GPS Snowmobile Trail Maps?

jetskier · 03-01-2009, 08:43 PM

Hi all,

I am thinking about getting a handheld GPS (after getting a little turned around on the lake today). Has anyone purchased GPS snowmobile trail maps for New Hampshire? If so, were they any good? If so, which one would you recommend.

We went across the lake today looking for the castle in the clouds trail (trail 15) over by Ambrose Marina and found ourselves cruising past Wolfboro...hmmmm. We did get there after a fact, but it is a bit easy to get turned around on parts of the lake.

Jetskier

ishoot308 · 03-01-2009, 11:07 PM

Jetskier;

I do not believe you will find good downloadable maps for NH.

I think you would be better off buying a GPS that tracks and make your own maps. That is what I do and have had great results. You can't get lost as you can simply backtrack to your original destintion.

I currently use a Garmin 76CSX GPS and downloaded US Topographical maps. This map set shows all major roads and contour of the land. I then make my own map sets as I ride and save them to memory. I also make save waypoints for places like gas stations, places to eat and drink, good stopping areas, etc, etc.

The 76CSX GPS runs on two AA batteries as well as a 12 V accessory plug. It is not affected by extreme cold (I have used it at -32 without issues) and is water proof.

I have fun just going out getting lost while making tracks for new trails!!

Good Luck!

Dan

jeffk · 03-01-2009, 11:28 PM

OK, I have an add on question. Is it possible to build a track on one GPS system and then transfer it to another system so that tracks could be shared between users?

I know you can get waypoint info and then enter it manually but I'm looking for something easier to transfer and even combine several different tracks.

A group of people could then share tracks and load the ones in the area they expect to be riding. There could even be an GPS version of a club trail map.

RLW · 03-02-2009, 07:44 AM

I have heard from club members that several clubs have come out with GPS for their trails. I believe Mount Major and the Gilmanton clubs have it and not sure if several others in that area. It will be all over before long as it is a highly requested item, but it takes some time to lay them all out. It is not an over night job. I heard that it took a good part of the past summer to do the ones that have been done.

Lakegeezer · 03-02-2009, 08:15 AM

I also use a Garmin GPSmap 76 (although not the color version). As ishoot308 has done, I've mapped the trails I ride, and marked waypoints at junctions. I use the ExpertGPS program ($50 bucks and well worth it) to download the route and display it on a topo map or even Google Earth. I've attached a sample. The track list that is exported is in XML format and can be easily shared with other Garmins and converted to other formats.

Even before doing the mapping, its useful in knowing where you are when on new trails. For example, this past weekend, we were on the trail from mid-way up the Sandwich Notch trail down to Little Squam for the first time. Beautiful trail, but hard to know how soon we'd be having lunch at Walter's Basin. With the GPS, we could see our progress as we got closer to the lake. We also could match up the position from the GPS against the trail on the M'boro snomobile club map.

By the way - don't plan on taking Red Hill road from Bean Rd. Its being plowed this year and commits you to over a mile of mud. No GPS will tell you that.

The GPSmap 76 can be uploaded with the local roads, although they aren't all named. I've started taking my car GPS, a Nuvi 150, along as well. It doesn't handle off-road well, but is much easier to see while riding. It also has all the roads well labeled. I don't go out without at least one GPS, and look forward to having it guide me home today when I venture out on the lake in the snow storm.

PC31 · 03-02-2009, 08:50 AM

You can get good/excellent GPS snowmobile trail maps. BackWoodsGPStrails.com. I downloaded them on to my pc then on to my 76cx which has roads and lakes on it. The snowmobile trails lay over the roads and lakes so you can see everything. The trails north of Twin mountain are excellent south are just good. I also use trackback so I can map the trails myself and to see were I have been.

I know the lake real well but when the lake is all white it is deceiving I also have found myself misplaced in the winter but never in the summer.

Yes jeffk you can download the tracks to your computer and share with other riders but it takes up less memory if you buy the trail maps.

Once a group of us were snowmobiling on the lake and it started raining and got foggy we could not find the exit off the lake on to the tracks. So I took my gps out of my pocket and used the trackback to find the exit. Waterproof and 2 AA lithium andit lasts a long time.

WINNOCTURN · 03-02-2009, 08:53 AM

Here are some threads off of www.slednh.com

they may be helpful.

Choosing Equipment
http://www.slednh.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3418

E911 Mapping
http://www.slednh.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3463

Equipment and Maps
http://backwoodsgpstrails.com/ShoppingCart/

Moultonboro SMC will be doing a new trail map for next year and should have GPS coordinates listed.

George

jmen24 · 03-02-2009, 10:50 AM

Being a very proficient GPS user I know the number one rule of GPS orienteering is to never put full faith into your GPS and take a compass bearing. I do know that it can be quite fun to use the GPS to get out of an area as it works, and can work well, but let me tell you a story.

Hunting Colorado for Elk this past October, I was dropped off by the guide 4.75 miles from camp and he went back to camp with the horses (BLM lands with no wheeled vehicle access) and my job was to walk back toward camp taking the better part of the day, this was planned and it was only for my experience with GPS was it allowed by the outfitter. I do have two-way communication ability (FMS) as well as GMRS that allows for 14 miles of traffic distance. Being that no one was expecting me for quite a while getting lost could be a real concern, so as I did every morning I took a being position on camp as well as my starting point (trail head or end). After about two hours of walking the GPS could not maintain enough battery power to run all of the functions and therefore I opted to shut down the GPS and keep the radio only for an emergency call out if needed (after seven days without power or a store for more batteries). Keeping the radio alive also allows for another GPS of the same model to poll your location even if you do not respond and your location shows on the other GPS as a waypoint. Needless to say I spent the rest of the day heading toward camp using my compass and ended up on the trail toward camp approx. 300 yards to the southeast and walked into camp right on time. Had I not taken the original bearing on the compass I would have created a very stressful situation for my guide and his camp hands. The point of this story is that no matter how great you or your GPS are if you do not bring, use and no how to use a compass your are opening yourself to an opportunity to make it on the news. Never trust a GPS reading as gospel as any metal within 12" of the unit while you are taking a reading skews the reading by a few degrees, always. Be safe and enjoy the outdoors.

Jmen

03-01-2009, 08:43 PM	#1
jetskier Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: North Reading, MA and South Down Shores Posts: 850 Thanks: 57 Thanked 183 Times in 114 Posts	GPS Snowmobile Trail Maps? Hi all, I am thinking about getting a handheld GPS (after getting a little turned around on the lake today). Has anyone purchased GPS snowmobile trail maps for New Hampshire? If so, were they any good? If so, which one would you recommend. We went across the lake today looking for the castle in the clouds trail (trail 15) over by Ambrose Marina and found ourselves cruising past Wolfboro...hmmmm. We did get there after a fact, but it is a bit easy to get turned around on parts of the lake. Jetskier

03-01-2009, 11:28 PM	#3
jeffk Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Center Harbor Posts: 1,130 Thanks: 201 Thanked 421 Times in 239 Posts	Share tracks? OK, I have an add on question. Is it possible to build a track on one GPS system and then transfer it to another system so that tracks could be shared between users? I know you can get waypoint info and then enter it manually but I'm looking for something easier to transfer and even combine several different tracks. A group of people could then share tracks and load the ones in the area they expect to be riding. There could even be an GPS version of a club trail map.

03-02-2009, 07:44 AM	#4
RLW Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Alton Bay on the mountain by a lake Posts: 2,023 Thanks: 563 Thanked 444 Times in 311 Posts	I have heard from club members that several clubs have come out with GPS for their trails. I believe Mount Major and the Gilmanton clubs have it and not sure if several others in that area. It will be all over before long as it is a highly requested item, but it takes some time to lay them all out. It is not an over night job. I heard that it took a good part of the past summer to do the ones that have been done. __________________ There is nothing better than living on Alton Mountain & our grand kids visits.

03-02-2009, 08:15 AM	#5
Lakegeezer Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Moultonboro, NH Posts: 1,657 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 342 Thanked 618 Times in 278 Posts	I also use a Garmin GPSmap 76 (although not the color version). As ishoot308 has done, I've mapped the trails I ride, and marked waypoints at junctions. I use the ExpertGPS program ($50 bucks and well worth it) to download the route and display it on a topo map or even Google Earth. I've attached a sample. The track list that is exported is in XML format and can be easily shared with other Garmins and converted to other formats. Even before doing the mapping, its useful in knowing where you are when on new trails. For example, this past weekend, we were on the trail from mid-way up the Sandwich Notch trail down to Little Squam for the first time. Beautiful trail, but hard to know how soon we'd be having lunch at Walter's Basin. With the GPS, we could see our progress as we got closer to the lake. We also could match up the position from the GPS against the trail on the M'boro snomobile club map. By the way - don't plan on taking Red Hill road from Bean Rd. Its being plowed this year and commits you to over a mile of mud. No GPS will tell you that. The GPSmap 76 can be uploaded with the local roads, although they aren't all named. I've started taking my car GPS, a Nuvi 150, along as well. It doesn't handle off-road well, but is much easier to see while riding. It also has all the roads well labeled. I don't go out without at least one GPS, and look forward to having it guide me home today when I venture out on the lake in the snow storm. Attached Images __________________ -lg

03-02-2009, 08:50 AM	#6
PC31 Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 47 Thanks: 12 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	You can get good/excellent GPS snowmobile trail maps. BackWoodsGPStrails.com. I downloaded them on to my pc then on to my 76cx which has roads and lakes on it. The snowmobile trails lay over the roads and lakes so you can see everything. The trails north of Twin mountain are excellent south are just good. I also use trackback so I can map the trails myself and to see were I have been. I know the lake real well but when the lake is all white it is deceiving I also have found myself misplaced in the winter but never in the summer. Yes jeffk you can download the tracks to your computer and share with other riders but it takes up less memory if you buy the trail maps. Once a group of us were snowmobiling on the lake and it started raining and got foggy we could not find the exit off the lake on to the tracks. So I took my gps out of my pocket and used the trackback to find the exit. Waterproof and 2 AA lithium andit lasts a long time. Last edited by PC31; 03-12-2011 at 02:14 PM.

03-01-2009, 11:07 PM	#2
ishoot308 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Gilford, NH / Welch Island Posts: 5,928 Thanks: 2,285 Thanked 4,939 Times in 1,915 Posts	Jetskier; I do not believe you will find good downloadable maps for NH. I think you would be better off buying a GPS that tracks and make your own maps. That is what I do and have had great results. You can't get lost as you can simply backtrack to your original destintion. I currently use a Garmin 76CSX GPS and downloaded US Topographical maps. This map set shows all major roads and contour of the land. I then make my own map sets as I ride and save them to memory. I also make save waypoints for places like gas stations, places to eat and drink, good stopping areas, etc, etc. The 76CSX GPS runs on two AA batteries as well as a 12 V accessory plug. It is not affected by extreme cold (I have used it at -32 without issues) and is water proof. I have fun just going out getting lost while making tracks for new trails!! Good Luck! Dan

The Following User Says Thank You to Lakegeezer For This Useful Post:
Orion (03-02-2009)

03-02-2009, 08:53 AM	#7
WINNOCTURN Deceased Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Moultonboro Posts: 849 Thanks: 350 Thanked 351 Times in 193 Posts	Info from SLedNH Here are some threads off of www.slednh.com they may be helpful. Choosing Equipment http://www.slednh.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3418 E911 Mapping http://www.slednh.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3463 Equipment and Maps http://backwoodsgpstrails.com/ShoppingCart/ Moultonboro SMC will be doing a new trail map for next year and should have GPS coordinates listed. George

The Following User Says Thank You to WINNOCTURN For This Useful Post:
Orion (03-02-2009)

03-02-2009, 10:50 AM	#8
jmen24 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 1,139 Thanks: 223 Thanked 319 Times in 181 Posts	What about the Compass? Being a very proficient GPS user I know the number one rule of GPS orienteering is to never put full faith into your GPS and take a compass bearing. I do know that it can be quite fun to use the GPS to get out of an area as it works, and can work well, but let me tell you a story. Hunting Colorado for Elk this past October, I was dropped off by the guide 4.75 miles from camp and he went back to camp with the horses (BLM lands with no wheeled vehicle access) and my job was to walk back toward camp taking the better part of the day, this was planned and it was only for my experience with GPS was it allowed by the outfitter. I do have two-way communication ability (FMS) as well as GMRS that allows for 14 miles of traffic distance. Being that no one was expecting me for quite a while getting lost could be a real concern, so as I did every morning I took a being position on camp as well as my starting point (trail head or end). After about two hours of walking the GPS could not maintain enough battery power to run all of the functions and therefore I opted to shut down the GPS and keep the radio only for an emergency call out if needed (after seven days without power or a store for more batteries). Keeping the radio alive also allows for another GPS of the same model to poll your location even if you do not respond and your location shows on the other GPS as a waypoint. Needless to say I spent the rest of the day heading toward camp using my compass and ended up on the trail toward camp approx. 300 yards to the southeast and walked into camp right on time. Had I not taken the original bearing on the compass I would have created a very stressful situation for my guide and his camp hands. The point of this story is that no matter how great you or your GPS are if you do not bring, use and no how to use a compass your are opening yourself to an opportunity to make it on the news. Never trust a GPS reading as gospel as any metal within 12" of the unit while you are taking a reading skews the reading by a few degrees, always. Be safe and enjoy the outdoors. Jmen