DIY Garmin GPS Maps

Creating Custom Maps for Garmin GPS from GPX files using Basecamp and other freeware programs on Windows 10

Custom fonts are highly visible and show direction of route

Often times it is very useful to have a custom map loaded on your GPS to help you stay on your preplanned route. Our overly helpful GPS’s all tend to want to reroute you every time you make a wrong turn, often losing your selected path. With a few free PC-based tools you can create detailed routes on your map program, convert the route to a GPX track, and then convert that to a custom map that can be loaded on your Garmin GPS. There are lots of online sources of info on how to piece this together but no end-to-end tutorials that I could find. I decided it was time to create one for myself as I do this 2-3 times a year and forget the details every time. I just updated the document in September 2020 and decided it was time to share this with the world.

Wide map fonts show up under Garmin routes allowing you to stay on custom route even if using Garmin routing temporarily (e.g., to find a nearby gas station).

View and/or Download instructions: How to create custom maps for Garmin GPS using Basecamp on Microsoft Windows