Basecamp not showing overlays?

I don't believe the software will display both at the same time unless they have changes something recently.

I am just a user so I may be wrong but I don't think there is a way to display two maps a once. I have never seen topo maps without roads. You probable want to look at garmins topo 100k maps or the 24k topo maps. The garmin topo maps contains street level roads where base maps only contain major roads.

While neither BaseCamp not Mapsource would show two mapsets simultaneously, one trick I used with Mapsource was to open two windows each running Mapsource. This might work with BaseCamp too, so you can see the base map in one window and the topo in the other. If you want free routable maps, Google OSM maps and go from there.

This will seem naive...but how do you plan routes (especially for hiking) if you cannot see roads AND topo at the same time? What am I missing?

This will seem naive...but how do you plan routes (especially for hiking) if you cannot see roads AND topo at the same time? What am I missing?

Well, yes, you are missing something. Your basemap has very poor street level detail and the TOPO maps you have installed don't have roads on them. There are many, many maps to choose from - some free, some fee.

If you want "both" hiking and on-road planning you might consider Topo's that have both data types in them.

I use Garmin's Topo US 24K maps since they have routable roads AND 24k contour data.

Cheers,

Really, neither BaseCamp nor Mapsource are good mapping programs. If living in the US, check www.topofusion.com play with their demos and see if that is better for planning.

I use TopofusionPro for SAR and never looked back. Mapsource is kind of an orphan child on my computer, seldom used other than to create map files for my GPS and BaseCamp used only for collecting/sending aerials to my 62s...

I use Garmin's Topo US 24K maps since they have routable roads AND 24k contour data.

Cheers,

I also use Garmin's 24k. The routing tool in BaseCamp will route along a trail just like the roads and with the topo maps. BaseCamp will draw an elevation profile of the trail.

PSeabolt: I just went to the Garmin Topo 24k Northeast site and viewed the simulated map under the "Coverage Details" tab. I live in New Jersey, and when I zoomed down to look at several of the most popular mountain bike single track parks, I didn't see any trails shown.

On your area's map, do you see the actual trails mapped?...And you find they're routeable, just like roads? Perhaps the simulation online doesn't include the complete detail found in the actual product? I'd really like this feature, and the Open Source Maps I've been using don't generally seem to show trails (some of the cycling maps do), and when they do, they don't appear to be "zoomable" enough to allow accurate routing when twisty trails are involved. Maybe I'm missing something. I've been hesitant to purchase one of the Garmin Topo maps if there's no benefit above what the open source maps offer.

Thanks!

Yes I have a lot of trails but I live near Dahlonega, GA and the Appalachian Trail starts just a few miles from my house. Most of the new Mountain Bike trail are shown but the following old roads and the new trail being cut do not show. I think you milage will vary greatly depending on the area. The best trail software and maps I have found is National Geo Trails explorer if the maps are available for your area of your interest. The NG trails explorer supports most Garmin GPS and draws elevation profiles with a snap to tracing tool. Neither NG Trail Maps nor Garmins 24K topo maps cover all the trails but between the two, I usually find most the trails I want to hike. You can also find tracks of many trails on the web and bring them into BaseCamp but you need the 24k topo maps to really utilize the tracks you find on the web.

Thanks, PSEABOLT. I'm going to continue to look into this, including going over to the National Geographic site. I'm going to take a look at TopoFusion, too, which I guess I'd have to run using VMWare Fusion.