Measure Any Trail Run or Walk

People like to measure things. We just do. I live in an area that allows for walking, running, biking, hiking, and just being outdoors pretty much year round. I like variety and I like to know my limits and perhaps push those limits at times. You have probably dabbled in fit bits or phone apps for heart rate and overall distance, but have you ever measured your favorite routes? This is something I wanted to do for a long time but I didn’t know how. I’m going to show you how easy it is using Google Maps.

Step 1: Open your favorite web browser over to: https://www.google.com/maps

Step 2: Search to find your starting point. There are two ways to do this.

• Google Search Method — Just type in a known location name, address, or GPS location and hit Enter. Notice below that I typed in a specific search for Annie’s Canyon and there is a red pin with a blue text link below it. That blue link will take you to directions.

• Pin Drop Method — Pressing on a location anywhere on the map will also drop a pin to get you started. In this case a box will appear at the bottom of the map with a blue diamond and turn arrow. Click on this arrow to go to directions.

Step 3: Click on the directions icon of choice. The directions panel will open on the left with icons at the top. Here I’ve chosen the little walking or hiking icon to build my trail map. You might instead choose the bicyclist.

Step 4: Add and modify your destination list. The first box represents your starting point, so I replaced that with my starting trail address. I then clicked into the second box and cleared the content and added a few more boxes with the ‘Add destination’ button. Now each time you put the cursor in a box and click on the map, it will add the next destination on the map. Below I’ve added four stops on my walking trail tour.

Step 5: Evaluate the results. Notice the estimated time and distance is calculated. You can also change from miles to kilometers in the ‘Options’ panel. You can mouse over each section of the drawn trail to view the distance for that part. At the very bottom of the directions panel is an expandable line graph showing the estimated elevation changes involved in this walk, run, or hike. You can also change the view to include satellite imagery or terrain details by clicking on the bottom left thumbnail of a map or satellite image. This shown above at the bottom left of the map.

Step 6: Let’s go mobile! From the directions panel, click ‘Send directions to your phone’. You will be shown a pop-up with options to air drop the directions, email them, or text them. Sending your trail map to your mobile device is handy because for tracking your location when you are out there on the trail.

If you prefer a paper map — from the upper left corner of the directions panel is also the hamburger menu icon which contains the ‘Print’ option if you want to send this directly to a printer. You may also want to use this to create a PDF file for your records and future use. I like this option for those trails I plan to visit regularly and track my mileage and progress.

The tips here work equally well for roads and for cars. Maybe you need to calculate exact route driving distance and time. Either way, I hope this helps and you found it as cool as I did.