpacking, camping, off-roading, hunting, or fishing trips.
USFS Recreation Sites
The USFS Recreational Sites map directs you to established campgrounds, visitor centers, trailheads, and other points of interest on national forests and grasslands throughout the U.S. Tap or click on a site to learn about fees, access restrictions, and more. This layer is particularly useful if you are arriving in a new area late at night and need to quickly find a campsite or just want to find some things to do during the day near your base camp.
Even More Maps and Weather Layers to Explore
Wildfires (current)
View current fire conditions before heading out on the trail by using the current Wildfires layer over any basemap. It can be used whenever you have an internet connection and gets updated daily by the USGS. Reference the map before leaving home to check for actively burning wildfires.
Gaia GPS offers hundreds of NatGeo Trails Illustrated titles. These maps display offroad trails, hiking trails and trailheads, camping locations, picnic areas, and more. It’s especially useful for visiting national parks with off-road trail access like the Death Valley National Park.
USGS Topo
The US Geological Survey (USGS) maps include the official quadrangle maps for the US. Another detailed topographical map layer, the USGS Topo can be layered on top of Gaia Topo to compare trails and points of interest.
Precipitation Forecast - Available in 24, 48, and 72 hour views
Precipitation forecasts help determine general weather patterns. This layer is great for overlanding because the nature of a dirt road can change drastically when it becomes wet; what may have been an easy drive on the way to camp may quickly turn impassable after a storm. Check the precip forecast before you leave cell service to give you a picture of how much rain to expect.
How to Get Gaia GPS
The maps listed here only scratch the surface of what’s available from Gaia GPS. You can check out a limited number of maps for free on the app or on the web at www. gaiagps.com/offroad. Sign up for a membership to access a range of topographic maps, satellite imagery, and road maps. Chose the Premium Membership to get the entire catalog of maps and weather overlays.
Gaia GPS allows you to discover trails, plan trips, navigate, and record your tracks. One of the coolest features added to Gaia GPS this year is its compatibility with Apple CarPlay. Now you can sync your phone to the navigation screen and pull up all your favorite backcountry trail maps right on the dashboard. Navigate offline and in places far from cell service with a Membership or Premium Membership.
Whether you’re headed out on a day trip on your local trails or planning a month’s long excursion across the country, Gaia GPS maps help get you find your way in the wild. Visit www.gaiagps.com/offroad for a 10% discount on these plans or sign up for a free membership to get started.
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