Avenza And Blue Marble Geographics Combine

I have been using a GIS app called GlobalMapper for almost 20 years now, it's my primary map making tool. It used to be a little independent company but was acquired by Blue Marble some time ago. Prices have only gone up and up. Arguably, they have added a lot of features though (I guess).

They want you to subscribe to their update program but it's too expensive for me, so I just keep using my old version from 2018. Does pretty much everything I need.

I just saw a mention of Avenza maps elsewhere today and really hadn't heard of them before.

I think the reason I first heard of them was when a group of us traveled to South Dakota for ATVing. I seem to recall that we were told that you had to have a certain map physically in possession if you encountered law enforcement in the Black Hills National Forest.

However, when I Google it I saw this:

The South Dakota ATV/UTV Association highly recommends using the Avenza Maps App for navigating OHV trails, specifically in the Black Hills National Forest. The app uses your mobile device's built-in GPS to pinpoint your exact location on the trail offline, even without cell service.

Avenza is strongly recommended for the area due to these key features:

Offline Navigation: No cellular reception is required to track your blue dot once the maps are pre-loaded on your device.

Official Trail Maps: You can download the official Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUM) and colorized Black Hills National Forest Recreation Maps directly through the app.

Width Restrictions: Color-coded recreation maps help you easily differentiate between seasonal closures and trails restricted to 62", 50", or single-track vehicles.

Getting Started:

Download the Avenza Maps App from your device's app store.

Visit the in-app map store and search for "Black Hills National Forest".

Download your preferred maps (such as the free MVUMs or color recreation maps) before you lose cell service at the trailhead.

Note: Ensure you also carry the physical or required digital trail passes/permits before hitting the Black Hills trails.

As an aside, in the ATV/UTV community, generally, and the two ATV clubs that I am a member of, specifically, the choice of maps seems to vary quite a bit from member to member.

I mentioned Polaris Ride Command in my earlier post. My wife uses it on an old cellphones of hers. I use my Garmin Zumo XT. There is something to be said for having two different choices of maps. Sometimes something is more apparent on one than it is the other.

Somewhat similar to when she and I are driving our RV. Having Garmin navigating is good. Using Google Maps is good. Running both of them at the same time is even better!

New Jersey has closed a number of roads to vehicle use in Wharton State Forest (which is very controversial). We were discussing this yesterday and I noticed that the State has a pdf map that they recommend using in Avenza. That was the first time I've heard of it

https://dep.nj.gov/parksandforests/wharton-state-forest-visi...
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"The map is available as a georeferenced PDF, allowing drivers to use their mobile device to determine their location on the map in real time, including in areas with limited or no cellular service, using Avenza or a similar application. A tutorial on how to import the map into Avenza can be found here."

Turns out, I did hear about them back in 2021 but had forgotten this discussion...

https://forums.gpsfiledepot.com/index.php?topic=4843.0