If the earlier version of Trailmap (below "v1") is familiar to you, the following features of the new version should produce a nice "wow" feeling.

1. The new Trailmap map: The new Trailmap map replaces the old "3D MTB", "MTB" and "MTB Winter map" layers. This new map is based on vector map technology, which makes it really fast & precise, offers zooming without steps and flexibly combines the best map data from OpenStreetMap, the National Land Survey's terrain database & aerial imagery, the national LIPAS database of sports and outdoor facilities, and other geospatial sources. The new map can also be customised in many ways. Besides the Trailmap vector map, there is also an "MMLv2" vector map in the style of MML's NLS topographic map, which is simpler in content (MMLv2 is still a bit unfinished, awaiting MML's own updates during spring 2024). You will not find anything like the new Trailmap map in any other app on the market!

The new Trailmap map: comprehensive trails, classified

2. Route planning completely rebuilt: Trailmap v1 has always been a decent tool for quickly sketching a route: a selection of different map layers plus fast route drawing with a simple undo function (shortcut "z") is considerably faster than, say, Komoot's clunky many-clicks-per-waypoint or Strava's "wonder how technical that trail on the map is" guessing game, let alone Karttaselain's "straight lines only". The new Trailmap now also supports editing an already drawn route in many ways, so you can turn a sketch into the final version instead of having to start drawing from scratch. Route drawing and editing also work well on mobile devices with a touchscreen, and especially on the slightly bigger screen of a tablet route planning goes excellently, even while watching TV with one eye.

The new route planning feature

3. Maps fitted to different sports: Especially for the gravel rider, or the road cyclist who is not shy about the occasional gravel road: the new Trailmap map also offers a version for gravel riding, in which the ways suited to the sport are emphasised so it is faster to get a sense of the different options in the network. You can also bring Digiroad's various map layers onto the map (e.g. "DR Paved Road" or "DR Speed Limit"), and the map view shortcut "space" brings up an excellently clear overview of the backbone of the road network, i.e. where the cars go. Then either route along it, or preferably avoid it... Try setting up Strava's HD Heatmap too, which takes a bit of effort but rewards you; read the instructions. More information and tips about the maps in this guide.

The map version fitted to gravel

The aerial image is handy for thinking about routes too

4. Routing profiles: The routing profile affects how Trailmap's automatic routing works, i.e. which roads and trails the route follows. Trailmap v1's routing profile was a "most direct route" type, i.e. it hardly selected which path to follow — this suits mountain biking (on technical trails) and trail running reasonably well, where route planning happens by clicking waypoints thick and fast to steer the routing, but poorly for gravel, touring or road cycling, where you would rather pick waypoints fairly sparsely and let the routing algorithm intelligently choose routes suited to the machine. The new Trailmap's routing is now sport-specific and intelligent. Trailmap also warns you if the automatic routing's route goes via some risky road or trail, e.g. on a road bike along a road whose surface is unknown (asphalt, smooth or coarse gravel). The route also shows an elevation profile and which surfaces (asphalt, gravel, dirt) the route runs on.

5. User account and your own routes: Trailmap v1 allowed saving routes, but managing them was awkward enough that hardly anyone probably used it. On top of that, transferring routes to Trailmap's native mobile app was slow and awkward. The new Trailmap brings the functionality familiar from many other apps, letting you save your own data to a user account so that it is available on different computers and devices (so in future also on Trailmap's native mobile app, which is next in line for a revamp).

6. Better importing of "tracks" onto the map: "Tracks" here means vector-format geospatial data broadly: gpx & kml files, Strava activities and so on. Importing tracks onto the map to support route planning offers many possibilities, e.g. Veloviewer "tile hunters" can bring their unexplored tiles onto the map ¹, or those chasing Wandrer streets can bring Wandrer's kmz file straight in.

7. Mapper's views: Ready-made and self-defined Overpass API queries on the base map, e.g. to show where there are unclassified trails, roads without a surface tag, problematic tagging and so on.

Trailmap has been revamped "under the bonnet" too, and the new technical implementation supports considerably faster development of new functionality than before. So more Wow features are on the way all the time.