TopoActive Maps on Garmin Watches

TopoActive mapping is optimized for outdoor activities and available on a number of Garmin watches. Some compatible watches do not come with the maps preloaded and you will need to follow the steps in Using Map Manager on Garmin Watches or Managing Maps on Garmin Devices With Garmin Express to install the TopoActive maps.

What Are the Features Included in TopoActive Maps?

Some of the features include:

• Routable roads, trails, and walking paths.

• International boundaries, waterways, natural features, land use areas, historical sites, and more.

  NOTE: Additional map details like building footprints, hunting management units, public lands, and more may be available on compatible watches with an Outdoor Maps+ annual subscription. To learn more, see Getting Started With Outdoor Maps Plus on a Garmin Watch.

• Points of interest, including shops, restaurants and bars, car parks, schools and universities, and accommodations.

  • While there are many points of interest searchable with the installed TopoActive mapping, there is no address search function.

• Fire trails that are present in OpenStreetMap. Fire trails will appear as unpaved roads on the map. We cannot speak to their completeness.

Contour line information varies based on location and the detailed information that OpenStreetMap has for that area. For example, contour or elevation lines are at roughly 100ft intervals for the North America TopoActive map. Other regions may use a shaded relief map and contain no contour lines.

The quality of the coverage will depend on the region. Urban areas will typically be more developed while coverage in rural areas may not be very good. TopoActive Maps are a Garmin OpenStreetMap Product.

What Coverage Is Included With TopoActive Maps?

Coverage of preloaded TopoActive maps is based on where the Garmin device was purchased. For example, if purchased in the United States, it will come preinstalled with TopoActive North America. For watches that include a Map Manager setting, only the Sapphire or Sapphire Solar Editions come with preloaded TopoActive maps, but all watches in those series can download mapping. Watches with Map Manager may have additional coverage options available to download other than the ones listed below. Details on which watches include Map Manager, their available coverage options, and instructions for downloading maps can be found in this FAQ: - Using Map Manager on Garmin Watches.

Choose a location below to reveal coverage information.

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South America

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Middle East and Central Asia

 

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Australia and Oceania

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Greenland

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Antarctica

 

What Does the Map Detail Look Like?

The examples below show what the map can look like at different zoom levels. Images are taken from a fēnix® 6 Pro. Detail and coverage may vary depending on the specific device you are using and the region you are using it in.

Routing With the TopoActive Map on Garmin Watches

TopoActive mapping is routable and can give calculated, lock-on trail or street, turn by turn guidance to a destination.

While TopoActive mapping will provide road and trail navigation for Hiking and Cycling, it will only give straight-line navigation when routing is set for Automobile or Motorcycle Driving. The TopoActive mapping is based on OSM (OpenStreetMaps) that have not been verified safe for automotive driving. The option for navigating to an address is not available on Garmin watches.