Open Cycle Map desktop route planning?

Have you looked at http://satmap-xpedition.com ?

Thanks for the reply, really appreciate you taking the time to bother.

Tried using it after you suggested it, and it looks to have everything I wanted. Didn't even mind 20 euros a year to unlock the base map that I was looking for (but maybe don't really need, because it has the Outdoor Thunder Forest base map for free).

::Now I will destroy it::

Unfortunately I'm finding some discouraging traits like it requires a Silverlight plug-in, making it a headache to pull up on somebody else's computer who doesn't have Silverlight or maybe impossible on a Chromebook. Hopefully they change that, because Silverlight really died the day Netflix dropped it for HTML5 (and Netflix started working a lot better after that).

The real killer though, is that the snap-to route tool isn't actually letting me snap-to on trails, just roads. Although that's enough to make me keep looking for something else, it is also very slow when doing that, like a 10 mile road route made me believe the thing froze and I almost closed my browser right before it finished.

Sorry for ripping into your helpful suggestion with my bad review, I wanted to like it. I feel bad for them, yet another developer that based their product on something Microsoft marketed hard and then abandoned soon after.

I've been using BikeRouteToaster.com for years to create routes along OpenCycleMap lines. Works AOK and it's free.

And, Gaia GPS is working to add that functionality to their web based mapping tool:
https://www.gaiagps.com/map/#?lat=38.3417&lon=-98.0859&zoom=4

I don't know how close they are to making it available, and I don't know if you'll have to be subscribed to their Pro service to make use of it. You might check their site if you haven't looked in a while, or send them a note and ask.

I've been using Footpath on my iPhone. It allows you to draw your route on a map and it gives the mileage and best of all, an elevation profile. The free version is quite functional.

About BikeRouteToaster — I should clarify that you can click a point on an OpenCycleMap trail, and then click a second point miles away, and BikeRouteToaster will create the line that connects them. Continuing to click points will extend the line for miles. I think that is what you were asking for. You don't have to create the line manually by clicking thousands of points.

OpenCycleMap is just an alternate rendering of OpenStreetMap data, so there are going to be plenty of non-cycling specific routes and features on there in places with active editors. I'm a reasonably active OSM editor, and contribute corrected trail data whenever I hike a trail I haven't been on before and it hasn't already been modified by another editor.

I've been using BikeRouteToaster.com for years to create routes along OpenCycleMap lines. Works AOK and it's free.

And, Gaia GPS is working to add that functionality to their web based mapping tool

Thanks!

BikeRouteToaster looks on the surface to very responsive and at least as good or better than Bikemap. Although, same drawback as being a biking community and not backpacking. Yet, it's great to have another mapping tool that works well.

Didn't dawn on me to think to look at Gaia's website, last time I checked it out there was little more than links to download the app. Looking now, and it seems like they are attempting to grow in the right direction. Still looks like a work in progress, but worth keeping an eye on.

OpenCycleMap is just an alternate rendering of OpenStreetMap data, so there are going to be plenty of non-cycling specific routes and features on there in places with active editors. I'm a reasonably active OSM editor, and contribute corrected trail data whenever I hike a trail I haven't been on before and it hasn't already been modified by another editor.

What do you use to plan routes on a desktop/laptop and then export to a device?

If it's in an area I'm not overly familiar with, I usually download part of the OpenStreetMap dataset using JOSM (Java OpenStreetMap Editor) and export the segments of trails I want to follow as a GPX file, which I can tell my GPS units to render as a colored line on top of the base map. That's easy for me, since I'm familiar with those tools from editing OSM, but it may not be the best solution for everyone.

I also generally create my own custom paper map(s) of an area if I'm going to be spending much time there, with routes highlighted.

You can add OpenCycleMap as a layer on CalTopo.com. I like CalTopo because it has a lot of abilities, similar to MappingSupport.com but you can save maps for future editing.

With CalTopo you can do everything: make a great map, draw routes, save 'em, export, change shading etc.

It also lets you set the opacity of the layer, so you have it 50% show through on top of your favourite other topo. I.e. here's 40% OpenCycleMap and 60% Google Terrain

I just got an email from Gaia announcing that their TrailFinder feature has been released as an open beta! This looks to be exactly what you want. It pulls its data from OpenCycleMap and snaps your route to trails.

Open beta for now, but eventually it will be a Gaia Pro feature.

http://blog.gaiagps.com/plot-a-precise-trail-with-the-gaia-gps-trail-finder