. GET THE GEAR ON AMAZON.We dive into the kind of maps you can load onto your Garmin GPS device and Basecamp.There are 2 types of maps: paid vs free.Paid Maps: You can go and buy the various mapping products from Garmin, including the subscription service called Birdseye Imagery where you can choose between satellite or topo images. Loading these maps onto your device is fairly easy via BasecampWatch this video on BirdseyeHowever for hiking, topo images may be a better option than the satellite simply because they do not provide the detail we'd want. Also depending on your area, you may have low-res satellite images.Birdseye Topo is much more useful for hiking, but the main disadvantage is not knowing how old these maps are based on your area. Luckily, there is an easier & free method to get the same type of map.Free Maps: Making a Garmin Custom Map using Google Earth is a good option which can take a few minutes to build.
In our example, we've used the same data source to grab the latest published topo maps, cut a slice and made the KML file to import into BasecampWatch this video on Garmin Custom MapsThe disadvantage is that Custom Maps are picky and you might have to tweak your KML file to get the results that you want.The other free option is to simply search for 'Free Garmin Maps'. A number of sites like and other sites will have repositories with submitted maps. Depending on your area this might be a useful resource.If you are in Canada, there is the Ibycus Topo product , where the same government data source was used to grab the GIS (shapefiles) data instead of the raster images and produced Garmin maps using free tools. The advantage is that these are vector maps and will behave like the Garmin products like City Navigator or Garmin Topo. Meaning that you can zoom in tight and not have pixel distortion like the Garmin Custom Map or Birdseye Topo.Another Free option which is to use the Garmin Openstreetmap. This is a free service that compiles garmin maps from openstreetmap.org Depending on your area, the detail might be lacking, however being an open source project, anybody including yourself can contribute to the map in a few clicks.Installing maps on our device is straight forward, take the img files and drop them into a folder named 'Garmin' on your SD card. You can drop the file in the Garmin folder on the device, but there are limitation and you'll have to rename your file gmapsupp.img.
Need to update existing maps? We currently offer map updates for CityNavigator maps and Garmin Cycle Maps. If you’ve added City Navigator maps in DVD format to a map-compatible fitness device, you need to download the Garmin Express desktop app to update the cycle maps that came with your device. What are the differences between the Topo 24K and 100K maps? › Garmin Topographic 100K USA DVD with BaseCamp: Doug Mpls, MN: Original question asked on Mar 4, 2012, 11:42am: New GPS user and want to now the difference between USA 100K topo and a regional 24K topo. Is the level of detail different?
![Topo Topo](http://gpstracklog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/freegpstopomaps.jpg)
If you are using windows, you will find a.exe file as part of the download package to install in the right spot so that it appears in basecamp next time you start up the program.By placing your.img files on a SD card, you can rename them making it easier to manage. Also you can swap the card and insert into Garmin models.-Subscribe on YouTube (new video every Sunday!)Google+:Twitter:Check out more videos from the gang atThanks to our supporters-Avoiding Chores is a collection of interests from a group of guys who do everything possible NOT to do chores. This involves getting into a number of interests such as: hiking, camping, outdoors, bushcraft, running, beer reviews, live hangouts and long term projects like living off the grid or stone carving.-.
Hello Fellas: New member here, been lurking for awhile, reading and learning tons! About to pull the plug on a new Garmin Montana 600 from GPS City. Tried to buy local, but wow, $150 more! Anyway, I am going to use this unit for multiple purposes: Hunting out west, fishing, and in the vehicle navigation.
I can't decide best route to go on topo maps. I have read good things on 100k giving you tons of roads/trails but definition isn't the best. O'kay now lets just get the 20k topo maps and be done with it. Reading a few folks comments, 20k topo maps has great land detail, but then you lose some roads/trails?
![Garmin Garmin](/uploads/1/2/5/5/125512052/901035783.jpg)
Is this actually the case or not? I was going to purchase CD from Garmin or similar, I have read nothing negative about them.
Is there a better route to go? I have also read 20K maps are more difficult to read on smaller screens as well.Thanks for input!Bruce.
Congratulations on the new Montana, you're gonna love it.:)For starters, I think you mean 24k topo maps, there is no standard for 20k. 24k is shorthand for a map scale of 1:24,000. In other words, a real object is 24,000 times larger than the object on the map.
Same logic applies to 100k maps, with a scale of 1:100,000. So, at least in theory, a 24k map has 16 times the amount of detail as a 100k map because it would take 4 x 4 = 16 24k maps to cover the same area shown on a 100k map.I have also seen the complaints about lack of trails on the 24k maps, but there isn't any way to generalize because they vary between locations. The best thing would be to look at areas you personally know in Garmin's online map browser.View the 100k map here:The 24k maps are regional and cover a much smaller area.
You will find the full list here:For any of these, click on the coverage tab the click the link to view the detailed interactive map. For example, the 24k West topo is here:But before you buy anything, have a look at the free maps atGarmin's 24k maps support some additional features not available in free maps however; they can be used to provide address search and route calculation. They also contain elevation data that will give you shaded terrain, 3d views and elevation profiles. But the free maps are often very good, with even better detail. They are made by many different people (including me:)), so quality can vary - you need to download and look to see if they will meet your needs.