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Google + GIS National Forest Recreation Map
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Home › Forums › General Forums › General Lightweight Backpacking Discussion › Google + GIS National Forest Recreation Map
- This topic has 5 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 4 months ago by Joseph Elfelt.
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AuthorPosts
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Nov 6, 2017 at 1:53 am #3500487
Below is a link for a Google + GIS map that I produced as a public service and part of my way to “pay it forward”. The map can display 20+ overlay layers that show trails, campgrounds, open roads, closed roads and other recreation-related features in the national forests.
The data for the trails and other overlays is hosted on federal GIS (Geographical Information System) servers and is the most authoritative data available.
You will automatically see a touch interface on mobile devices and a mouse interface on non-mobile devices.
To see the map legend, learn how to turn the overlay layers on/off and get other information to help you get the most benefit from the map, please click “Map Tips” in the upper left corner of the map.
If you click the top layer then you will see a display with all the attribute data the GIS server has for thing that you clicked. Don’t know what “top layer” means? Please read the map tips.
When the map opens the trail data is the top layer and therefore can be clicked. The trail attributes include mileage data. A good way to change the map to your location is to click Menu ==> Search. A search bar will open above the map.
To change the basemap to high resolution topos, change the basemap to “t4 CalTopo Hi-res”.
Even if you do not read anything else, you will understand the trail data a whole lot better if you click the “Map Tips” link, scroll to the bottom of that page and then click the button titled “About trail data”.
Map link short version: https://goo.gl/nxiP8u
Nov 6, 2017 at 6:58 pm #3500617Cool – thanks!
Nov 7, 2017 at 7:00 pm #3500861WOW! Thanks for this.
Nov 7, 2017 at 8:56 pm #3500903Thank you. I have been using Caltopo for several years. Something that your maps have and caltopo doesn’t is the layer with Snow Depth / Water Content. I’ll definitely will be following that as winter comes in and I start to plan my snowshoeing outings. Thank you again.
Nov 14, 2017 at 2:16 am #3502009Wow! Thank you so much!
Would it be possible to add links on your donation page to help support the public government servers that are hosting this data?
Nov 14, 2017 at 3:18 am #3502022Nice idea.
I would suggest a donation to the National Forest Foundation
https://www.nationalforests.org/donate/give
You could include a note expressing gratitude to the USFS for providing this open data.
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