
Why? The microSD card can only be used on one GPSr at a time and can't be used with BaseCamp. Garmin offers its 24K maps in at least 3 formats: DVD, micro SD card, and downloads. On a computer using BaseCamp means you get to use the whizzy 3-D view, which turns out to be more useful than I ever thought. This is nice to have on the GPS, so you can get an idea of what the trail you're about to tackle looks like in terms of elevation gain.
Garmin topo us 24k maps free#
You can even get free routable maps (check out Open Street Map), but at least where I live, the quality of those maps is dubious once you get off the main highways. While you should NEVER trust the GPS completely, it can be *very* nice to have this data, especially when you're trying to get to somewhere deep in a maze of Forest Service roads. The free topographic maps on the Internet don't have routable roads (you can't say "get me from here to point B" and trust that the GPS will give directions) or trails. Routable, reasonably up-to-date roads and trails. So why would you want to pay $$$ for this? I can think of 2 reasons:ġ. If I traveled away from the West Coast on a regular basis, or I didn't do trip planning on my computer, I probably wouldn't find this as worthwhile.įirst, why buy the maps at all? You can get topographic maps for Garmin GPSr's for free, from places like GPSFileDepot. My review summary is: I'm glad I got these maps they have been very useful and fun for me, because I do advance trip planning on my computer, because I use my hiking GPS for driving as well, and because I really only go hiking/driving to remote trailheads in California. These maps offer detail "similar to" a USGS 24K (7.5 minute) map for your GPS.


Garmin topo us 24k maps software#
If you don't have a Garmin GPS, you are NOT interested in this software (I suppose you could use it just for trip planning on your computer, but it would be awfully expensive relative to the competition). This is a set of maps for Garmin GPS units that's also usable with Garmin's (free) BaseCamp trip planning software (BaseCamp runs on both Mac and Windows).
