Alternative method for free NSW topo maps (and others)
Posted: Sat 14 Jul, 2018 12:10 pm
I just thought I'd write up a quick thing about how I have moved to using maps on my phone. It lets you download any custom area of any map source that you can import into Gaia GPS. I have walked the AAWT, the TA and the GSCW all with this app and all the maps have been free. You only pay some small amount for a yearly subscription.
You can get access to NSW Topo, NT Topo, Tas Topo, Strava Heatmap, NZ Topo, a bunch of quality European topos, and of course all the standard OSM variants which cover the entire world.
Anyway here are the steps:
1. Download Gaia GPS on your phone (Android or iOS).
2. Go to your laptop/computer and go to to Gaiagps.com
3. Create an account and sign in.
4. Go to https://www.gaiagps.com/mapsource/add/ (note you need a premium account for this. However all the maps are free...)
5. Paste this link in for NSW Topo maps: https://maps4.six.nsw.gov.au/arcgis/res ... rver/tile/{z}/{y}/{x}
6. The range 4-16 is suitable. Add a name and then save the map. Note to see the maps on the link you will need to input some coordinates from within NSW (but this isn't necessary).
7. Paste this link for NSW Satellite maps for another custom map: https://maps2.six.nsw.gov.au/arcgis/res ... rver/tile/{z}/{y}/{x}
8. Go back to the main map and select your new Topo maps! Note that you can also create and download areas (or get it to automatically download an area around a gpx file).
Enjoy!
The 'technical' aspect is finding what link (in step 5,7) you need to get. There are some web resources that are useful that are easy to find on google. Just google 'Adding Custom Maps Gaia GPS', or 'Creating Tilejson file for Gaia'.
You can also scan physical maps and then georeference them but that is another post...
I will be away for the next week cycling but can answer questions after that.
You can get access to NSW Topo, NT Topo, Tas Topo, Strava Heatmap, NZ Topo, a bunch of quality European topos, and of course all the standard OSM variants which cover the entire world.
Anyway here are the steps:
1. Download Gaia GPS on your phone (Android or iOS).
2. Go to your laptop/computer and go to to Gaiagps.com
3. Create an account and sign in.
4. Go to https://www.gaiagps.com/mapsource/add/ (note you need a premium account for this. However all the maps are free...)
5. Paste this link in for NSW Topo maps: https://maps4.six.nsw.gov.au/arcgis/res ... rver/tile/{z}/{y}/{x}
6. The range 4-16 is suitable. Add a name and then save the map. Note to see the maps on the link you will need to input some coordinates from within NSW (but this isn't necessary).
7. Paste this link for NSW Satellite maps for another custom map: https://maps2.six.nsw.gov.au/arcgis/res ... rver/tile/{z}/{y}/{x}
8. Go back to the main map and select your new Topo maps! Note that you can also create and download areas (or get it to automatically download an area around a gpx file).
Enjoy!
The 'technical' aspect is finding what link (in step 5,7) you need to get. There are some web resources that are useful that are easy to find on google. Just google 'Adding Custom Maps Gaia GPS', or 'Creating Tilejson file for Gaia'.
You can also scan physical maps and then georeference them but that is another post...
I will be away for the next week cycling but can answer questions after that.