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Backcountry Discovery Routes

two people look at a phone while pointing to mountains in the distance.
Gaia GPSNew Features

2023 Mapped: Our Best New Features of the Year

by Abby Levene
written by Abby Levene

As the world opened back up in 2023, the Gaia GPS community adventured further, deeper, and higher than ever. As you climbed new peaks, skied new trails, and camped in new spots, our team back at home worked tirelessly to make Gaia GPS even better for your adventures. 

From shiny new features to the invisible work behind the scenes that keeps Gaia GPS running smoothly and reliably while you’re out in the backcountry, here are the top new features and maps from 2023. Thank you for being part of our community, and cheers to another year outside!

Get the Best Off-Pavement Routes with BDR Integration

Photo: Backcountry Discovery Routes

Sometimes, it’s a relief—even a delight—to follow a trusted off-pavement route you know will go. Especially when you know it will go past breathtaking views, across challenging terrain, and to memorable watering holes. That’s why we partnered with Backcountry Discovery Routes to bring you premier long-distance off-pavement routes with a leading navigation experience.

Thanks to this partnership, you can take any iconic long-distance Backcountry Discovery Route offline in the Gaia GPS app with just one click. We’re also honored to promote BDR’s mission of promoting responsible travel and fostering sustainable adventuring and economic growth.

Spy Points of Interest Easier Than Ever with New Map Spotlight

Our proprietary Gaia Topo, Gaia Overland, and Gaia Winter maps equip backcountry travelers on foot, wheels, and skis with the information they need to adventure safely and confidently From trails color-coded by activity type to lands shaded by ownership, to amenities to points of interest, these maps have a lot of information packed in them. Honestly, it’s a lot to take in. (In the best way.) That’s where the map legend comes in. The map legend cracks the code. And now the map legend is even easier to find, decipher, and use. 

Meet our brand new interactive map spotlight on gaiagps.com. Simply click on a symbol and the map lights up, showing you the trails, amenities, or points of interest you’re looking for. Whether you’re searching for a waterfall, an ice cream shop, or a horseback riding trail, the spotlight puts the world at your fingertips.

Draw Routes in Android

In addition to our gold-standard snap-to-trail route planning, which is available across iOS, Android, and gaiagps.com, this year we unveiled route drawing on the Android version of our app. 

Simply click the finger icon on the bottom of the screen and draw on the map to create your route. This route planning mode is particularly useful when you’re going off-trail, where snap-to-trail route planning isn’t available. iOS users: Don’t worry we’re coming for you too!

See the World More Clearly with Gaia Black and White Map

Move over technicolor, black and white is back in style. Meet Gaia Black and White, our very first all-black-and-white topo map. Whether you’re color vision deficient or want a crystal-clear paper map printout on hand, Gaia Black and White is for you.

Styled in the same manner as our other proprietary topo maps designed in-house, Gaia Black and White brings you industry-leading clarity, accuracy, and file-efficiency. Like our other Gaia Series maps, Gaia Black and White provides world-wide coverage. Download the map to use offline for your entire state so you can always find your way—even without cell service. 

Reap the Rewards of Our Type 2 Engineering™

As our software has increased in complexity, our number of users has grown, and the app is utilized in unexpected ways (we’re looking at you, users who record their flights in the app), the proclivity of systems to fail in remarkable fashion skyrockets. 

Our engineers bushwhacked through the code base in an endeavor they called type 2 engineering. Like type 2 fun, it was hard but rewarding work that we enjoyed…once we were done. Along the way, we squashed bugs, improved our design, and cleaned up shared folders. And the outcome is that moving forward, we’ll be able to bring you new features and improvements faster than ever. 

Adventure Intuitively with Our Redesigned App

We take your feedback seriously over here at Gaia GPS, and that’s why we’ve worked tirelessly to make our iOS and Android apps more intuitive and easier to use. This year, we simplified the top five features in the app so you can spend less time looking at your phone and more time exploring. Waypoints, locating yourself on the map, taking a geotagged photo, recording an activity, and downloading maps for offline use are easier to access than ever.

Think of this update like reorganizing the gear shed. All the tools you know and love are still there. We’ve simply moved them to more convenient locations and gave them a fresh coat of paint. 

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BDR route in Gaia GPS on a phone, mounted to a bike on a trail.
Gaia GPS

Backcountry Discovery Routes Now Integrated with Gaia GPS: Get the Best Off-Pavement Routes with the Leading Navigation Experience

by Abby Levene
written by Abby Levene

Sometimes, it’s a relief—even a delight—to follow a trusted off-pavement route you know will go. Especially when you know it will go past breathtaking views, across challenging terrain, and to memorable watering holes. That’s why we’ve partnered with Backcountry Discovery Routes to bring you premier long-distance off-pavement routes with a leading navigation experience.

Thanks to this new partnership, you can take any Backcountry Discovery Route (BDR) offline in the Gaia GPS app with just one click. We’re also honored to promote BDR’s mission of promoting responsible travel and fostering sustainable adventuring and economic growth.

Explore 12 Iconic Long-Distance Routes

BDRs provide a unique opportunity to explore rural America and taste the tracks that shaped early American history. From Gold Rush ghost towns to the battlefields of the American Revolution, explore the country’s iconic public lands on two wheels. Soak up seemingly endless desert solitude, majestic mountainscapes, and wildlife sounds and sights while covering engaging and fun terrain most people will never see.

Every year since 2010, with the exception of 2021 due to the global pandemic, BDR has introduced a new long-distance route for dual-sport and adventure motorcycling. These off-pavement routes come with free GPS tracks, lodging, food, and fuel suggestions, and detailed guidebook notes. Choose from the rocky and rugged terrain of the northeast to the canyons and sandy washes of southern California. Soak in the hot springs of New Mexico, or climb jaw-dropping passes over 12,000 feet high in Colorado.

This year’s newly unveiled route traverses the lush coniferous forests and winds past the volcanic mountains of Oregon. Gaia GPS played a pivotal role in the creation of this route, from finding new roads and trails to navigating in the field. Go inside the Oregon Backcountrry Discovery Route and whet your thirst for adventure by watching the new ORBDR feature-length film. Find a showing near you.

The Best Backcountry Navigation App Meets the Best Long-Distance Adventure Motorcycle Trails

You can now plan your BDR and navigate in the field easier than ever before. Once you’ve selected your BDR of choice, upload it to your Gaia GPS account with the press of a button. You’ll automatically see the route and points of interest right in the Gaia GPS app and on gaiagps.com. While you can use any of our 300+ maps to plan your trip and navigate along the trail, we suggest starting with Gaia Overland, the world’s premiere map for offroad travel. Modeled after our proprietary Gaia Topo map, Gaia Overland comes with the same crystal-clear resolution and download efficiency you know and love from Gaia GPS. But it puts everything for motorized travel first. Download the map for offline use, and know where to go at every turn—even without cell service. 

How to Download BDRs to Gaia GPS

Uploading routes from BDR to Gaia GPS is available to anyone with a Gaia GPS account. Here’s how: 

  • Choose your BDR on ridebdr.com
  • Hit the “Upload to Gaia GPS” button
  • A new page will pull up prompting you to log in to your Gaia GPS account
  • Log in to your Gaia GPS account and click ‘authorize’ to allow your BDR routes to be imported

And voila, BDR trail data will automatically sync to your Gaia GPS account. You won’t have to login on future syncs when you click the ‘upload to Gaia GPS ’ button; the app will remember your info and sync the routes right to your account

Supporting Sustainable Tourism 

A non-profit advocacy organization, BDR also conducts rider education, safety campaigns, and promotes responsible travel for motorcyclists traveling in the backcountry. Each of the 12 BDR routes around the US generates new tourism, bringing sustainable economic relief to less-advantaged rural communities. In turn, this symbiotic relationship between riders and communities creates local stakeholders who will help fight to keep access for dual-sport and adventure motorcycles in these incredible backcountry areas.

BDR also promotes safety, knowledge sharing, and informing the community of critical issues and backcountry best practices. Learn more about BDR’s awareness programs, including Ride Right, Ride Respectfully, and Yield to Animals, on its website.

Level-Up Your Adventures with Gaia GPS Premium

Reclaim your peace of mind with a Gaia GPS Premium membership. Take your maps offline so you can always find your way, even out of cell service. Be prepared for what’s ahead with our suite of weather features. And find the perfect map for your next adventure thanks to our 300+ map catalog, including our proprietary Gaia Overland, MVUM, Public and Private Lands, USFS, and a collection of maps from National Geographic Trails Illustrated. 

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