Author

Aileen

Aileen works on media and partnerships on the Gaia GPS Communications team. Currently living on the road, she spends all her free time exploring the mountains and trails west of the Rockies.​

App UpdatesCompany NewsGaia GPSHow-ToNew Features

Introducing Gaia GPS Team Accounts

by Aileen
written by Aileen

Create a Team on gaiagps.com to outfit your professional organization with Gaia GPS, including all the maps and benefits of a Premium Membership. Manage team members, pay for the team from an official account, and replace your dedicated GPS devices with the best outdoor mapping app.

When you open a team account, you’ll get the first 30 days free for everyone.

Team accounts

Wood River Fire & Rescue execute a rescue mission using Gaia GPS.

Gaia GPS for Teams

Gaia GPS for Teams is a B2B product, offering centralized team admin, and pairing perfectly with the shared folders feature we just released for Gaia GPS on iOS. Team accounts may also be useful for clubs or recreational groups of 10+ people.

More than 10% of the Gaia GPS community already use Gaia GPS for work, and we hope Team accounts help people adopt Gaia GPS into businesses and professional organizations. We have spoken to many users such as park managers, GIS surveyors, environmental groups, production film crews, state SAR teams, and wildland firefighter organizations who are eager for the team features.

Introductory pricing for early adopters of Team accounts starts at $40/year per seat, and you’ll get that pricing permanently if you sign up now.

Team accounts

Team Features

Gaia GPS for Teams includes all of the maps and features of a Premium Membership, in addition to the following:

  • Manage multiple licenses via a central account
  • Priority support and a dedicated account manager
  • Manage your team from gaiagps.com
  • Assign admin right to team members for individual folders

We’re also now busy building additional features for organizing data and managing teams, and we’d love to hear from you about your needs.

Sign up today for a free trial and email support@gaiagps.com to speak to a specialist about how Gaia GPS can benefit your organization.

0 FacebookTwitterLinkedinRedditEmail
App UpdatesGaia GPSiOSNew FeaturesNew Maps

NextGen Gaia GPS, with National Geographic

by Aileen
written by Aileen

Today, we released the next generation Gaia GPS app for iOS. We’re also delighted to announce the inclusion of National Geographic Trails Illustrated maps, on iOS, Android, and gaiagps.com.

The new app is a huge leap for Gaia GPS, with tremendous technology, new maps and features, and a polished user interface. Since last September, eleven people have worked on the design, engineering, and cartography for the new Gaia GPS. The beta tester group of about 80 participants includes professional guides, long distance hikers, backcountry skiers, hunters, off-roaders, mountain-bikers, and others – a broad cross-section of the Gaia GPS community.

Try the new Gaia GPS for free:     

Beautiful Map Display

The new Gaia GPS includes a faster/smoother mapping engine. Gaia Topo and some other sources now display as ‘vector’ maps. This improvement means labels stay crisp as you zoom in/out and maps download in smaller sizes.

National Geographic Trails Illustrated

The new Gaia GPS includes an expanded map catalog, featuring National Geographic Trails Illustrated. These are the most trusted and highly-rated topographic maps available for the United States’ top outdoor destinations. They are produced and regularly updated in partnership with local land managers and experts. They include detailed topographic information, clearly marked trails, recreational points of interest, and navigational aids. We’re thrilled to include this layer with a Gaia GPS Premium Membership.

Additionally:

  • Premium Members also get access to another new source – Neotreks topo maps for the US
  • all users of the new Gaia GPS can now access MapBox Satellite, Outdoor, and Streets maps – previously restricted to premium subscribers.

Trail and Park Search

Search the map like never before in Gaia GPS.

Gaia GPS will now suggest results as you type, and the new search feature lets you find parks, trails, forests, POIs, coordinates, and addresses. You can use the same search when you discover and plan trips on gaiagps.com/map.

You can also now tap directly on map features to get more information. Get stats about trails, pictures of places, official websites for parks and trails, and more.

Slick Redesign

The new Gaia GPS app makes navigating the backcountry easier, with a streamlined interface and unified design. Every screen got some love – from login/signup, to the map, to saved data – and we polished all the little details.

The new app has tabs along the bottom for major functions, unified button icons, and refined colors/fonts/layout. You can find the controls to customize the main map view (pictured in the right screenshot) by long-pressing the fullscreen button on the map.

Free Usage Periods for Existing Users

Already have the old Gaia GPS? You get a 2-year free usage period with the new app. You can also continue to use the old app.

Additionally, existing users with “GaiaPro” subscriptions from the old app get access to the new app at no additional cost, including National Geographic and all other Premium maps.

Existing Gaia GPS users can read an FAQ about the new app here.

Try it For Free Today

Anyone can download the new iOS version of Gaia GPS today, and start a free 7 day trial. Experience the next generation of outdoor mapping.

0 FacebookTwitterLinkedinRedditEmail
Company NewsGaia GPS

Meet Nick Botner- Gaia GPS UX Engineer

by Aileen
written by Aileen

We’re excited to welcome long-time Gaia GPS user Nick Botner to the team. As the first ever user-interface focused employee at Gaia GPS, Nick ushers in a great transformation for Gaia GPS UX and visual design.

Previously, Nick worked at Google, where he led a team of Visual Designers working on the Google Cloud Console. Prior to that, Nick worked for two years at Geocaching, where he formed and led their first UX team. Nick started his career in graphic design at software company ASG, where he first worked for 3 years in Florida, and then got lost in translation working for nearly 2 years in Tokyo, Japan.

A Florida native, Nick grew up surfing, fishing, and tromping through the Everglades. In school, he focused on traditional forms of art until he discovered graphic design in high school, which he focused on in college, graduating with a degree in Multimedia Design from Full Sail University.

When Nick isn’t working, you can find him scrambling up one of the many mountains that surround Seattle, or planning another trip to the southern hemisphere to get away from the depressing cold rain that slowly crushes his sunshine fueled soul.

14334391_1191865544218565_32701759_n(1)

0 FacebookTwitterLinkedinRedditEmail
How to Embed Gaia Maps and Data on Your Website
Gaia GPSHow-ToNew Features

How to Embed Gaia Maps and Data on Your Website

by Aileen
written by Aileen

You can now embed a map view on your own blog or website to display a track, route, folder, or other data you create in Gaia GPS.

How to Embed Gaia GPS in Your Website

1. Log into your Gaia GPS web account.

Gaia GPS log in

Go to gaiagps.com and log into your account.

2. Find the track you want to embed.

Gaia GPS account options

In righthand corner, hover cursor over profile picture. Click “Tracks.”

My Tracks page on Gaia GPS

On “My Tracks” page, make sure the track is Public. Click the track you want to share on your website.

3. Embed your track.

Gaia GPS embed track code to your website

Share the track by clicking on the embed button to get the code to paste onto your website or blog.

Embed code for Gaia GPS tracks

Copy and paste the embed code onto your website or blog.

4. Track preview

The view shows the Gaia GPS Topo map source with data overlaid, and it includes statistics and a link back to the source data.

Feedback Requested

Help to improve this “embedding” feature by sending your comments to support@gaiagps.com. Say how you use, or would use, the embedding feature, and what would make it better for you.

Embedding could potentially include many customization options, or different layouts that show larger maps, or perhaps photos.

0 FacebookTwitterLinkedinRedditEmail
Company NewsGaia GPSHow-ToNew Features

New Year’s Web Update – Mass File, Delete, and Sync

by Aileen
written by Aileen

Kicking off our web updates for 2016, we shipped a redesign for your data lists on gaiagps.com.

You can now mass-select a bunch of items in your saved tracks, waypoints, and other lists and do things like file the selection in folders, toggle the sync status, or delete items.
update

Also look out for the minor 10.4.2 release for iOS this week. It tweaks a couple of things from our last major (v10.4) release, which included auto-naming for tracks and waypoints, additional language support, a more user friendly map source menu and iPhone Main Menu, and polygons support for GaiaPro users.

This year, our staff and focus has grown, so you’ll see more changes to Gaia GPS and gaiagps.com than any year since we launched in 2009. And of course, we always love to hear from you at support@gaiagps.com.

0 FacebookTwitterLinkedinRedditEmail
Company NewsGaia GPS

Donating to Great Wild Causes

by Aileen
written by Aileen

This week marks the start of Gaia GPS Giving Back. Check out this page for the full details.

Under this new program, we donate 5% of app purchases made through special affiliate links to wild causes that we feel align with Gaia GPS:

You can increase donations by:

  • Buying Gaia GPS (and other apps) through these links – 5% of all proceeds gets donated
  • Posting these links/placards on your blog or website

Donate

We’ve done pro bono work in the past, such as for the Haitian Earthquake and to support volunteer workers. But today marks the first time Gaia GPS will commit to giving money directly to good causes.

Choose between two organizations actively working to preserve and protect the outdoors:
Leave No Trace, in its simplest form, is about making good decisions to protect the world around you. Through relevant and targeted education, research and outreach, the Center ensures the long-term health of our natural world. Leave No Trace is built on seven core principles, developed to help educate and guide recreationists in sustainable minimum impact practices that mitigate or avoid recreation-related impacts.

  • DonatePlan Ahead and Prepare
  • Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
  • Dispose of Waste Properly
  • Leave What You Find
  • Minimize Campfire Impacts
  • Respect Wildlife
  • Be Considerate of Other Visitors

Learn more at: https://lnt.org/learn/seven-principles-overview

DonateASC matches scientists with skilled explorers to collect data while out in the field. With this unique opportunity, researchers are able to push forward necessary conservation efforts , with valuable information provided by adventurers. Check out one of their recent projects monitoring the Unita Range for Canada lynx and wolverine, two of the Rocky Mountains most elusive and rare carnivores. For this project Gaia GPS was used to navigate to remote off-trail wildlife cameras. http://www.adventurescience.org/uinta-carnivore-survey.html

0 FacebookTwitterLinkedinRedditEmail
AndroidGaia GPSHow-To

Gifting Gaia GPS

by Aileen
written by Aileen

Give the gift of Gaia GPS, and share your love for the outdoors with family and friends. Click the link below to give a Gaia GPS Membership, Premium Membership, or a 5 year membership.

screen-shot-2016-12-05-at-11-52-18-am

Gaia GPS Membership includes access to more than 57 unique map sources along with unlimited offline map downloads for navigating without cell phone service.

Premium Memberships include all of the Member benefits plus map source stacking capabilities and access to an additional 250 premium map sources and overlays.

Countless different types of adventurers use Gaia GPS—from hikers, hunters, trail runners, cyclists, skiers, kayakers/rafters, horseback riders and off-roaders, to pilots, firefighters, SAR technicians and other emergency responders, too.

If you know anyone that does anything outside, and you think they might benefit from incredibly detailed offline maps, track recording, geotagged photos and more, click here and send them a Gaia GPS membership today.

0 FacebookTwitterLinkedinRedditEmail
volunteer emergency responders
Gaia GPS

Free GPS Tools for Volunteer Emergency Responders

by Aileen
written by Aileen

Volunteer Emergency Responders, please contact us for a free trial of Gaia GPS + Premium Membership subscription. Through this pilot program, we hope to get Gaia GPS out to more places it can help.

Over the years, people like wildland firefighters, search and rescue personnel, and aid workers at disaster sites (like the Haitian Earthquake) have adopted Gaia GPS for mapping and data collection. We have had a policy of giving the app and subscription service to anyone we noticed, and we hope this announcement lets us do that more.

We timed this announcement to coincide with the release of a new feature in v10.4 of Gaia GPS for iOS. The new “areas” feature lets Premium Membership users create shapes, measure area and perimeters, download maps based on areas, and import areas from KML files. Woodland Firefighters and Alaskan SmokeJumpers we’ve met doing user support have often requested this areas feature.

Firefighters also tell us they use Gaia GPS currently to help plan escape routes, mark fire lines, and track a fire’s progression, using features like downloadable Forest Service maps, marking lat/long waypoints, and route creation.

Volunteer Emergency Responders, Tell Us About Your Work.

This pilot program may lead us to extend offers to other not-for-profit groups, beyond volunteers. We may provide free or discounted apps or memberships, based on need.

If you could use Gaia GPS for field work, please let us know. In our September poll, “What do you use Gaia GPS for?”, many professional groups responded, such as Search and Rescue teams, pilots, geologists, trail maintenance crews, among others. We’d love to know about other professional work done in the backcountry using Gaia GPS. Specifically:

  • Which features of Gaia GPS or the Pro subscription do you use in your work?
  • What other functionality do you need?

Send an email to support@gaiagps.com for more info, and to let us know how you use Gaia GPS.

0 FacebookTwitterLinkedinRedditEmail
Gaia GPS

Instagram Contests and Gaia GPS Off-Trail Stories

by Aileen
written by Aileen

Last week, we asked users to talk about their off-trail experiences on this Instagram thread, and to make a contest of it, we offered a free year of GaiaPro to the story we liked best.

We found it hard to pick a winner, and decided to surprise all of our responders with a free subscription. Thanks to all of you that shared your stories.

Trip of the Day on the Gaia GPS Instagram page

Trip of the Day on the Gaia GPS Instagram page

 

Follow us on Instagram as we continue to curate the best photos and stories shared on gaiagps.com. We post daily pictures from publicly-shared tracks recorded by Gaia users, and plan to have regular contests for free GaiaPro subscriptions.

“I was looking for a poorly marked trail head to the Florida Trail. I had thought I found it and pushed into the forest. It became clear that I was not on a trail. But I kept pushing forward and found an opening of mangroves, the light shinning through them beautifully. I checked Gaia to see where I was at. Luckily I had downloaded the trail route from NPS beforehand. I was running parallel to it. So instead of backtracking, I decided to push forward and eventually make my way back to the trail. I did eventually reconnect with the trail, but nothing on it was as beautiful as what I stumbled across.” – c47joe

“I went off-trail on a backpacking trip to the Eastern Sierras. When we got to camp there were two guys who passed us. Shortly after we saw them heading back our way. It turned out that they didn’t realize there were no trails from that point on and they didn’t come prepare with a topo map or do any research prior. Luckily I had an extra print out of a map that I gave them. Lesson learned: always be prepared!”- bernini_n

“A recent off-trail exploration near a campground I frequent in Colorado brought me to the most amazing falls in the state. By just simply hopping a couple streams and scrambling up some sketchy “goat paths” I was able to enjoy a lush Oregon worthy waterfall all by myself!” – jason_j_hatfield

“I used Gaia to guide our group of scouts 46 miles through the Boundary Waters canoe area. With preloaded maps, our route, campsites, portages, and a solar charger we canoed for 5 days straight. The features on Downloaded maps were so much more detailed and then the back up paper maps. It was awesome. #bwca” – ducksacoming

 

0 FacebookTwitterLinkedinRedditEmail
Gaia GPS

Off the Trail with Gaia GPS

by Aileen
written by Aileen

The trail-less wilderness of Denali sprawls over an area equal to the state of Massachusetts. Its taigas and tundras rise up into North America’s tallest peak. In this most wild of places, only one road wends its way through the park, and trails have no place.

Last week, I noticed a picture of Denali on Instagram from a Gaia GPS user, and I wondered why she hadn’t posted tracks to gaiagps.com too, so I reached out. I learned that she refrained from sharing because “The Denali Backcountry Office” asks people to keep their GPS data offline. The Office issues permits for the park, and also works to preserve its wild beauty and maintain an experience of solitude for visitors.

Though Denali is exceptional in size, it is just one of many National Parks with opportunities to get off-trail; Glacier, the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and Yellowstone to name a few.

11887296_413736538821036_606257200_n(1)

Gorgeous photo of the Denali wilderness shared by a Gaia GPS user on Instagram

 

Gaia GPS Off-Trail

Many Gaia GPS users break off-trail, either because the terrain demands it, the snow allows it, or just for fun. It can mean finding an off-trail waterfall, skiing into a powdery bowl, or even quickening a journey when you find yourself short on resources or energy.

Gaia GPS enables off-trail adventures in ways a paper map cannot – giving users a precise view of where they stand on the map. If you want to plan a trip literally off a beaten track, there’s no better software. Keep reading for a few tips based on our experiences, as well as those of other Gaia GPS users, about exploring off-trail with the app.

Tips for exploring off-trail:

Screen Shot 2015-10-06 at 3.29.34 PM

Planning a route on gaiagps.com is as easy as dropping points on a map

 

During and after your trip:

  • Prepare for long days and diminishing battery: Read these tips on how to conserve battery using Gaia GPS.
    • Carrying a backup battery or backpack-able solar unit is also a good idea (GoalZero is my personal favorite).
    • Always bring a paper map and compass too, or at least a secondary GPS-enabled device. And practice using your map and compass – if you haven’t, they will be of little use in the field.
  • Take pictures and plot waypoints.
  • Publish your tracks on gaiagps.com (unless of course you hiked in Denali).

As always, feel free to contact us for any questions you may have while planning your adventures: support@gaiagps.com

0 FacebookTwitterLinkedinRedditEmail
Load More Posts