Free mapping program to help Americans navigate BLM public lands

[Donna D.]

Free is a very good price! National Mobile Map Package (MMPK) Program | Bureau of Land Management

 

[Ron in BC]

That's a great resource, thanks for posting. On one visit to a BLM office they were exceedingly generous with the amount of individual paper maps we could take. We like paper maps. This will compliment them nicely.

Ron

 

[iamunique127]

Thank you Donna. I saved the page in my Bookmarks for when we visit the US again.

 

[Peggy & Dennis]

Thanks, Donna! Personally, I’m going to download maps now and not wait for our next trip. With all the cost cutting and layoffs, I’m not optimistic that this system and resources to manage it will be around for much longer.

 

[Mike G]

For those who are downloading these maps, how large are the files, typically?

 

[Peggy & Dennis]

The states I downloaded varied. A couple I downloaded were 100 to 300 mg. California was a gig!

 

[Centex]

For those who are downloading these maps, how large are the files, typically?

Just FYI, when viewing the page of available map downloads the file size is displayed for each on that list. Very considerate of the developers, IMO

I installed the app on my iPad, the states I selected ran from ~120mb to ~850mb each.

Thanks again @Donna D. for sharing this resource

 

[SRS]

For those who are downloading these maps, how large are the files, typically?

The maps are by state so the size varies. Nevada is the smallest I downloaded at 180mb. California is 1.3GB. Size is listed with each map. These are, IMO, pretty rudimentary. Road detail is lacking for one thing and search function seems to miss localities. Although it cost money, Gaia GPS is much better. You get what you pay for I guess.

 

[Mike G]

Thanks, all, for the info. It is wonderful to live in a time when we can have so many great informational resources to augment our recreation. My phone says I still have 95GB available, so perhaps I'll download a state or two and see how useful the maps are. Finding public campsites has been easy enough for me with Campendium, but if these new maps show some trail info and stuff, that could be an additional help.

I looked at Gaia GPS. There is some functionality in their free version, too, for those who don't want to pay.

I'll mention the one app that I do pay for, in case others want to look at it: OnX. I subbed to "OnX Off Road" (about a hundred bucks a year); there are customized versions for hunters and back-country hikers, too. Like Gaia, OnX shows exactly on a map where a person is located, but the map shows precise boundaries of ownership along with identification of the owner(s); I can know for sure if I am on federal or state land, and I can even view the owner's name of any private property anywhere in the U.S. It's the best app for locating boondocking spots that I know of. (And I have occasionally had reasons to use the program to look up property ownership info, unrelated to traveling.)

 

[iamunique127]

Thanks, all, for the info. It is wonderful to live in a time when we can have so many great informational resources to augment our recreation. My phone says I still have 95GB available, so perhaps I'll download a state or two and see how useful the maps are. Finding public campsites has been easy enough for me with Campendium, but if these new maps show some trail info and stuff, that could be an additional help.

I looked at Gaia GPS. There is some functionality in their free version, too, for those who don't want to pay.

I'll mention the one app that I do pay for, in case others want to look at it: OnX. I subbed to "OnX Off Road" (about a hundred bucks a year); there are customized versions for hunters and back-country hikers, too. Like Gaia, OnX shows exactly on a map where a person is located, but the map shows precise boundaries of ownership along with identification of the owner(s); I can know for sure if I am on federal or state land, and I can even view the owner's name of any private property anywhere in the U.S. It's the best app for locating boondocking spots that I know of. (And I have occasionally had reasons to use the program to look up property ownership info, unrelated to traveling.)

Surprisingly, when I was out hunting last fall and way back in the woods, a friend fired up his Google Maps and Satellite View came up automatically to show us exactly where we were on small bush trail. I was astounded to see the detail it gave even for walking trails. Once we got back out to the highway it showed the regular highway view again.
That experience made me wonder if I should reconsider carrying my old-school handheld GPS while hunting.

That ownership information on OnX is pretty impressive.