New Features

AndroidApp UpdatesBackcountry SkiingGaia GPSiOSNew Features

Know Before You Go with the Avalanche Forecast Layer

by Mary Cochenour
written by Mary Cochenour

Gaia GPS is proud to partner with the experts at Avalanche.org to bring you the Avalanche Forecast layer. Now, you can get official, up-to-date avalanche forecasts for mountain zones in the U.S. directly from the map on your phone.

Plan safer winter backcountry travel with quick and easy access to avalanche danger ratings from the National Avalanche Center and the American Avalanche Association. Link to complete avalanche reports from professional snow safety scientists in your region.

Whether you’re backcountry skiing the couloirs or snowmobiling into the back bowls, add this must-have feature to your avalanche safety toolkit. Updated every 30 minutes, this map is available online only. Be sure to check the map before you head out the door or leave cell service.

Avalanche Danger Ratings and Daily Forecasts

The Avalanche Forecast overlays on top of your favorite backcountry map to show you the color-coded North American Avalanche Danger Scale for your region. Crafted by avalanche forecasting experts, the danger scale spans five categories, from low to moderate and all the way through extreme danger, letting you know the risk of potential avalanches on your planned route.

Look for a time and date stamp on the map, showing exactly when the region’s danger rating expires. Tap the shaded areas on the map to access more information, including travel advice and a link to the official forecast from the snow safety scientists at the local avalanche center.

Regions with a daily forecast will show “no rating” until the forecasting center issues the rating for the day. Because winter backcountry conditions change constantly, this layer updates every 30 minutes and is available for online use only. This layer is only active during the avalanche forecast reporting season set by the avalanche centers in the mountain west.

Use the Avalanche Forecast Layer with your Favorite Maps

I computer monitor displaying the avalanche danger rating for an area on the topo map.

Add the Avalanche Forecast layer to your quiver of backcountry ski maps for a more complete picture of winter conditions in the backcountry. Use the layer in conjunction with the newly updated Gaia Topo, the USGS topo map, satellite imagery, Snow Stations (Daily), Snow Depth, and Snow Forecast layers to gather more information and make safer decisions in avalanche terrain.

How to Get the Avalanche Forecast Layer

The new Avalanche Forecast layer is available with a premium membership. To add the layer to your maps, open the Gaia GPS app, tap the layers icon, and select “Add map layers.” Go to “Feature/Weather Overlays” and select Avalanche Forecast.

This feature is available on the Gaia GPS website and both Android and iOS. Download the Gaia GPS app today and start planning your next winter trip to the backcountry.

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map of ophir pass with trip stats on imac
Gaia GPSNew Features

Discover New Trails and Review Trip Stats with gaiagps.com Updates

by Abby Levene
written by Abby Levene

The new sidebar on gaiagps.com puts all of your map data at your fingertips. Whether you’re building a new route, reviewing a trip, or exploring a new area, get a detailed snapshot of the item in a new information-rich sidebar next to the map. Start expanding your knowledge about nearby trails, recorded tracks, waypoints, and POIs with just one click.

View Elevation Profile, Vertical Gain, and More for Your Routes and Tracks

Planning an adventure and wondering how long it may take, or how strenuous it will be? The new sidebar shows detailed route statistics like distance, elevation gain, and an elevation profile to help with the planning process. Draw your own route or select a trail on the map to view the details in the sidebar. Check out these stats to get a comprehensive overview of what a route entails.

Record your tracks in the field and review your trip on gaiagps.com to see more details for recorded tracks than ever before. Click on the track on the map to view statistics that include minimum and maximum elevation, elapsed time, moving time, stopped time, average speed, moving speed, max speed, and pace.

Discover New Routes and Points of Interest

Explore new trails and established routes in a region with an expanded library of information and improved photo viewing. Click on an established route on the map and learn about its stats (similar to routes and tracks) plus whether it’s a loop or an out and back. Scroll down to see nearby routes in the area. You can even view a full screen slideshow of photos to get the best sense of what a route looks like.

Learn about POIs (points of interest) by clicking on them and looking to the sidebar. You’ll find information including the various modes of transportation you can use to access them, surface material, trail visibility, and difficulty to get there.

Drag Waypoints to Easily Edit Routes

Drop waypoints on the map to mark important features on the trip, like water sources, trail junctions, and campsites. The new sidebar lets you drag your waypoints even when you are in the middle of editing, making trip planning a snap.

A screenshot of gaiagps.com shows a water refill waypoint on the map and in the sidebar. You see the elevation of the waypoint, coordinates, and notes.

Quickly Export Routes and Get Directions

The new sidebar makes it easier than ever to share your routes with friends. Simply click on the route on the map, head over to the sidebar, and click “Export” to export your route as a GPX, KML, and GeoJSON file. You can also get driving directions to your route right from the sidebar. Just click “Driving Directions.”

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Gaia GPSNew FeaturesNew Maps

Identify Avalanche Terrain with the New High-Res, Worldwide Slope Angle Map

by Mary Cochenour
written by Mary Cochenour

Identify avalanche terrain quicker and easier this winter with the Slope Angle map. We brought development of the slope angle overlay in house and tapped into the US Geological Survey’s 3D Elevation Program and NASA’s Digital Elevation Model. These sources allowed us to expand our coverage globally, integrate high-resolution data, and fine-tune color details. These improvements help make picking out steep, avalanche terrain on the map a snap.

Whether you’re backcountry skiing the bowls or snowmobiling deep into the forest, add the Slope Angle layer to your favorite base map to help plan a safer route through the backcountry. If you’ve downloaded slope angle maps in the mobile app before, you will see a notification at the top of the “Saved” tab that will let you update your old maps.

Graded Color Style for Finer Details

A continuous color ramp shows terrain changes in a graded fashion, making the change in terrain easier to read on the map.

The new layer emphasizes 30 to 45-degree zones in orange and red colors, recognizing and calling your attention to the fact that these slopes comprise the starting zone for most avalanches. Less steep terrain — in the 20 to 25-degree range — is highlighted in green. Slopes steeper than 45 degrees are shaded in greyscale colors to point out the steepest terrain on the map. The grey shading also helps people with red/green confusion color blindness see the map details.

High Resolution in the US and Worldwide Coverage

The new Slope Angle layer applies the most up-to-date data to deliver insanely crisp resolution for most areas within the United States. USGS 3D Elevation Program provides the best resolution for parts of the US with LiDAR data at 1 to 3 meters. This high-resolution coverage is expanding and will be updated as the USGS releases it. Other parts of the US are covered by 10 meters of resolution through USGS NED data.

Get 25-meter resolution in Western Europe with EU DEM and 30-meter resolution elsewhere around the globe with NASA’s Digital Elevation Model. The higher resolution shows smaller terrain features that would otherwise be hidden with lower resolution data.

Warning and Limitations

Avalanche forecasting uses many tools to analyze avalanche risk in the field. Slope shading is best used for a big picture overview of terrain. All slope angle maps, including the new Slope Angle layer, fail to show micro terrain such as small starting zones. Snow features like wind pillows and cornices will not be on the map. Be prepared to use an inclinometer and other on-the-ground assessments in the field in addition to the slope angle map. Change your plans accordingly if terrain does not match up to data depicted on the slope angle layer. Educate yourself about avalanche and snow safety before traveling in any areas prone to avalanches. For more information on how slope angle maps are made, see Jeff Deems’ presentation about how these map overlays are made from the 2019 Colorado Snow and Avalanche Workshop or the article “Digital Mapping: Do You Know What Your Map Knows?” in September 2020 issue of The Avalanche Review.

How to Get the Slope Angle Layer

The new Slope Angle layer is available with a Gaia GPS premium membership. To access the layer, visit the layers menu, and select the “Features/Weather Overlays” tab. Scroll down and tap “Slope Angle.” Tap the “Add Layer“ button. Learn how to add and manage overlays here.

Pair this map with other useful backcountry skiing maps available with a Premium membership on Gaia GPS. Read up on how to use maps, including the slope angle layer, to help avoid avalanche danger.

If you’ve downloaded slope angle maps in the mobile app before, you will see a notification at the top of the “Saved” tab that will let you update your old maps.

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AndroidApp UpdatesGaia GPSNew Features

Android 2020.11: Improved Map Navigation on Your Phone and Tablet

by Julien Friedland
written by Julien Friedland

The release of Android 2020.11 includes fresh updates to improve map viewing and navigation on your tablet and phone. Now you can navigate with all your trip details visible on your tablet, quickly view map legends across devices, and save photos from the app to your phone.

Learn about these new updates below and make sure you have the newest version of Gaia GPS by updating to 2020.11 in the Google Play Store.

Tablet Update: View Trip Details Right on the Map While You Navigate

Now you can view your trip, routes, and saved data on your Android tablet without losing your place on the map. When you’re headed offroad, view your distance, average speed, elevation and more alongside the map while you drive. Planning at home? You can also browse local trails and revisit old routes, all while viewing the map.

Try out this new map experience by holding your Android tablet in landscape mode (horizontally) to see the new sidebar on the left. This is where your trips, discover, saved and setting tabs now live. Navigate between the tabs to select a public track, view a saved route, check on your current trip details, or change your settings while you look at the map.

USGS map image on tablet with route and route stats showing

Easy to Use, Clutter-Free Map View

View Map Legends With a Few Taps

Now you can quickly identify a symbol, trail or any other icon on the map by viewing the map legend. Just tap the “i” icon on the bottom right corner of your screen then tap “view legend” for any active map source.

View Waypoint Clusters

Get a cleaner view of your map with new waypoint clusters. This new update gives you the option to group waypoints together, so you don’t have a mess of icons scattered across the map. Groups of waypoints appear as one waypoint as you zoom out to keep your map view clutter-free. Zoom in again to discover the individual waypoints in each area.

To turn on clustered waypoints, tap the settings icon in the bottom right corner of your device, select “map controls,” and then toggle on “clustered waypoints.”

Save Your Photos on the Trail Right to Your Phone

Gaia GPS for Android allows you to take photos in the app while you follow a route or record a track. Find a great spot for a campsite? Drop a waypoint, snap a photo, and remember it for your next visit. Now, Gaia GPS will automatically save the image to your phone’s photo gallery and in the app. This makes it easier to store, edit, and share your photos outside of the app so you can have a safe backup of any images you snap along your journey.

person holding there arms up to take a phone picture of a mountain range

How to Update to Version 2020.11

To update to version 2020.11, search for Gaia GPS in the Google Play Store. Tap the update button next to the app listing. If your app is up to date, you can open the app from here and explore by following along with the videos above.

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Emergency ResponseGaia GPSNew Features

Wildfire and Air Quality Maps Now Available for Free on gaiagps.com and the Mobile App

by Julien Friedland
written by Julien Friedland

In response to the wildfires ravaging the country, all active wildfire and air quality maps are now available for free on gaiagps.com. These maps allow you to track wildfires using heat-detected satellite data and information reported from people on-site at the fires. You can also view current and upcoming estimated levels of pollutants with Air Quality maps.

The now free maps include the Wildfire (satellite), Wildfire (current), Air Quality (current), and Air Quality (tomorrow). All four Wildfire and Air Quality maps are available on gaiagps.com and in the mobile app on iOS and Android.

Click here to view the free maps on gaiagps.com

Learn About Wildfire and Air Quality Maps

Wildfire (satellite) Map

The Wildfires heat-detection map on Gaia GPS sources satellite data from NASA to show where wildfires are currently burning worldwide. This map updates several times each day to give you up-to-date information from NASA’s MODIS and VIIRS satellites.

wildfires satellite heat-detection map of California

Wildfire (current) Map

View current wildfire conditions with data sourced and updated daily from USGS. Note that some fire boundaries will be out of date or incorrect, and recent fires may not have been added yet due to data being reported from the sites. Pair this map with the Wildfires (satellite) map for the most up to date information.

Current wildfire map showing large fire outside of Chico, California

Air Quality (current) and Air Quality (tomorrow) Maps

Use the Air Quality forecast maps to view current and next-day estimated levels of air pollutants anywhere in the United States. Sourced from the US Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow program, Air Quality maps indicate pollutant levels of moderate, unhealthy for sensitive groups, unhealthy, very unhealthy, and hazardous conditions.

Air quality index map showing poor air quality in Oregon and Washington.
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FeaturedGaia GPSHow-ToNew Features

Import Routes, Waypoints, and Other Tracks With One Click

by Julien Friedland
written by Julien Friedland

Quickly upload tracks, routes, waypoints, and areas with one click on gaiagps.com/map. Now when you find a route or file from another website or source, you can import them directly to your Gaia GPS account. Expand your adventures by importing obscure off-road routes, new hikes, or recommended adventures.

With the new importer, you can drag and drop GPX, KML, KMZ, GeoJSON, and FIT files directly from your desktop. Upload up to 1,000 items at a time, then filter through and select individual items before importing. That way, you can create a new folder and fill it with only the information you need to explore.

How to Use the Import Sidebar

To use the importer:

  1. Visit gaiagps.com/map
  2. Drag and drop your file to the map, or manually select the upload button on the left sidebar to search through your files
  3. Now you can sort through the items in your file and deselect any that you do not want to import
  4. Once you’re finished, click the Save Item button to save to your Gaia GPS account.
  5. Now you can easily access your data on gaiagps.com or in the iOS or Android app.

For large uploads (files containing more than 100 items) you’ll be given the option to choose what type of data you want to import (ie. just tracks or waypoints, or both) to prevent importing large amounts of unwanted information. Any points uploaded, like a trailhead, parking location, campsite, or other waypoint, will appear as icons based on the title or notes associated with the point.

For more information on uploading and accessing your files visit the help center.

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A Gaia GPS map shows points of interest, restaurants, and amenities near Tibbetts Valley Park in Issaquah, WA.
App UpdatesGaia GPSNew Features

Find 4×4 Roads and Points of Interest Quicker with Latest Updates to Gaia Topo

by Mary Cochenour
written by Mary Cochenour

Gaia Topo now displays color-coded points of interest, more 4×4 roads when the map is zoomed out, and larger labels, badges, and contour markers when the map is zoomed in. Whether traveling through a city or on the hunt for a campsite on a rugged dirt road, these new improvements make the map easier to read, helping you find features and services quicker than ever. Plus, seeing more 4×4 roads on a larger viewing field of the map makes planning out the details of your trip a snap.

Color-Coded Points of Interest

Quickly find urban features and attractions with new color-coded amenity labels on Gaia Topo. Hotels and lodging labels now appear in bright blue, museums in purple, hospitals and medical clinics in red, and stores, gas stations, and other town amenities in orange. The colors allow you to scan the map and easily find the services you need.

When rolling into town after a long adventure, you can now pull up Gaia Topo and look for the exact type of business or service offered around you. Simply scan the map for color-coded gas stations to fill up your tank, search for stores for a quick resupply of food, or hit up the museum for a bit of culture before your next outing to nature.

View More 4×4 Roads and Larger Map Labels, Badges, and Contour Markers

The new updates to Gaia Topo make dirt roads visible when you zoom out on the map. That means when you are viewing a large area of the landscape, you’ll see more 4×4 roads without having to zoom into the map to see if those roads exist.

Also, when you zoom further in, the map’s labels, badges, and contour markers get larger. These makers become easier to read as you zero in on a specific spot on the map.

Gaia Topo Improvements Automatically Updated

Completely redesigned in early 2020, the new Gaia Topo combines world-class cartography with industry-leading download speeds and size. Hand-curated and rich with details, Gaia Topo is constantly updated as technology and information from map sources evolve. These latest updates will appear automatically when you open up the map in the Gaia GPS app or on a desktop computer. Any portion of the Gaia Topo map that had been downloaded earlier will need to be downloaded again for the updated changes to appear.

Access to Gaia Topo is available for free on gaiagps.com or in the app on Android or iOS. Purchase a membership to download and take the map offline. A Premium Membership includes all the maps from the Gaia GPS catalog, from USGS Topo to USFS Recreation Maps and hundreds of National Geographic Trails Illustrated titles, as well as satellite imagery and weather layers. With a premium membership, you can download these maps to your device and use them in the field, far away from cell service.

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Gaia GPSNew FeaturesNew Maps

Find More Rivers, Lakes, and Wetlands with the New US Hydrography Map

by Julien Friedland
written by Julien Friedland

Find water sources, identify river crossings, and get a better picture of any landscape with the new US Hydrography map. This layer shows more rivers, streams, lakes, and wetlands than any other map on Gaia GPS. Level up your favorite maps by pairing them with US hydrography for more precise and expanded coverage of bodies of water across the United States.

About US Hydrography Map

Crossing a raging river in the middle of a backpacking trip should never come as a surprise. With this new map, you can plan more effectively with data sourced from USGS National Hydrography Data Set.

The US Hydrography Map represents the water drainage network of the United States, including Hawaii and Alaska, with features such as rivers, streams, canals, lakes, ponds, coastline, dams, and stream-gages. Community stewards and users update and maintain the data.

US Hydrography has a scale of 1:24,000 scale or 1:63,360 in Alaska, and reveals more details as you zoom in on the map. Click on water features to learn more about the type and size of the body of water.

How to Access the New Hydrography Map

Access and download the Hydrography Map with a Premium Membership. Download the map by visiting the layers menu and selecting “Features/Weather Overlays” then select US Hydrography to add the map layer. Download any map to your device before you head in the backcountry to view water sources while out of cell service range.

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image of groups of amenity icons on Gaia Topo
Gaia GPSHikesNew Features

Discover Recreation Amenities with New Symbol Groups on Gaia Topo

by Julien Friedland
written by Julien Friedland

Get a snapshot of the amenities in any recreation area with new symbol groups on Gaia Topo. Now you can view hotspots, including campsites, viewpoints, trailheads, and more in symbol groups, without zooming deeper on the map. Styled after popular outdoor recreation maps, Gaia Topo is the first global topo map to display point of interest symbol groups.

Before and after view of new symbol groups on Gaia Topo

As you scour the map on a broader scale, notice groups of icons displaying essential amenities. For example, campsites, lodging, restrooms, food, and gas symbols appear in clusters, indicating developed recreation areas. This makes it easy to identify the best places to set up camp or stop for a resupply. Alternatively, if you’d rather avoid crowds, plan to steer clear of the developed areas, as indicated by the map.

The point of interest groups provide a clear picture of what amenities exist while zoomed out on the map. Once you identify an area of interest, zoom in closer to see smaller groupings of amenities, or individual amenities by zooming more.

On gaiagps.com, you can click on any symbol group to automatically zoom closer and reveal other subgroups of amenities. Continue to click subgroups to fully expand all points of interest. The same function, ‘tap’ to zoom, is coming soon for iOS and Android.

Zoom in closer to explore different amenities in recreation areas.

To view symbol groups while you plan, set Gaia Topo as your base map on your Gaia GPS iOS or Android app or on gaiagps.com. Available to all users, Gaia Topo continues to provide the best tools for planning trips of every nature.

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Gaia GPSNew Features

Find Your Saved Items on the Map with a New Sidebar

by Julien Friedland
written by Julien Friedland

A new tool on gaiagps.com allows you to jump to any of your saved items on the map. Similar to the Gaia GPS mobile apps, all of your saved tracks, routes, waypoints, and areas now live in an organized sidebar. Additionally, you can now hide any saved item on your map and find it in the sidebar as well.

Search, Filter, and Sort Saved Items

Now you can skip zooming and scrolling across the map to find a route or waypoint. Click the “folder” icon located along the left edge of the screen, find your item in the sidebar, and click to jump right to the item’s location. There are a few ways you can find your item by using the search, filter, and sort tools.

The search bar allows you to type in keywords to pull up a saved item instantly.

If you’d rather browse a list of saved items, use the filter and sort tools.

The filter tool allows you to control what items are shown in the sidebar by type (route, track, waypoint, or area) and visibility (shown or hidden on the map). Only want to see your tracks in the sidebar? Simply hide all other items by unchecking their boxes in the dropdown list.

Computer screen displaying saved items toolbar with filter tool open

Change the order of your items using the sort tool. This allows you to reorder your list of saved items based on time created, time updated, or title in either ascending or descending order.

Computer screen displaying saved items toolbar with sort tool open

Hide Waypoints, Tracks, and Routes on the Map

With the new saved items folder, you can also hide items on the map for cleaner map viewing. Preparing for an upcoming trip, printing a map, or have a plethora of waypoints dotting your screen? Use this to declutter your map or organize your data however you like.

To hide an item, first select it on the map and click the “more” button, and click “hide item”. Then, use the filter tool to show all of your “Hidden” items in the saved items sidebar or search for a specific hidden item by name.

You can also control item visibility from the sidebar using the eye icon. Hover over an item in the saved items sidebar and click the eye icon to toggle visibility.

Access the Saved Items Sidebar

Access the Saved Items sidebar by visiting the main map on gaiagps.com and selecting the “folder” icon on the left side of the screen. From here you can use all of the features mentioned in this article to search, filter, sort and hide your saved items.

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