![]() ![]() The public contributes to, confirms, and edits the data on the map. OpenStreetMaps are the Wikipedia of maps. You can also create your own highly-customized maps and download them to your Garmin device. If these don’t work for you, try exploring the other map services that I have listed below. ![]() This article focuses on installing my favorite free Garmin GPS maps for hiking in the USA, using OpenStreetMaps. You could create whole websites devoted to the subject, and people have (see below). So let me start by saying there are a lot of ways to get free Garmin GPS maps, and a lot of different methods to install them. – Garmin Map Review on Amazon Why These Free Maps? This product is overpriced for what it is. There are some as good, or better, alternatives available at no cost online. In retrospect, I think the price for Garmin maps is too high. ![]() Here’s how to get and install these free hiking maps in an easy, step-by-step process. Garmin doesn’t publicize it, but most of their GPS units are setup to take any maps in the correct format. I’m a big fan of Garmin GPS devices, but I always found it disappointing that they charged extra for maps. And in most cases, the free maps are much better than the expensive Garmin maps. The good news is that if you own a Garmin GPS device, there’s a way to get free Garmin GPS maps. Anyone know any good sourses for free open source 24k topo maps and directions for putting them onto Garmin handheld GPS units? If I can get pointed to some that look like they will work, I’ll try it and let readers know how it goes.How To Get Free Garmin GPS Maps For Hiking In This Guide I dug around a little bit online, and there are some references to using open source (USGS, TIGER, or whatever) topo maps, but nothing very specific or detailed that seemed like the right path. The unit I received had been bought on sale any two of those are more than the unit cost. Holy COW! If you get around much, you could easily spend far more on maps than on the GPS unit itself. ![]() Another hundred for “mountain west.” Another hundred for Alaska. They want a hundred bucks for a Northwest 24k topo map. I thought the whole point of a GPS was not to point at a spot in a blank area and say “you are here.” Heck, I can get that with pencil and paper, and know general direction with a compass. A few political outlines, major roads, major water obstacles like Lake Washington. But then I looked closer, and had a “what the hell?” moment. I got a Garmin GPS for Christmas, a hand-held one ideal for backpacking. ![]()
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January 2023
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