July 1st Removal of NeoTreks Land Use
Answered
Hi,
I strongly recommend the gaia team to reconsider deciding to not renew access to the "NeoTreks Land Use". It is by far the most versatile layer in gaia. Compared to the base gaia layer, it has much stronger terrain shading making the topgraphic landscape more easy to see at quick glance. More importantly it offers the unique characteristic of very clear color shading for private, BLM, State Forest, National Forest Service, National Wilderness, National Parks/Wildlife Refuge. The PNW is peppered with sections of alternating private, Forest Service, and BLM lands. This layer offers the only clean simple visual to understand if you're in private or federal land without completely clogging the screen with the "private land" overlay layer.
When it comes to a map for soft-roading, no other layer in gaia comes close to Neotreks. Having access to it was the primary reason for purchasing a subscription and without I will be looking for alternative means to access it when my subscription renews.
Gaia Base not showing the land use boundaries. FS line shows but with no indication as to which side is FS. Without zooming way out and checking the label. BLM/Private isn't apparent at all.
Neotrek clearly showing the land use boundaries (Green FS, Brown BLM, White Private).
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Official comment
Hey all,
Land ownership boundaries are visible on the Public Land (US) and Private Land (US) layers.
I recommend layering the Gaia Topo and Public Land (US) layer as an alternative to NeoTreks.- Follow these steps to add this layer to your layers list. You will find it in the Map Catalog under Feature/Weather Overlays
- Then, set this layer visible on top of your desired base map by following these steps.
Here is what the area that Nathan shared looks like with the Gaia Topo + Public Land (US):
If you need more land ownership details, you can also add the Private Land (US) layer.
We are also working on some improvements to Gaia Topo to more clearly show public land.
If you have any other feedback or would like a refund on your membership, please reach out to Support here.Comment actions -
This is extremely disappointing news for me. In addition to the excellent land use coverage as you note, I find this map to have by far the best off road trails. When I am exploring a new area in my Jeep or hiking, I rely on this layer to discover all the roads in an area. No other layer has come close for me. I use this layer primarily. The only maps comparable in usefulness are the NatGeo maps, but those have limited coverage areas and still no where near as many 4x4/dirt road routes as NeoTreks.
Does anyone know of an alternative app/source for these maps? Edit: https://accuterra.com/ lets you view their maps via web.
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@Melanie, thank you for responding. I agree with the other commenters. The loss of NeoTreks may be a deal breaker for me unless there is some way to manually load the map data. The alternative you demonstrated however is not really sufficient. The value of NeoTreks was not only the land usage data but also its integration with topography and shading.
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Let me start out by saying, I love GaiaGPS and am a huge fan. I've been using it for many years. Ultimately, a mapping app is only as good as the data it has. The Gaia Topo layer is basically terrible compared to other products I've used. Alltrails for example has way more trails, but the Gaia App itself is much better so I use it instead. Using the land use overlay (which already doesn't look great as an overlay) on top of a mediocre map (Gaia Topo) isn't much of an alternative. Gaia Topo doesn't have near the 4x4 roads that NeoTreks does. Below is just one of endless examples showing how an entire network of roads in southern part isn't even in Gaia Topo layer. This is to say nothing of how much more readable the NeoTreks map is.
So far, I found one app, Topo Maps+ that has NeoTreks maps (and also has an option to buy the awesome Benchmark road atlas maps). It doesn't look as functional as Gaia by far, but I likely will need to buy a subscription to it as well. If Gaia ever drops NatGeo Trails Illustrated maps too, they will still have the best map app but the worst data, which will make it not useful for me sadly.
Have you considered introducing more pricing tiers/options? If some of these layers are more expensive to license, put them in a higher price tier. Then people who just need to find their way on major trails can choose a lower tier, but people like us who rely on detailed, clear mapping of remote areas would still be able to stay using Gaia GPS.
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Hi Melanie,
Thanks for the alternative solution, but that's pretty clunky for those of us that cache. Having to manage caching 3 layers for every trip is very messy. Is it at all possible for Gaia to make a full land-use layer by blending these three together as you demonstrated?
Edit: I should also add this doesn't address the clean terrain shading that neotrek has. Shading assisting the topology rings is extremely helpful when glancing at a map while mobile. As Robert pointed out it also doesn't address the lesser softroad coverage that neotrek has compared to the gaia base layer.
Nathan
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Hi all,
The latest version of Gaia Topo now includes relief shading, tree cover, and more than 150,000 miles of additional 4×4 roads and trails. You can learn more about it on our blog.
If you would like more defined shading, you could also add the Shaded Relief (US) layer, found under Feature/Weather Overlays in the map catalog.
Other ways to find more offroad trails in Gaia GPS are shared in our help center here.
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