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How to Download USGS Topo Maps as GeoPDFs

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The U.S. Geological Survey gives away its topographic maps as digital files, and the GeoPDF version carries coordinates, so a map app can show your position on it with no signal. Which USGS tool you use depends on whether you want a current map or a historical one.

Current or historical?

  • US Topo is the current series. USGS offers these maps for free, immediate download through The National Map Downloader.
  • The Historical Topographic Map Collection holds USGS topographic maps published from 1884 to 2006. You can browse and download them with topoView, which offers US Topo maps too.

USGS also names the Map Locator in the USGS Store as a free source of GeoPDFs. Paper maps have to be ordered.

Download a map

  1. Open The National Map Downloader or topoView.
  2. Move the map to your area, or search for a place.
  3. Pick your map from the results. There may be several dates for the same area, especially in topoView.
  4. Choose the GeoPDF file. topoView also offers GeoTIFF, JPEG and KMZ.
  5. Save it somewhere you can find it.

These tools change their screens from time to time, so the buttons may not look exactly the same as you remember.

If your route crosses two maps

The maps are cut into fixed sheets, so a route can run off the edge of one. Download each sheet your route touches, plus any you might need if you change your plan.

For how to read a topo sheet and choose quads for a route, see planning a backcountry trip with USGS topo maps.

Check the file

If you’re not sure you got the right format, the free GeoPDF checker shows whether the file has location data and where it lands on a map. A JPEG, or a PDF scan with no location data, won’t show your position until you add location to it.

Put it on your phone

Download the map on your phone, or copy it across, then open it in a GeoPDF viewer before you lose signal. In the Cartahaven map app that’s free and needs no account: see using GeoPDF maps offline on your phone.

Prefer not to go through the USGS tools? Browse free maps in the Cartahaven store, including USGS topo maps. A free account is needed to get them.