Taking spontaneous road trips tin can be fun, only sometimes you lot want to exist a trivial more strategic and prepare your routes in advance. Having your custom routes already mapped out for you in Google Maps is handy: It removes the stress of missing an important plough, and gives you the ability to share your travel plans with others.

You don't demand to use your car's GPS or any additional software. Google Maps allows you to add dissimilar pins, shapes, and directions to your routes. Here'southward how to make custom routes in Google Maps.

How to Create Custom Routes in Google Maps

While Google Maps allows you lot to create your own custom road, information technology does come up with a few limitations. For case, you tin't start completely from scratch, meaning you'll have to use the default mural. You tin can then customize it past adding other elements, including new locations, routes, and shapes. You'll also accept to utilize Google Maps on your desktop to create maps. To make your beginning custom map, follow the steps below.

  1. Open the Google Maps website in your desktop browser and sign in with your Google account.
  1. Open the Card from the pinnacle left corner of your screen.
  1. From the drib-down menu, select Your places.
  1. Under Your places, select Maps > Create Map.
  1. A new Google Maps window will open with your custom map.
  1. Select Untitled Map in the upper-left corner of the screen to edit the new map's title and description. Select Save to confirm.

How to Customize Your Google Map

After you cull a title for your new map, you can start customizing it by adding custom routes and elements to it, including layers, markers, shapes, and directions. To start customizing your map, make certain you're in the map editor window and have a new map open.

Map Layers

Your custom map is fabricated up of layers. The bottom layer is the Base map. You tin can ever customize the look of your map past irresolute the Base map layer.

To choose a different wait for your map, select Base of operations map at the bottom of the bill of fare. Then select your preferred look: Map, Satellite, or Terrain.

When you create a new custom map, you have an Untitled Layer added to it by default. Y'all tin either create an entire map using just 1 layer, or add more than layers as you go. A multi-layered map allows y'all to separate dissimilar routes and destinations for later access. So you can have multiple road trips or walking paths planned all on elevation of the same custom map.

To add a new layer to your custom map, select Add together layer on top of the bill of fare.

Yous can remove layers from your custom map at any time. To delete a layer, select the three vertical dots next to it to open up the menu. And so select Delete this layer. At that place's also an option to Rename this layer and show Step-by-step directions in the same menu.

Markers

A map marker is a pin that appears on your map marking a sure location or a landmark. Markers are useful when you demand to share the exact location of a place with other users, or when you need to add comments or additional notes for a location.

To add a marker to your custom map, locate the address or a landmark that y'all want to pin. So select Add marker from the toolbar located under the search bar. In the pop-up window, fill in the description of your map marking: name and description. There'due south also an option to Add image or video to your marking to get in more than visible on the map. When you're finished, select Save to confirm.

You can always go back and edit your marker after you lot add it to your map. You can change its proper name, description, style, as well as show directions on your map.

Lines & Shapes

Some other element that y'all can add to your map is a line or a shape. If you need to underline a certain route or expanse on your map, you can make it more visible by drawing a line or a shape around it.

To add a line or a shape to your custom map, select Describe a line from the toolbar located under the search bar.

Y'all can then edit this shape after yous place it on your map. You tin can change its proper noun, description, manner, add an paradigm or a video to it. There'south too an choice to remove information technology from your map.

Directions

For many users, the main purpose of creating a custom map is to share it with other users in Google Maps. You can add directions from point A to indicate B to show as a carve up layer on your custom map.

To add directions to your custom map, select Add directions from the toolbar located nether the search bar.

Yous'll come across a new directions layer announced in the menu on the left side of your screen. Get-go, select your transportation mode: driving, cycling, or walking. Then, add your divergence indicate into the textbox A, and your destination point into the textbox B. Yous'll then see your directions appear on the map.

How to Share Your Custom Map

When you finish making custom routes in Google Maps and adding elements to your map, it'due south automatically saved to your Google Maps business relationship in Your Places. To access your new map, follow the path Google Maps menu > Your Places > Maps.

By default, yous're the only one who can view this map until you share it with other people. To share your custom map, in Your Places carte select See All Your Maps. This will take y'all to the Google My Maps website. You'll see your custom map under Owned.

To give admission to your map to some other person, select Share map. Y'all'll see options to share your custom map via Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, and embed information technology on your website. Select your preferred method to share your map with other users.

Relieve Your Custom Routes in Google Maps for After Use

Yous can keep all of your routes, directions, and map markers all in i identify thanks to the custom maps characteristic in Google Maps. The next time you determine to become on a road trip with your friends or take a walk through the metropolis, you tin can open your map and follow the path that you researched in accelerate.

If you later want to see the places that you visited and build your new route around them, you tin view them in your location history in Google Maps.

Exercise you save your routes and locations in Google Maps? What Google Maps feature do yous find the most useful for creating your custom maps? Share your experience with creating custom routes in Google Maps in the comments section below.