TOPO! Explorer: The YouTube of Trails

Sometimes I like to poke around the inner workings of National Geographic and see what our colleagues are up to. So I was very interested to hear about the launch of TOPO! Explorer from the NG Maps Division. Some of you ardent hikers out there might already be familiar with National Geographic's mapping software, which you can purchase at local sporting goods stores and use to create your own trail maps. Well now it's available online. "It's the YouTube of trails," boasts Mike Dyer, who's overseeing the project, and I have to agree, its pretty incredible. In its first few days, they've already mapped over a million miles of trails.

Continuing their partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey, the new site, launched at the end of last month, lets you explore hundreds of topographic maps and (just like YouTube) allows you add your own favorite trails to the mix. Say you want to find a great hike (or bike ride, or place to swim, or fish) in Yosemite while you're there this summer? With the desktop application, you can browse detailed maps, save them to your folder, and view them whenever you want. They can then be downloaded to your GPS device, or you can print out a usable field-ready copy. A printed or downloaded map is bought with a "map credit," which costs $1 and comes in an initial package of 25, along with the free desktop application. Or, alternatively, if you brought your GPS device with you on a hike and plotted your points, you can upload your journey and share it with the site, and add video and photo pinpoints from your route. And since it's an online community, you can discuss upcoming hikes, great bike rides, and amazing hidden waterfalls in the forums. I'm planning a trip to Boulder this summer, and now I'm psyched to have a way to plot out my trip.

You can purchase the printable and downloadable maps by buying TOPO! map credits, but here, as a way of showing off the new site, we're offering ten free mapcredits (a $10 value) to the first five people to submit comments below. Be sure to include your e-mail address, so we can reach out to you with the code. Happy hiking!

Want more Maps? Check out Contours, the blog from NG's Maps Division, and National Geographic Magazine's always informative Map of the Day.  

Comments

[Suwandi Chandra]

This is awesome!

[Michael]

I see that you corrected your post. I am now posting here rather than at the map forums. I still like the idea to extend printable maps to navigational charts.
Michael

[Janek]

Great. Might get my Nordkap hike on a decent map now.

[Joe]

Finally--a way to access topo info from a small town in fly-over country. Thanks, NG Maps

[R Graham]

Wow. This is incredible.

[T Deneau]

Looks like a fine product. I'm anxious to give it a try.