This article was originally published on Cache Up NB. It has been mirrored here for archive purposes only.
It’s been hiding in our menu for years. You my not have even known about it. But have you ever needed a map for an area and couldn’t find one? Well if you use a Garmin device for geocaching, those days are over.
Although I have Garmin City Navigator and Ibycus Topo maps, there are times when I am heading to an area where I don’t have a map. Sure, there are other creative ways of finding maps you might need but thanks to a free project on the web, you can snag any map you need of any part of the world.
Based on OpenStreetMap, this page will allow you to actually build a custom map that only includes the specific sections you need. Going on a trip to Europe and need maps? Click the “Enable manual tile selection” and pick the exact areas you’ll be travelling to. Once you select all the tiles, you simply enter in your email address, and click “Build my map” and away it goes.
Depending on the complexity of the map, it may take 5 minutes or an hour but eventually you’ll be sent an email link where you can access the downloadable version of your map. In most cases, downloading of the IMG file is sufficient. Just copy the map file to your GPS and then enable it from the device itself. That’s it.
I recently found myself in Ireland for work and had forgotten to put maps on my GPS. I went to this site, selected all the tiles for Ireland and within 5 minutes I had the entire country mapped.
If you’re looking for free maps for a Garmin device, I highly recommend this website.
