Official topographic maps
The US edition uses USGS Topo maps, with USGS aerial imagery as an alternative. The Canada edition uses the Natural Resources Canada base map with hillshading, plus Toporama. The official map legend is built in.
Download User Guide
PDF, 12 pages, 1 MB, shows the iPhone app
Contact DC Cloud Apps
david@dc-cloudapps.com
Features
Topo Maps is a topographic map and GPS app for hiking, hunting, paddling and field work across the USA and Canada, on iPhone, iPad and Android.
Maps that work offline
Tap the squares you want and download them over Wi-Fi. Each square brings the map at every zoom level, elevation data, and the built-in trails and places, so nothing needs a signal in the field and no cell data is used.
Record your hikes
Recording keeps going with the screen off or the app in the background, and shows distance and elapsed time as you go. If the app shuts down unexpectedly the trail is recovered. When you start driving, recording stops on its own and the drive is trimmed off.
See the climb before you go
Every trail gets an elevation profile with distance labels and shading for moderate and steep grades. Drag along the profile and a marker follows on the map. Elevation is stored with your downloaded maps, so it works offline too.
Flags for the places that matter
Save a flag at your location, by pressing and holding on the map, or from the location in a photo. Choose from five colours and add notes. Navigate to any flag with a direction arrow and distance, or jump to the spot in satellite view.
Built-in trails and places
Trails, paths and named places from OpenStreetMap are downloaded with each map square and drawn in white. Search your own flags and trails and the built-in ones by name, sorted by distance from you.
Coordinates and units your way
Show and enter positions as decimal degrees, degrees and minutes, degrees, minutes and seconds, or UTM. Pick metric or imperial for distance and elevation separately. A gauge shows GPS accuracy at a glance.
Measure distances
Slide a finger across the map to measure a route, or switch to the ruler for straight segments with a bearing. Save a measurement as a trail to follow later.
Share and import GPX
Send any flag or trail, or a whole selection, as a standard GPX file by AirDrop, Messages, Mail or the Files app, or through the share menu on Android. Open GPX, LOC and zipped GPX files from other apps and devices to import them.
Move everything to a new device
On iPhone and iPad, File Sharing turns the app into a shared folder on your Wi-Fi network. Copy your downloaded maps, flags and trails to a computer for safekeeping, or straight onto a new device without downloading the maps again. On Android, Transfer Maps saves your maps to one file you can keep on an SD card or cloud drive and bring back onto a new phone. It reads maps copied from an iPhone too.
Private by design
Your flags and trails stay on your device. The app never uploads them, there are no accounts, and there is no advertising. Works on iPhone, iPad and Android.
Getting started
The essentials from the user guide, in the order most people need them. The Android app has the same screens, and where a button is somewhere else on Android, the step says so.
Download maps for offline use
Open the app and zoom out until the banner at the top reads "Tap on a location to select a map". Tap one or more squares, or Select All for everything on screen, then tap Download. Downloaded squares turn gray, and you can zoom all the way in to see the detail.
Do this while you have Wi-Fi so the maps are ready before you lose signal. On iPhone and iPad, leave the app open until the download finishes. On Android the download carries on in the background, with its progress in a notification.
Find your current location
Tap the arrow at the bottom left (bottom right on Android). The map centres on you and shows your GPS accuracy, elevation above sea level and speed, updated every few seconds. The yellow arrow on the location marker shows which way the top of your phone is pointing.
Save a flag where you are
Tap the flag icon at the bottom of the screen, then Add Flag (the + button on Android). Give it a title, pick one of five colours, and tap Use Current Location to fill in the coordinates and elevation. You can also take the location from a photo in your library. Notes are handy for details you want to remember later.
Save a flag somewhere else
Press and hold on any spot on the map to open a new flag with that spot's coordinates. This is ideal for points of interest and planned waypoints. For a location you need to record precisely, save the flag while standing there instead.
Read a flag's coordinates
Tap a flag on the map to see its title, then tap the "i" button to open its details. The coordinates, elevation and notes are all there, ready to copy onto a field sheet or send to someone.
Navigate to a flag
From a flag's details, tap Navigate. The info panel shows an arrow pointing toward the flag and the distance left. Tap the panel and choose Stop when you arrive.
Record a trail
Tap the trails icon at the bottom centre (second from the left on Android), then Start Recording Trail. A red line follows you as you move, even with the screen off or the app in the background. When you are done, open the trails screen again and tap Stop Recording Trail to name the trail, choose a colour and add notes. Recording stops by itself if you start driving.
Measure a distance
Tap the ruler icon and slide your finger across the map. The distance appears as you draw. Turn off Freeform Measurement in Options for a ruler that measures straight segments with a bearing. Either way you can save the line as a trail. Tap the ruler again to stop.
Share a flag or trail
Open the details of a flag or trail and tap the share icon at the bottom right (top right on Android). It is sent as a GPX file, the standard GPS format, so it opens on any GPS unit, another phone running Topo Maps, or mapping software on a computer.
Share several at once
On the flags or trails screen, tap Select at the top right, tick the ones you want and tap the share icon. Everything you selected goes out in one GPX file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Maps
All I see is a checkerboard pattern. Where are the maps?
A checkered pattern indicates the detailed map for the area has not been downloaded yet. A message at the top should say "Zoom out to select maps".
When you zoom out far enough the message at the top will change to "Tap on a location to select a map". Select one or more maps and then tap Download.
When the detailed map is finished downloading you should be able to zoom in all the way to see the detail.
I just downloaded your app and I can't figure out how to see the maps I have downloaded. Where are they?
To see the downloaded maps you just need to zoom in. When you first select a map the area appears blue, after the download it turns gray. At this point you can zoom into the gray area to see the detail.
When I am away from Wi-Fi will I be consuming cell data to use the maps?
No cell data is consumed when viewing the maps you already downloaded.
To prevent any accidental cell data usage (downloading another map) while away from Wi-Fi you can switch off the data option in iOS Settings for the app.
On Android, open Settings, then Apps, then Topo Maps, and turn off its mobile data. The exact wording depends on your phone.
Why isn't the map oriented to North?
Some of the maps use a different projection (LCC) that has a different angle for North depending on the longitude.
What is that little yellow arrow on the black circle indicating?
The yellow arrow points in the direction the top of your phone is facing using the built-in compass. For example, if the yellow arrow is pointing to the summit of a mountain on the map then the front of your phone is facing that direction.
Flags and trails
I can't figure out how to place a flag on the map. I can input the coordinates, use current location, or photo location, but can't figure out how to select a point on the map. Any ideas?
Tap-and-hold for a couple of seconds on the map location you want the waypoint. I usually zoom in as much as possible for the most accurate location and then tap-and-hold.
How do I start recording a track?
- Tap on Trail icon at bottom of screen (middle icon that looks like folded paper map)
- Tap on "Start Recording Trail" at bottom of the screen. The location indicator should glow red instead of blue.
I'd like to use the Topo map to track my trail with the screen off. Is that possible?
Yes, the trail recording feature continues to record when your phone's screen is turned off. There is nothing special you need to do. When you turn the screen back on you should see the red trail "catch up" in a few seconds. Please let me know if this doesn't work for you.
On Android, a notification shows while a trail is recording. Some Android phones stop apps in the background to save battery. If your recordings stop with the screen off, tap the gear button on the map, then Settings, then Background Recording, and set the app's battery use to Unrestricted.
Will the app follow as I move with the white dotted line?
You can record your trail as you follow the white dotted line. Your recorded path will appear as a yellow dotted line so you will be able to see if you have deviated from the map trail. To start recording your trail tap on 'Start Recording Trail' button at the bottom of the Trails screen.
Can the built-in map trails be deleted?
You can turn off all built-in (white color) trails in the app settings.
Your app generated a slightly more accurate map, but the Garmin unit generated a track with more precision. The Garmin track had about twice the number of points. Is there a way to adjust the rate at which your app records points? This would certainly help make for more precise mapping.
You can increase the number of recorded track points in iOS Settings under Topo Maps. There you will find an option for Trail Compression. Set the compression level to medium or low to increase the number of recorded track points.
On Android, the option is in the app: tap the gear button on the map, then Settings, then Trail Compression.
Sharing and importing
How do I transfer my flags and trails from one iPhone to another?
- Open the Flags list
- Tap 'Select' button (top-right)
- Tap 'Select All' button (top-left)
- Tap share button (bottom-right)
- Select a method to share (eg. email to yourself)
- Close the flags list and open the trails list
- Repeat steps 2 to 5
- Switch to the other iPhone and open the email attachment. Select the app when prompted and the flags/trails will be imported.
The same steps work on Android, and between an iPhone and an Android phone. On Android, Select All is at the top right and the share button at the bottom left. To import, open the attachment and choose Topo Maps, or tap Import at the top of the flags or trails list.
I have a bunch of maps downloaded on one device. Is it possible to transfer from one device to another?
- Make sure your iPhone/iPad and Mac are on the same WiFi network
- In the app tap on the right-most button on the toolbar
- Scroll the list of options to reveal the "Start File Sharing" button at the end
- Tap on the "Start File Sharing" button to see the server address you will need in Step 6
- On the Mac, in the Finder choose Go > Connect to Server
- Enter the address of the server (including the "http") in the Server Address field then click Connect
- Drag and drop the maps folder to your Mac (or the opposite direction if you are copying maps TO an iPad/iPhone).
On Android, tap the gear button on the map, then Transfer Maps, then Export Maps. This saves all your downloaded maps in one file. Put the file somewhere the other phone can reach, such as an SD card or a cloud drive, then choose Import Maps on the other phone.
To move maps from an iPhone to an Android phone, copy the topomaps folder to your computer with the steps above, compress it into a ZIP file, and import the ZIP file with Import Maps on Android.
How do I import KML files from Google Earth?
The app does not open KML or KMZ files. It imports GPX files, LOC geocache files and zip archives of GPX files. In Google Earth, export your places as KML, then convert the file to GPX online at kml2gpx.com.
To import the GPX file, open it from Mail, Messages or the Files app and choose Copy to Topo Maps, or send it to your device with AirDrop. On Android, open the file and choose Topo Maps, or tap Import at the top of the flags or trails list. Waypoints become flags and tracks and routes become trails.
Is there a way to import my .img files into your app?
Sorry, .IMG files are not supported. You can import trails and flags from .GPX files.
Settings and permissions
How do I change my elevation from feet to meters?
Close the app and go to iOS Settings. Scroll down until you see the app. Select the app and you will see the options to change the distance and elevation units.
On Android, the settings are in the app: tap the gear button on the map, then Settings, then Elevation or Distance.
How do I switch the map locations from decimal degrees to UTM?
Close the app and go to iOS Settings. Scroll down until you see the app. Select the app and you will see the options for location coordinates.
On Android, tap the gear button on the map, then Settings, then Coordinate.
Is there any way you can add MGRS to the lists of coordinates to choose from?
MGRS is not supported and there are no plans to add it. The app shows and accepts coordinates in four formats: decimal degrees, degrees and minutes, degrees, minutes and seconds, and UTM. UTM is the closest to MGRS, since MGRS is built on the same grid.
To change the format, close the app, open iOS Settings, scroll down to Topo Maps and choose Coordinate. On Android, tap the gear button on the map, then Settings, then Coordinate.
The app stopped tracking my trails. I rebooted my phone and redownloaded the app. It still won't track. What should I do?
Go into iOS Settings, Privacy, Location Services, and select this app. Make sure the option is "While Using the App" or ideally "Always" if you want background recording.
On Android, open Settings, then Apps, then Topo Maps, then Permissions, then Location. Choose "Allow only while using the app" and make sure "Use precise location" is on. That is enough for recording with the screen off. If recordings still stop, set the app's battery use to Unrestricted, as explained in the screen-off question.
When Apple updated my iPhone I noticed that I could not use photo location. I have no problem to click current location. How do I fix this?
Close the app and go to iOS Settings. Scroll down until you see the app. Select the app and you will see the Photos option. Make sure the app is given Read permission.
About the app
Are my personally recorded trails and flags shared with the public?
Don't worry, your data is always private. The app never uploads your personal flags or trails.
If you see white-colored trails on the same path as your personal trails then this is simply a coincidence. It just means someone else already recorded that path and shared it with OpenStreetMap.
Where did you get the trail data for the app?
The trail data is from openstreetmap.org
Will this work with Apple CarPlay? Apple Watch?
This app currently doesn't support Apple CarPlay or Apple Watch. The Android app doesn't support Android Auto or Wear OS either.
Is there an Android version?
Yes. Topo Maps US and Topo Maps Canada are on Google Play for Android 8.0 or later, with the same offline maps, built-in trails and places, trail recording, elevation profiles, flags and GPX sharing as the iPhone app.
The main difference is that the Android app's settings are inside the app. Tap the gear button on the map, then Settings. To move your flags, trails and maps over from an iPhone, see transferring flags and trails and transferring maps.
No questions match your search.
What's new
- Android 1.0 November 2026
- Topo Maps US and Topo Maps Canada are now on Google Play. The first Android release has offline maps with built-in trails and places, trail recording that stops when you start driving, elevation profiles, flags with compass navigation, measuring, and GPX import and export. Transfer Maps moves your downloaded maps to a new phone as one file, including maps copied from an iPhone.
- iPhone and iPad 6.8 October 2026
- Trail recording stops by itself when the app notices you have started driving, and any drive at the end of a saved trail is trimmed off. Uses the Motion & Fitness permission.
- iPhone and iPad 6.7 September 2026
- Measured lines can be saved as trails. Tap a point on a recorded trail to see when you were there. Elevation is now sampled between widely spaced trail points for a smoother profile.
- iPhone and iPad 6.6 September 2026
- Search across your own flags and trails and the built-in ones from the toolbar. Recorded trails are named with their start date and time. Built-in trails and points of interest load faster from new map tiles. Requires iOS 15 or later.
- iPhone and iPad 6.5 July 2026
- Elevation data. Every trail gets an elevation profile with distance labels and grade shading, and a live panel lets you scrub along the profile and the map together. Elevation is stored with each downloaded map area so it works offline.