Many out there that use several models of Garmin GPS don’t know that their GPS can be loaded with FREE maps. Look at you specs of your GPS and see if has the ability to add maps, if it says yes then this should work for you. The site is called Free worldwide routable Garmin maps.
I know the 62S, Oregon 450, 550 78 series, eTrex 20, 30 accept these maps.
I have the 62S and have found these maps to be very good and the best part they are routable. What this means is you can get turn by turn directions from point A to B or the geocache. These maps are updated on a regular bases and they allow users such as yourself to upload tracks to place in the may of new roads or trails.
When you visit the link I have provided above it has several drop down maps. One can either get a map for a particular area, in this example I have used BC.
Note the different Provinces and then below US States
There are two ways to do maps you can do custom maps where you select the tiles you want. This is the way you want to go if going on a trip say to BC then down the coast to California. You would select the tiles that cover your trip. Please note that custom maps can take some time, in this example below it shows 1.2 hours..
It says you can expect 6 minutes before you can download a Country/Province/State map and 1.2 hours for a custom map.
I could select Canada and that would download ALL Provinces in Canada and I would expect to get an email in about 6 minutes, but I don’t need all that in this case. I will select my Province of BC.
You will need to enter your email address on the left side of the page. Under the email address it shows all the tile sets that will be downloaded in the BC Map..
Enter email address at the top. Click build my map. Notice all the tile sets that are included in your request.
If you want to make a custom map then you put a tick in the manual tile selection at the top.
Put a tick in the box as shown. It will also pop up the email address box.
Then you can zoom in on the area of the map and select the tile sets you want.
Once zoomed in select the custom tiles you need for your trip and they chnage colour as above.
As you build your map the tile sets show up on the left side and the email address pops up.
See the custom map tiles as you build your map.
Now once you have built your map you will sent an email saying what the expected wait time is. Once your map is built you will be sent an email with a link for you to download the map set. There will be about 5 choices to choose from. There is a gmapsup file that you can download and place directly on your GPS> There is one that you can put in Mapsource and make a tile set and download to your GPS.
Plug in your GPS and when the folder pops up on your screen it should show something like below.
In the folder note the Garmin Folder. Click on it to open it.
Once it is open it will look like this.
Notice the maps that say gmapsupp.
The one that is highlighted above is your base map DO NOT Delete that or rename it.
Now you may already have a gmapsupp file in the folder. If you know what it is rename it to gmapsupp.nameofmap and click enter. If you do not do this when you load your new map it will over write your first map and you will loose it.In some models once you rename the map it may show up in your map list with the given name you gave it. I was able to do this in my 62S but it was replaced under warranty and now I am unable to do this. I have been successful with the Oregon 550 as well.
I should point out that in the example above I have a gmapsupp.transatlantic map. I am headed on a cruise soon and this mapset includes maps for San Juan, PR, St Martin and St. Thomas the Canary Islands, Spain, Corsica, Italy and London. I think one would be amazed at the detail on these maps.
I hope this helps you download and use the free maps available out there for Garmin.