With over 300 maps, our deep map catalog is one of our greatest assets. And yet we offer so many maps, it can be hard to even discover them all — much less learn how to use them all. To put the best maps in your hands, right now, we’ve totally redesigned our mapping interface.
Meet map packs.
Enable this new beta feature available on iOS and get the best map presets curated by the Gaia GPS team. Whether you’re visiting a national park with your family, backpacking a long trail, or skiing in the backcountry, just tap the map pack crafted specifically for your adventure to put the right maps on your screen
Or create your own map pack so you can always have your favorite map combinations at your fingertips.
Don’t worry, you can still use our maps exactly as you always have, if you prefer.
What are Map Packs?
Map packs instantaneously put the best maps in your hands in one tap. No fuss. No digging into the depths of your memory to remember the exact map combinations you like for each activity.
Traditionally, Gaia GPS works by choosing a base map, which you can use on its own, or you can layer additional maps and overlays on top of it. The most classic example is selecting Gaia Topo, our proprietary map designed in-house, as your base map. You can use Gaia Topo all on its own. Or you can use Gaia Topo as a base map and put weather overlays, cell coverage maps, wildfire maps, or any other map or overlay on top of it. We call this “map layering.”
Map packs does all of this layering for you, saving you time and brain power. Our team has curated the most useful map combinations and meticulously selected just the right opacity for each layer in the pack.
Whether you’re overlanding, stargazing, or just want to check the weather for the weekend, select the map pack perfectly curated for your needs. For example, rather than individually selecting Gaia Winter with Slope Angle, Avalanche Forecast, SNOTEL, and Snow Depth when you go backcountry skiing. Just choose the Backcountry Skiing map pack and you’re good to go, with each map layered to just the right opacity so that you can access the info you need to ski smartly and safely.
So, if you choose to use map packs, all you have to do is select the map pack you would like, whether that be for wildfires, weather, cell coverage, you name it. And voila, the map shows you all the info you need. In short, map packs give you the maps you want, hassle free.
How to Activate Map Packs
Map packs is a beta, “experimental,” feature. To try it out: tap “Settings” (bottom right corner of the app) → “Map Controls” → toggle on “Map Packs (beta).”
Once you turn on map packs, you’ll notice that changing the map sources displayed on your screen looks different. To change maps:
- Click the map icon on the bottom left corner of the map.
- From here, you can peruse our curated collection of map packs by scrolling through the list or searching for a specific map or activity.
You can also build your own map pack:
- Tap “Build a New Map Pack”
- Select the layers you want
- Change the opacity and order in which the maps are layered.
- Add a memorable title and a description, if you like.
- Tap “Done.”
Want to check the weather, the snow depth, or the air quality? You can also add overlays in one tap, pre-set to the opacity we’ve deemed most useful.
You’ll notice this same map icon on the bottom left corner is now where you can toggle on and off saved waypoints, tracks, routes, and areas.
Unlock all Map Packs with Premium
Access the best map packs for every activity like overlanding, hiking, and bikepacking by upgrading to Gaia GPS Premium. Premium also gets you weather forecasts, air quality maps, slope angle shading, and every other feature available in the app.
Please Share Your Feedback!
We’re continuously improving map packs. We know this feature isn’t perfect, and we would love your help to make it better. Help us make using our maps as easy as possible by leaving us some feedback. What do you love about map packs? What do you hate? How can map packs (and using maps in general) better help you get outside on your adventures?
Share your feedback with us by contacting our Support team. You can also Tweet at us or post on Reddit.
