garmin trip planner download

Garmin BaseCamp 4.7.5 GPS mapping app for Windows

Navigation tool that allows users to view maps, plan routes and create custom waypoints and tracks for their outdoor activities.

Garmin BaseCamp is a freeware map viewer app and mapping tool, developed by Garmin for Windows.

The download has been tested by an editor here on a PC and a list of features has been compiled; see below. We've also created some screenshots of Garmin BaseCamp to illustrate the user interface and show the overall usage and features of this map viewing program.

Organize your data and share your adventures with others

You can use BaseCamp to plan your next hiking, biking, motorcycling, driving or off-roading trip. You can view maps, plan routes, and mark waypoints and tracks from your computer and then transfer them to your device. BaseCamp displays your topographic map data in 2-D or 3-D on your computer screen, including contour lines and elevation profiles.

Features of Garmin BaseCamp

• 3D View : View maps and terrain in 3D.
• Address Lookup : Easily find addresses and points of interest.
• Data Transfer : Transfer data between devices and computers.
• File Import : Import data from a variety of formats including GPX, KML and NMEA.
• GPS Support : Compatible with many Garmin GPS and fitness devices.
• GPS Visualizer : Create maps and charts with GPS data.
• Geocaching : Store, organize and access geocaching information.
• Google Earth Integration : View and edit data in Google Earth.
• Map Extras : Download additional maps, terrain and satellite images.
• Map Management : Organize, create and customize your own maps.
• Outdoor Activities : Track and record outdoor activities with compatible devices.
• Printing : Print maps, routes and waypoints.
• Route Sharing : Transfer routes and waypoints between your device and computer.
• Tracks and Waypoints : View and edit track logs or waypoints.
• Trip Planning : Plan trip routes and manage waypoints.

Compatibility and License

Garmin BaseCamp is provided under a freeware license on Windows from mapping with no restrictions on usage. Download and installation of this PC software is free and 4.7.5 is the latest version last time we checked.

What version of Windows can Garmin BaseCamp run on?

• Garmin BaseCamp Download
• Free Mapping
• Map Viewing Software

Trip and Route Planning

What is Garmin BaseCamp?

Garmin BaseCamp is a free mapping program available as a download from the Garmin website . We use Garmin BaseCamp to transfer our snowmobile and ATV trail maps, routes and waypoints to your GPS device. BaseCamp lets you plan snowmobile and ATV trips then replay your rides, display geotagged photos and share it all with your friends. With BaseCamp, you can manage your waypoints and tracks on your computer for future trip planning.

Plan a snowmobile or ATV ride

Planning a trip with BaseCamp is quick and easy. Plan a quick loop or a multi-day expedition. Calculating distance between food and gas is a breeze. Before planning your first trip you should setup an activity and then set the routing preferences. Select the Edit -> Options menu. Select the " Activity Profile " options. You will notice in the pulldown that BaseCamp provides a default ATV activity but not one for snowmobiling. That’s ok, we can create one. To add a new activity, click the green + box next to the activity pulldown. Enter the name “Snowmobile”. If you have your own snowmobile image you can download it for your new activity type. Now you can set routing preferences for both your ATV or Snowmobile activity by selecting the Routing tab. The Route Preference attribute should always be set to “ Shorter Distance ” and NO Avoidances should be checked off. These routing settings should be replicated on your actual GPS as well. The Speed Customization section does not apply to your GPS trail maps.

NOTE : Setting routing preferences in BaseCamp does not effect the Routing preferences on your GPS. Routing preferences for the GPS must be set on the GPS itself, however a route created in BaseCamp and transfered to your GPS will not be recalculated based on GPS settings, it will remain as calculated in BaseCamp. You do not need to create/use special ATV and Snowmobiling activities, it's simply a way to organize your activity profiles. What's important is the actual settings on the Routing tab, not the activity name.

Now that you have your activity profiles setup you can begin your trip planning. You will need to select the map that provides the ATV or snowmobile trails. From the Maps menu, select either the GPS Trailmasters ATV map or the GPS Trailmasters Snowmobile map. Next you will need to create a place within BaseCamp to store the routes. In the upper portion of the Library and Devices area is where you will find lists under My Collection . To create a new list for your routes, click File -> New -> List . Enter the name of your new list. Make sure your new list is selected before creating a new route.

As Garmin continues to update the BaseCamp software, the way routes are created is being improved. There are actually three different ways to create a route for your trip.

The Trip Planner tool is the first way. The Trip Planner tool is geared towards a very regimented multi-day trip but can be used nonetheless to plan your afternoon ATV or snowmobile trip as well. The Trip Planner will search cities and our trail accessible points of interest but it does so based on the area of the map that is displayed, so it is important to have the GPS Trailmasters trail map zoomed out just beyond the total trip area. From the main menu click Trip Planner -> New Trip . Make sure to uncheck the Round Trip attribute if your trip is one way. Click Continue and enter the Starting Location and the Destination . The tool will automatically search the city and POI database when you start typing in the Start or Destination box. For example, if you type ‘B’, the tool will pull up all locations in the area starting with the letter ‘B’. This can make it easier for you to enter your trip start and destination locations. After you have set the start and destination, click Start Trip . Your route will be automatically calculated using the Shortest Distance (based on your routing preferences). Click the Exit button at the very bottom of the panel or add additional days or points of interest along the planned route.

The second method is the Route Tool and is my preferred method for "rough" planning because it is quick and easy. From the main menu click Tools -> Route . The cursor will change to the Route tool pencil. Move the cursor to your start position and left-click the mouse. Move the cursor to drag the “rubber band” to the destination and left-click again. The shortest distance route will be calculated automatically. Terminate the route with a right-click of the mouse. You can force the route to follow a particular path by clicking on intermediary via points to your final destination. Right click the mouse to terminate the route. Your new route is displayed in the Library and Devices area under your My Collection list.

There is a third method that can be used with our trail map POI database which provides a popup dialog with a nice drag-n-drop interface for selecting the start point and destination. For this method, the map should be zoomed out to cover your total riding area. From the main menu click Find -> Find Point of Interest . This will result in a list of all available gas, food, lodging, parking points of interest and more to be displayed in the Search result panel on the right side of the window. From the main menu click Edit -> Create Route… You can drag start and destination points from the list of POIs to the New Route dialog. You can also begin to type in the Search boxes and a search for all POI and city matches will be performed. Select the desired point or city. This method also provides a quick way to select the ATV or Snowmobile map and the activity profile for calculating the route. Once the dialog is filled in click Go .

If your start point or destination is not in the POI database or a city on our map, you can create your own waypoints with the Waypoint tool and use them in your route.

Regardless of the method used, your newly created route will be listed in the left-hand Library and Devices area within your My Collection list. There are a number of operations that can be performed on a newly created route. These options are presented when you select a route and right-click the mouse. You can easily delete a route if it’s not what you want or if you are just practicing. You can actually “play” the route, rename it, invert it, remove intermediary via point (called shaping points) if you have them. The most useful and interesting action you can perform on a route is examine the details. Double-click the route to see total distance and time. Remember, time is a loose number because of the speed limits assigned to trails, trail conditions, terrain and riding ability but can be used as a gauge. I usually multiply the Total Time by 1.2 for a more accurate time of arrival. Within the Route Directions tab, you can see each individual turn with distance and time in-between. The Properties tab and Route Directions tab are the most interesting. You can also modify the route here, change the display color, invert it and print out directions.

When you have a route that you now want to transfer to your GPS, select the route and then click Device -> Send to Device ->. You can send the entire My Collection list or just the selected route. Note : Not all GPS devices will accept a route from BaseCamp. Check the Garmin site for your model GPS to determine if it has “ Trip Planning ” capability. Depending on your GPS device the route will be accessible under the Route Planning App or possibly a category under “Where To”.

For additional route planning features enable additional toolbars. From the main menu click View -> Toolbars . Enable the Playback , Playback Info and Area Avoidances toolbars. The Playback and Playback Info toolbars can be used to simulate riding the route. It will show the speed, distance and time as the simulation arrow moves along the route. Remember that speed is assigned and not representative of how fast the trail can actually be ridden. The Area Avoidances tool can be used to select an area of the map to avoid – good for selecting an area where known logging is occurring or an area with poor riding conditions. Additional details regarding route planning can be found in the BaseCamp Help documentation and the online training videos .

Save Tracks and Waypoints

When you ride a trail with your GPS, it is collecting and recording the track. You also have the ability to mark places of interest while you are out on the trail, creating a waypoint that is saved in your GPS. These tracks and waypoints can be transfered from your GPS into BaseCamp where you can review them, rename them, share with others and store on your computer for future route planning. Managing your tracks and waypoints should be done on your computer using Garmin BaseCamp and not on your actual GPS. Note that when you transfer tracks and waypoints from your GPS to BaseCamp they are not deleted from your GPS and you will soon accumulate many potentially unwanted tracks and waypoints. Therefor once you have saved them on your computer, they should be deleted from your GPS (unless you want them of course). You can always transfer the ones you want back to the GPS from the computer using BaseCamp. From the main menu click Device . You have the option to Send data to your GPS device and Receive data from the device.

In addition to location, your tracks also contain time and elevation. Speed is calculated from the time values so you can plot the speed and elevation of your tracks. If you have 3D (elevation data) topographic maps on your computer you can see your tracks overlaid on the topo map in 3D view.

Geotag Photos

Your pictures can be geotagged within BaseCamp to show exactly where the picture was taken. Geotagged photos can be transferred to your GPS device with picture viewing capability and shared with your friends.

Create an Adventure

Garmin Adventures is an Internet community sharing application where you can swap trips with friends and share on social media. More about this later.

Garmin Custom Maps

If your GPS device supports Garmin Custom Maps you can transform paper maps and electronic maps into downloadable formats that can be transferred to your GPS. The process requires your map be georeferenced so it can be displayed at the proper location on the GPS. For a list of compatible devices and instructions to georeference your map using Google Earth see Garmin Custom Maps . - Watch our video on how to georeference the NERFC Snow Depth map.

Garmin Explore‪™‬ 4+

Explore with a garmin device.

• #64 in Navigation
• 3.9 • 419 Ratings

Screenshots

Description.

Map, Track, Sync and Share Your Trek From Anywhere For adventure seekers, explorers and outdoor enthusiasts, the Garmin Explore ecosystem offers a complete mobile navigation solution that — when paired with a compatible Garmin device¹ — lets you map, track and navigate your trek from anywhere with unlimited cloud storage. Garmin Explore provides basic trip planning or viewing of maps you’ve preloaded on your device. Or you can use the mobile app to pair your smart device via BLUETOOTH®² technology with a compatible Garmin GPS device, so you can do and see even more. Access Online Connectivity Garmin Explore provides free online access to a wide range of additional capabilities. For example, you can download detailed topographic maps, color aerial imagery and other navigation aids directly to your mobile device. The maps and navigation data loaded onto your device can be used anywhere, anytime — even when you’re out beyond the reach of cellphone towers or internet connections. Manage Your Collections, Tracks and Routes Review and edit your waypoints, tracks, routes and activities in your library. Add them to a collection to keep all the recorded data from a certain trip together in one place. For example, if you’re taking a long trip, you can plan different waypoints, tracks and routes for each day of the trip and combine them into one collection. Your Mobile Cloud Connection The Garmin Explore app will send and store the waypoints, planned routes, GPS tracks and Garmin activities you've recorded in the cloud, allowing you to access and use that data on the Garmin Explore web site to plan or review your adventures. You can also sync your cloud-stored data with a compatible Garmin device. A Garmin account is needed to store your data in the cloud. Your activities (e.g., runs, walks, hikes, etc.) include data such as distance, pace, activity time, location, etc. that were recorded by your device. More Off-grid Capability with inReach® Technology Use Garmin Explore with your inReach enabled devices, such as the GPSMAP® 66i navigator and satellite communicator, to turn your mobile device into a true off-the-grid satellite companion. In an emergency, you can trigger an interactive SOS to the GEOS 24/7 emergency response team. Two-way messaging and LiveTrack location tracking via the 100% global Iridium® satellite network let you stay in contact globally. The Garmin Explore app allows you to access your phone’s contact list for easier messaging and sharing when connected. What You Get with Garmin Explore • Unlimited map downloads; access topographic maps, USGS quad sheets and more • Aerial imagery • Waypoints, tracking and route navigation • High-detail GPS trip logging and location sharing • Unlimited cloud storage of routes, waypoints, tracks, and activities • Online trip planning 1. https://explore.garmin.com/appcompatibility 2. The Bluetooth word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Garmin is under license.

Version 3.13.2

Bug fixes and improvements

Ratings and Reviews

419 Ratings

Awesome! With one flaw.

So my family does amateur paleontology, and because of that we tend to stick to public land and avoid private property like the plague unless we have express consent to be there. When I heard that this had public land marked out on the maps on this app I got super excited! I own a tactix delta and it’s my daily driver, but as I looked at these highly detailed maps...there’s no key. No where to be found. Now maybe in some submenu that I can’t find it’s there, but it’s certainly not apparent. If I have one gripe with this app it’s that it would be wonderful if there was a bright and clearly marked button to present the map key so that I can actually see visually the difference between public and private land on each map. Aside from that this app is a rockstar! It lets us make fuel calculations since we can watch our boating activities live, drop down for a dive when we tie off and switch activities, mark positions of fossil beds, and track back to the boat and the launch all in one app! It’s awesome! But please guys...a key would be amazing! Thanks for all the hard work though that went into building such an awesome app!

Wonderful Hiker’s Tool

Recent updates are a substantial improvement! After a year of use, I have found this app to be a reliable and powerful tool to plan hiking and kayaking trips. However, the Course Creation functionality was previously rather clunky. I was pleasantly surprised by the new interface that defaults to routing along known trails. Rather than dozens of points to (usually poorly) approximate a route, I was able to plan out a winding course with only a few intermediate waypoints. Had a perfect time on that route, navigating from a fēnix. One feature I’d hope to see added in the future is a way to set a default Collection for recorded activities. Maybe I’m missing something, but recordings currently default to “Unorganized” which becomes such a mess on my local map if I don’t visit the app frequently (weekly) and assign these to a Collection…one by one. Even better would be if the Save step on devices showed some awareness of possible Collections to which to save. I highly recommend this app. Hats off to the dev team!

Nice platform but….

I am all in on Garmin so the interoperability between my devices is great but…. Non garmin is an issue. Example. I was back country with a friend. We got separated. He had a different satellite service. I couldn’t reach him because explore with an Inreach device is required in the non cell/internet world. I had to reach a remote friend who then had to copy and manually paste into OnX then reach my friend with my coordinates. Garmin being the best should be the leader in interoperability. They should not worry about losing market share. The triangle rule of “faster, better, cheaper—- pick two”. Will eventually bring them customers. Garmin is not cheaper—- it’s faster and better— always. I repeat do better, lead by example, drive interoperability among your peers. Lives are on the line in the back country. All systems should work to save them. The SAR community needs a leader…. Be it.

App Privacy

The developer, Garmin , indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

Data Linked to You

The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:

• Contact Info
• Identifiers

Data Not Linked to You

The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:

• Diagnostics

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Information

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