For some years I am mapping for OSM. At the same time I am making KML/GPX tracks for pilgrims to Santiago which anyone can be downloaded for free from a website. We made a manual how people can download them in apps like Organic maps.
At the same time I see that tracks can be downloaded as well into OSM, but for some reason I cannot find them. I don’t succeed in understanding how it works.
My ideal is that we can put all our tracks into OSM, and that people using OSM in any app like OM can see them in an easy way. (many pilgrims are 60+…)
Is there a way to do this?
OSM does store GPS traces, but these are intended mainly to help people editing the map, for example by improving the alignment of aerial images. They are not really intended as “end user” information, so I don’t think this feature really fits with your purpose.
There are other tools such as uMap that allow all sorts of geographic data including GPX traces to be displayed as overlays on OSM maps in a browser, and also downloaded by anyone who can view the map.
Of course routes that are waymarked on the ground can be mapped in OSM, and many routes associated with the Camino de Santiago already are, but I don’t think that is what you are referring to.
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Thanks Alan, your answer makes it more clear to me, seems like I was looking for something that isn’t there.
We use already Umapm for to show maps withs all the routes for our website, works very well!
The think is that we want the tracks being visible on a smartphone as people walk the camino.Like I wrote, now we do have a manual for people to load it into an app like Organic map.
But even after I organized a few workshops for explaining people step by step how to do this, I see that for quit some people it still is complicated to do this.
Some people ask if we can make a ready to use app for it, but I don’t really feel like doing that.
How does this routes mapped in OSM work, like you mentioned in your last alinea? Is that intended for ‘end users’?
Another option - how about a simple website that shows routes superimposed over some other map?
It’d be pretty simple to create something like that using e.g. Leaflet.
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I was referring to route relations like this one (picking one of the shorter pilgrimage routes to Santiago as an example, but the long traditional routes are in OSM too):
Quite a few apps display this kind of route (usually after switching on an option or choosing a specific profile) - including recent versions of Organic Maps. You can also get a good overview in a browser at hiking.waymarkedtrails.com. So yes, these are intended for end users of OSM-based maps.
But as I mentioned, this is for specifically identifiable routes (and the most common way of identifying a route is waymarking/signposting). If what you are doing is more like “here is a route I devised myself that I think you might like”, or “this is a route I followed last Saturday that other people might be interested in”, route relations in OSM wouldn’t be suitable.
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Thanks for your suggestion.
We do have this website in which we use Umap. An example of what we use is:
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On my Android phone, I can click the geolocation icon, give permission to the site to use location data, and see exactly where I am on that uMap. That seemed to be what you were looking for?
From a quick look, it seems many of the mapped routes are in OSM data, but they don’t match exactly so I assume there is some other source.
E.g. I know from personal experience of the Camino Mozárabe de Málaga that it is impossible to cross the motorway as the route is drawn here.
OSM has the route as waymarked in reality (because I updated it myself). I have shown a screenshot from Organic Maps here to illustrate this - the correct route is shown in blue and keeps well clear of the motorway junction.
At least in this one case, users would do better following what is already in OSM than downloading a gpx file. Of course there is no guarantee that OSM is up to date everywhere but it might be something to think about.
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Thanks again!
You wrote:
Quite a few apps display this kind of route (usually after switching on an option or choosing a specific profile) - including recent versions of Organic Maps.
I do not see the way how to display routes which are already in OSM, also after switching on the hiking layer. What exactly needs to be switched on?
How nice you can give feedback about the Mozarabé!
We are far from just putting any gpx files for different camino’s. We work with a few people on updating, also after we get feedback from users.Not only the routes, but also for accomodations on the way. Every few years we check the tracks we have. Still, as you see, we cannot be accurate any moment. But this is also one of the reasons why I would like to connect more with OSM to make tracks better and more accurate, together, We do offer all the tracks between the Netherlands and Spain.
It would indeed be possible to give a link to the Umap site. But we think that walking with a site which need continues to be online is risky, and also sometimes is slow. For that we want to use files anyone can download before.
How did you get the track from your second picture? Does it show from OSM or did you download and open it in Organic Maps?
Indeed offline access is important for something that will be used while hiking, rather than only for planning. But then it seems unavoidable to either use an existing app with gpx files (which is very common but you have said some users have problems with) or produce your own app.
This is a very new feature in Organic Maps and still seems quite minimal. I know the blue line is the Camino Mozárabe, but I couldn’t find a way to tell that from the app - it seems to show that a walking route exists but little more. OsmAnd can give a lot more detail but is far more complex.
I didn’t do anything except select the Hiking profile as shown here.
For reference the underlying OSM data for this route is:
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Here is the same location in OsmAnd with a hiking profile. In this case the route is selectable, as shown in the popup at the bottom, which gives access to other features such as elevation profiles and a “follow route” option.
I’m not suggesting this directly as an option for your users. OsmAnd is complex to start with, and installing a custom hiking profile adds to that. But illustrates what can be done in an app using the data already in OSM.
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Sorry for this late reply, I was away for work.
Thanks for your clarifications. I take it with me as an option to be sorted out on a meeting we will have soon.
It seems like you indeed know to what we need to, if you get to know about any other option, please let us know.
Our work you can find on this page.
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