Trailmap's route planning takes a big leap forward. The revamped routing engine brings a wider selection of routing profiles, routing that covers the whole of Europe, and completely new features such as alternative routes and automatic routes. In practice: route planning becomes more comprehensive, more versatile and an even better fit for different users' needs.

Trailmap's core is a one-of-a-kind trail map with no equal in the Finnish market. The routing has been very strong — on the same level as Komoot, which is the best of the competitors in this area. Strava, RideWithGPS, Garmin and the rest are clearly behind. The aim now is to create the same gap to the competition in routing as the map already has: not just as good, but clearly better.

The new routing engine was released into the official version of Trailmap's web app on 3 March 2026. If for some reason you still need the old routing engine, you can restore it by choosing "Switch routing: old" from the "Routes" menu (top of the website).

What does a routing engine actually do?

When you click a waypoint on the map in route planning, the routing engine works out how to get there from the previous point. In Trailmap this stretch between two points is called a segment. The routing engine does not just pick the shortest route, but the best route according to the chosen routing profile.

What does that mean in practice? If you have chosen the gravel profile, the router favours gravel-surfaced roads and forest roads over asphalt. With the MTB profile it steers you onto trails. With the road bike profile the router instead avoids dirt roads and prefers a paved detour.

So every segment is a compromise: the shortest route is not always the best route. A good routing engine knows how to weigh dozens of different factors correctly — the type of way, its surface, width, elevation variation and much more. The better these weightings land, the less the user has to correct the route by hand.

Revamped route analysis

The routing engine also does a route analysis: it goes through the whole route and identifies the spots that may need attention. These include challenging trails, forest roads whose rideability is unknown, or sections where cycling is prohibited. The results of the analysis show on the route line as yellow and red colouring, and in the elevation profile below the map these notes and warnings show directly at the right spot, expressed in clear colours. That way you see at a glance where the tricky spots on the route are — and you can decide whether you want to edit the route or take on the challenge.

Route analysis

As a new feature, a difficulty level on a scale of 1-5 is also calculated for the route, separately for mountain biking and for gravel (covering road and general cycling too). This single number tells you how technically demanding the route is and how much uncertainty there is about the ways on it. Levels 1-2 are safe choices even for beginners (or level 1 for a road bike), levels 3-4 suit the typical active enthusiast. Level 5 means the route is worth studying carefully in advance and being prepared for demanding sections — and for possible surprises.

Revamped routing profiles

In the previous version there were six routing profiles: On foot/MTB most direct, MTB, MTB demanding trails, Gravel bike, Road bike and Touring bike. In the new version there are four basic profiles: On foot, Mountain bike, Gravel and Road bike. Fewer options, but more possibilities.

How so? Each profile can now be tuned to suit your own needs. In the gravel profile you can, for instance, choose the technicality level (easy, normal, demanding) and decide whether you avoid asphalt or big roads. In the mountain bike profile you can likewise adjust whether you want to favour easy or demanding trails.

Routing settings

This structure also enables further development: new adjustment options can be added without the profile menu ballooning out of control.

The routing profiles also cope better than before with gaps in the map data. Road surfacing information, for instance, is not always available and has to be inferred.

The new routing engine also allows the development of entirely new kinds of routing profile, e.g. a profile that favours routes running along lake shores, or far from big roads (and their noise), or hillier / less hilly routes.

Routing that covers the whole of Europe

Previously Trailmap's routing covered about half of Europe. The new routing engine covers the whole of Europe, which means you can plan routes with Trailmap for southern European destinations too — Spain's gravel roads, the Alps' mountain routes or Italy's cycling routes.

In future the routing profiles can also be adapted to the conditions in different countries: the networks of ways, the rights of access and the map data are not quite the same everywhere — which is why many a global app does not work well in Finland.

Alternative routes

This is perhaps one of the most visible changes in daily use. When you add a waypoint, the router offers up to three different options for the segment. The options show on the map in different colours and you can pick the most suitable one with a single click.

Alternative routes

Why is this a big deal? Previously, if the router picked a route you did not like, you had to add intermediate points and force the route to follow the way you wanted. Now you see the options directly and can pick the one you want with no extra faffing. Trying things out is fast: click an option, see how it looks, switch to another if it is better.

Automatic routes

Sometimes there is no time or energy to plan a route from scratch. Or you have simply run out of ideas — the familiar routes have been ridden many times already. Automatic routes solve this.

Tell the app the start point and the length you want, and pick a routing profile. The app creates three different route options for you to choose from. If none of them appeals, create new options at the press of a button. Once you find a suitable basis, you can still edit the route before saving — or just head straight out to ride it.

An automatic route

Automatic routes are a challenging feature. What is actually being aimed for — route ideas that are as different as possible? Dependable, safe routes? Routes that favour popular ways? The answer depends on the user and the situation, and there is no single right solution. That is why developing this feature will be teamwork with users: feedback on what works and what does not is valuable.

The same goes for the features that support automatic routes. If the route the automation creates is 90% good but needs a bit of polishing, editing has to be easy and fast. Here too I hope for feedback from users once you get to try it out.

In the longer term, automatic routes could learn the user's preferences: what kinds of routes you have ridden lately, which ways are your favourites that you like to come back to. This is still in the future, but the new routing engine lays the groundwork for that development.

Old routes

Your old saved routes stay as they were when you open them on Trailmap's map with the "Show on map" function. If you open an old route for editing, it is converted to the new routing engine. The route may change slightly in the conversion, which is why the original route is also opened on the map as a track (typically blue). By comparing the old track and the new route you easily see if the route has changed somewhere, and if need be you can edit the route so that it follows the old one exactly.

When and how?

The new routing will be taken into use at the turn of January-February 2026. The new routing first becomes available in the beta release of Trailmap's web version, then in the web version's official release. Once the reliability of the new routing has been verified in use, the mobile app will be updated to support it too.

The change happens automatically — you do not need to do anything. The next time you open route planning, the new features are there for you.

The overhaul is a big one, and although it has been tested carefully, practical testing by a large user base will certainly reveal things nobody could anticipate. That is why your feedback is especially valuable right now. Tell me what works, what does not, and what you would like more of. You can give feedback directly by email or in the "Trailmap Suomi" Facebook group.

Thanks to all Trailmap users — let's make this the best tool there is for adventures on trails and gravel roads!