Quick linksLet’s go over the different features, one by one: Accurate and routable roadsStrangely enough for a topo product, this is one of the best reasons to buy TOPO US 24K. Garmin’s 1:100,000 scale topo products utilize TIGER data for roads, which are almost invariably off from the road’s true location. People look at their unit and think it’s a GPS accuracy issue, but it’s just that the road is misplaced on the map. TOPO US 24K maps use the more accurate NAVTEQ road data however, just like Garmin nuvis.
HomePort software version 2.3.2. As of January 4, 2019. Download (37.22 MB). View installation instructions and system requirements. Notes: Features include: View fishing and navigational charts from BlueChart g2 Vision(R) (also compatible(2) with BlueChart g2, LakeVu HD and LakeVu HD Ultra navigation charts).
So that’s one point in its favor.The other is that these roads are routable. This means that if you have a waypoint for a trailhead, you can mount the GPS receiver on your dash and get turn-by-turn directions on compatible Garmin handhelds (as shown at right). Sure, you won’t hear audible directions, but you don’t have to transfer waypoints to a second device (like a nuvi) just to navigate to the trailhead.
Life just got simpler. More detailed contour mapsThe TOPO US 24K maps give you greater detail, with more closely spaced contours.
In the images below, a 100K scale Garmin map is shown at top, with TOPO US 24K below it. In this case, common in the eastern US, the 24K map shows 40’ contour intervals vs.
100’ for the 100K scale map. Still, with plenty of, this just doesn’t rank as a reason to buy Garmin’s product.Trails coverageMany people have reported that there is less trail coverage in Garmin’s 24K maps than their 100K products, and I have found this to be the case in spot checks of various areas. Indeed, you can see it in the images above. But truth be known, both products are really bad. Those screenshots above?
The Appalachian Trail runs that ridge, but it’s missing from both Garmin mapsets! The is to download a.gpx file from a trusted source, but another good option is Jim Bensman’s (or if you live in the Pacific Northwest).Routable trailsThe one thing trailwise that TOPO US 24K has going for it is that the trails are routable. But if you load.gpx tracks onto a newer Garmin handheld, the offers many of the advantages of routable trails. And since many trails are missing, this feature isn’t nearly as useful as it could be. Unlocked mapsThe DVD and micro-SD TOPO US 24K products are not locked to a single device, allowing you to move maps with routable roads from one Garmin handheld to another ( are locked to a single device).
Now I know most readers probably don’t own an entire stable of GPS receivers, but many of you do upgrade from time to time. And it’s very nice to be able to use them on your new toy tool. Points of Interest (POI) comparisonIn my testing, the POIs (and number of POIs) in this product were comparable to those found in Garmin’s City Navigator product. Don’t confuse with US TOPO 24K National ParksThe older National Parks series maps have very limited coverage.Other Garmin TOPO US 24K resources. The official Web page lists all the products (states and regions) in this seriesCompare prices on the Garmin TOPO US 24K at these merchants:.
Check the current price at Amazon. Get a great deal on at GPS City. Buy direct from Garmin. Check out the deal on at REI.com, where and on eligible purchases. Bob, I posted some comparative screenshots with City Navigator here:I am one of the authors of the free maps at GPSFiledepot, and it’s pointless to attempt to compare them with Garmin’s products. The free maps are created by many different people who have varying levels of experience, different goals and using different datasets. Since they’re free, the best way to compare is to just download the ones that interest you and decide for yourself.
Of course, my own maps are better than Garmin’s 😉You also need to understand that Garmin considers their map format proprietary and has never disclosed it. They will not provide any support for third party maps, but will help if you have problems with their own products.The free maps are made with third party tools that have reverse-engineered the Garmin format. There are some things which we haven’t figured out, such as how Garmin uses DEM (digital elevation model)data. This data provides shaded terrain and 3d views in real Garmin maps, and can add elevation data to tracks. One of the nicest things about the TOPO24K series (I have the Pacific Coast DVD) and that you didn’t mention in the review is that it has elevation data in it.
This is somewhat useful in the field (seeing elevation plots of ‘what’s coming up’ for track navigation, terrain shading) but really comes into its own if you’re using Garmin’s BaseCamp desktop software, where the 3-D visualization you get is not just pretty, it’s actually useful. The combination of features (good detail, elevation data, routable roads and trails) has turned BaseCamp from an aside into a useful trip planning tool, at least for my hiking trips. I have had pretty good luck with the free maps from GPSfile. I wish I could say the same for Garmin. I purchased the Topo U.S. 24K South Central for my Oregon 450 about two weeks ago. I looks great on my computer, but when I load it into my handheld it only displays water and a tan background.
No map data,roads or countours. I contacted Garmin Support and they have been great, the only problem is that I have e-mailed them every day for the last two weeks and nothing they recommend seems to work. I have called numerous times and spent many hours on the phone with them. Had I known that it was going to be this much of a pain I would have saved my $135.00 and stuck with the free maps. When you transfer waypoints or tracks/routes from a mapping program is the accuracy reasonable? Meaning you will have to deal with the accuracy of the mapping program then again when transfered to the GPS unit and its accuracy.do you think the way point could be off by greater than 30 feet?Also, do you think this 24K TOPO will greatly enhance my GPS hiking experience when I am using overlays/transparent hiking trails, as opposed to my current 100K TOPO being used on my GPS?Thanks Again. This is by far the best GPS website for information.
Garmin Topo Us 24k West Download Firefox 2017
Well there’s no way around “garbage in, garbage out”. 🙂 If you’re using a map application on your computer, and it has inaccurate data, then that’s what you will transfer to the GPS. Yes, it would not be at all unusual to be off by more than 30 feet.
In fact, it wouldn’t be unusual to be off by more than 100 feet. Not unusual for roads to be off by 300 feet on Garmin’s 100k topo’s.I make maps and think about these resolution issues a lot. Here’s a section of a USGS 100k topo.
There’s a 30 foot x 30 foot pink square on it, but don’t bother looking because it’s too small to see:This is the USGS 24k topo of the same area, but you still aren’t likely to notice the 30 foot square.If we zoom in to 3k resolution (8x the resolution of the 24k map), the square is noticeable.Maybe this will help put things into perspective – 30 feet is like a “rounding error” on a 24k map. And it’s also similar to the typical accuracy of your GPS.You might want to look at Birdseye imagery. It is typically about 2 feet per pixel resolution. So a 30 foot square would be about 15 pixels x 15 pixels when viewed full scale.Also might think about the Birdseye USGS topo subscription since that should cover the whole US at 24k, but as raster images (like my examples) and not Garmin vector maps.Also note that Garmin’s vector map format (like the 24k topo products discussed in Rich’s review) is inherently limited by the use of 24 bit coordinates which only provide about 2.5 meters (about 8 feet) of accuracy. Birdseye and custom maps don’t have this limitation.
I purchased the Topo U.S. 24k Southwest map for our Garmin Nuvi in Jan 2013, it did not come with any instructions on how to load or find the trails.
I spent several hours on the phone with Garmin and several e-mails to the point I just gave up. We did buy a Sim card and got the maps loaded that placed it in the Garmin, I have the Topo U.S. 24k Southwest checked, but still it does not bring up any trails or maps. Is there any thing out there that tells you how to find the trails on your Garmin? We tried typing in the trail names and nothing comes up. I am very disappointed in this product. Wow, what a cool website, thank you to Rich and everyone who has offered helpful suggestions!I run a small custom hiking tour company on Kauai.
In my spare time I do extensive off trail exploring. I’ve owned an Orgeon 550T for a few years now, a few years ago I purchased the Garmin Hawaii 24k map (MicroSD format) for it from Amazon for about $80. I’ve been able to get to some amazing places safely using my Garmin with that map!Since then, through normal wear and tear, the device has gradually become inoperable.
Garmin is sending me a factory refurbished one for $110. While I was talking with them they said they’ve since updates their Hawaii Maps.
For $130 I can get their latest version of 24k “West” (in addition to HI it includes WA, OR, CA and NV – places where I also hike. Only available as a download or microSD card useable on one device). Do you think the new maps are worth it?
They said my old HI 24k was probably from 09′ or earlier, I imagine most of the info hasn’t changed but maybe it’s worth it to have the other states and a newer sd card with the latest compatible software updates. Also, maybe the old one is “worn” from use, even though it was inside my device most of the time (is that a dumb thing to suggest?). Here’s a link to the Garmin SD card I’m considering buying:Finally, I did go on GPS File Depot and download the free USGS Kauai Maps that someone so graciously uploaded (it looks like there are free downloads for WA, OR and CA topos on there as well!). I formatted a 4 GB micro SD card, then tried to drag the downloaded maps onto it – no luck (seemed like just a small file-sized “zipped version” was transferred to the card – is it possible that all 6 detailed USGS maps that make up Kauai would take up less then half a gig in file size?).Next I downloaded Google Earth to my PC, thinking that might help me unzip the files before transferring them to the blank micro sd card. That didn’t work either.but I was able to open the files (.kmz) in Google Earth to see some awesome Kauai topo detail from all kinds of angles (different from the normal Google Earth satellite imaging), albeit missing two randomly positioned small rectangular sections. I’m sure it isn’t that hard to get the Kauai map.kmz files to a 4GB micro SD card but, as you can probably tell, I’m somewhat computer illiterate.
Also, I haven’t received the new Oregon 550t device yet to test the SD card in it.Most importantly, I don’t want to run the risk of having some sort glitch or software incompatibility occur at a crucial point when I’m out in the bush.In reading through this thread I’ve seen several comments about how files like this may be even more accurate then the Garmin maps in regards to certain important details like trails. In regards to this, I’ve noticed that some of the more remote Kauai Trails that populated on my older Garmin HI 24k map no longer exist (people stopped using them in the 80’s and nature took over) or have been significantly rerouted (mostly in the interior Alakai Swamp areas). Below you will find a link to the free Kauai maps on GPS File Depot:Please let me know what you think when you have a moment.Mahalo,Jeremiah. Hello Rich,thank you for a very informative web page. I have two newbie questions. In coming I have a Garmin 64s, I want to add the N.E. 24k topo and Jim Bensman’s free MyTrails map.
Will these two work together? Bensmans site says mytrails is made for Garmin’s City Navigator. Also will the transparent mytrails be routable, since the 24k topo is? Thanks for any help.
I will mostly be using this unit for N.Y.C. Maybe to log secluded fishing spots. What do you think of my choice for maps?