GPS Campground Location Question - Fiberglass RV
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 07-26-2012, 12:40 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
D Davis's Avatar
 
Name: Diane
Trailer: Casita, previously u-haul ct13
Virginia
Posts: 1,020
GPS Campground Location Question

Does anyone know how to or where do you download State Park, National Forest, Army Corps of Engineer campgrounds info to your GPS system?
I have a less than 6 month old Garmin, have read their website and can't seem to get an understanding of this. It's point of interest is shopping or eating ...DUHHHH
I like and have used the DeLorme Road Atlas for years, it's great for locating these things. WOW am I behind the times or a little dense, but it would be so nice to have them in the system.
D Davis is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-26-2012, 12:51 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
Carol H's Avatar
 
Trailer: 92 16 ft Scamp
Posts: 11,756
Registry
Quote:
Originally Posted by D Davis View Post
Does anyone know how to or where do you download State Park, National Forest, Army Corps of Engineer campgrounds info to your GPS system?
I have a less than 6 month old Garmin, have read their website and can't seem to get an understanding of this. It's point of interest is shopping or eating ...DUHHHH
I like and have used the DeLorme Road Atlas for years, it's great for locating these things. WOW am I behind the times or a little dense, but it would be so nice to have them in the system.
Does your Garmin not have something in its menu system that gets it to add State & national and other parks location info automatically to it? My TomTom does.
Carol H is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-26-2012, 12:57 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Thomas G.'s Avatar
 
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 5,112
I'm watching for an answer, too. I ended up looking up campgrounds on line and manually entering them into my Garmin.
__________________
UHaul and Burro owners, join the UHaul Campers on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/groups/529276933859491/
Thomas G. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-26-2012, 01:22 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
Carol H's Avatar
 
Trailer: 92 16 ft Scamp
Posts: 11,756
Registry
There is a site where you can download POI files to download to your GPS via your computer. It can be found here Some of the files are national and state park info.

Edit: Just found this site that has the files for Garmin. Suspect the ones that are checked as POI would be your best/easiest bet.
Carol H is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-26-2012, 01:58 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
D Davis's Avatar
 
Name: Diane
Trailer: Casita, previously u-haul ct13
Virginia
Posts: 1,020
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carol H View Post
Does your Garmin not have something in its menu system that gets it to add State & national and other parks location info automatically to it? My TomTom does.
Carol, no it does not. It does have historical places, shopping etc. <_<
D Davis is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-26-2012, 02:06 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
D Davis's Avatar
 
Name: Diane
Trailer: Casita, previously u-haul ct13
Virginia
Posts: 1,020
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carol H View Post
There is a site where you can download POI files to download to your GPS via your computer. It can be found here Some of the files are national and state park info.

Edit: Just found this site that has the files for Garmin. Suspect the ones that are checked as POI would be your best/easiest bet.
Carol, what is POI? I see some state topo maps here, do you know if the campgrounds are on them? Curious...Thanks
D Davis is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-26-2012, 02:11 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
Name: john
Trailer: scamp 13
Michigan
Posts: 1,318
Quote:
Originally Posted by D Davis View Post
Does anyone know how to or where do you download State Park, National Forest, Army Corps of Engineer campgrounds info to your GPS system?
I have a less than 6 month old Garmin, have read their website and can't seem to get an understanding of this. It's point of interest is shopping or eating ...DUHHHH
I like and have used the DeLorme Road Atlas for years, it's great for locating these things. WOW am I behind the times or a little dense, but it would be so nice to have them in the system.
well,,, at least you have one,,,my old school gps,,,map and compass does fine for me,,,but makes my wife crazy.
john warren is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-26-2012, 02:48 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
Carol H's Avatar
 
Trailer: 92 16 ft Scamp
Posts: 11,756
Registry
Quote:
Originally Posted by D Davis View Post
Carol, what is POI? I see some state topo maps here, do you know if the campgrounds are on them? Curious...Thanks
POI stands for Places of Interest. Most newer car GPS's allow you to upload to your GPS files containing POI - can be anything from state parks to your favorite gas station or store. For example when traveling I can say to my GPS where is the nearest Costco or Shell gas station? and it will come up on the screen showing me the distant and directions to the nearest one, allowing me to choose which one I want to go to or it can also just put place marks on the map screen showing their location.

I didnt go through the file list on the link as I indicated on my TomTom under options for POI's the state and national parks was already loaded on it I just had to check the box in the options section to include them when it starts up. I do recall seeing a few of the files on the Garmin POI file site did mention parks but the first link I gave to the POI Factory site does for sure have files on state and national parks and those files should work on your Garmin as well.
Carol H is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-26-2012, 03:04 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
D Davis's Avatar
 
Name: Diane
Trailer: Casita, previously u-haul ct13
Virginia
Posts: 1,020
POI...Man am I dumb or what, HA! Thanks Carol! I tried to register at the GPS File depot site, it wouldn't take. I'll try again later. That one looked to me to be the best for my purposes. Thank you Carol!
D Davis is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-26-2012, 03:06 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
Jon Vermilye's Avatar
 
Name: Jon
Trailer: Escape 21C
New York
Posts: 2,387
Registry
I have links to many POI sources & editors that let you modify them for different brands of GPSs at the bottom of my Maps & GPS Page.
Jon Vermilye is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-26-2012, 03:06 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
Carol H's Avatar
 
Trailer: 92 16 ft Scamp
Posts: 11,756
Registry
Quote:
Originally Posted by john warren View Post
well,,, at least you have one,,,my old school gps,,,map and compass does fine for me,,,but makes my wife crazy.
LOL thats the main reason I have one! Nothing worse than towing a trailer in a strange area in the dark and having your navigator announce that none of the streets you are passing by are even on the map as they flip the map this way and that & start searching for that other map they had, only to announce that "oh there it is! we should have turned left 5 miles back" then having to search in the dark to find a safe place to turn it all around! If I know where I am going to be staying ahead of time I plug the address in under My Favorites prior to leaving and can call them up at any time along the way to get an idea as to the real mileage and time to get there etc. Makes a trip way less stressful and best $120 ever spent!

Not to mention that on my recent return trip from the Bandon meet the GPS took me down a very cool side road that I would never have taken before .... when it first told me to turn down it I pulled over to make sure I had the dont use gravel roads option turned on as I wasn't sure I should trust it as I was totally unaware of a road going where it said it did. Now I know about a whole different beautiful area to explore when I have more time on a future trip.
Carol H is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-26-2012, 04:17 PM   #12
Senior Member
 
Name: Steve
Trailer: 2018, 21ft escape— 2019 Ram 1500 Laramie
NW Wisconsin
Posts: 4,500
Garmin

Quote:
Originally Posted by D Davis View Post
Does anyone know how to or where do you download State Park, National Forest, Army Corps of Engineer campgrounds info to your GPS system?
I have a less than 6 month old Garmin, have read their website and can't seem to get an understanding of this. It's point of interest is shopping or eating ...DUHHHH
I like and have used the DeLorme Road Atlas for years, it's great for locating these things. WOW am I behind the times or a little dense, but it would be so nice to have them in the system.
On my 8 month old Garmin you click on the POI ICON then click on the recreation ICON ,scroll down to parks and click on parks and you should find what you want.
My Garmin shows federal, state, county and municipal parks, it even shows the roads in the park
steve dunham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-26-2012, 05:17 PM   #13
Member
 
mike_bc's Avatar
 
Name: Michael
Trailer: Bigfoot 25B25RQ
BC
Posts: 98
Quote:
Originally Posted by D Davis View Post
Does anyone know how to or where do you download State Park, National Forest, Army Corps of Engineer campgrounds info to your GPS system?
.
I see Carol has put you on the right track. Here's another link in case you can't find the park you want.

ALL US AND CANADA CAMPGROUNDS: STATE PARKS NATIONAL PARKS FORESTS MORE california oregon washington new york pennsylvania more
mike_bc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-26-2012, 05:26 PM   #14
Senior Member
 
Carol H's Avatar
 
Trailer: 92 16 ft Scamp
Posts: 11,756
Registry
Quote:
Originally Posted by mike_bc View Post
I see Carol has put you on the right track. Here's another link in case you can't find the park you want.
Actually I think Steve has them on a better track. Would be very shocked to find a new Garmin didn't come preloaded with that info. Just need to find the right switch which if its like TomTom its well buried.
Carol H is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-26-2012, 07:37 PM   #15
Senior Member
 
Name: bob
Trailer: 1996 Casita 17 Spirit Deluxe; 1946 Modernistic teardrop
New York
Posts: 5,413
While browsing through the KOA campground book I found a couple of the campgrounds say to NOT follow GPS directions. No reason given, maybe overhead clearance issues, or vehicle restrictions on some roads??
mary and bob is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-27-2012, 07:05 AM   #16
Senior Member
 
Name: Steve
Trailer: 2018, 21ft escape— 2019 Ram 1500 Laramie
NW Wisconsin
Posts: 4,500
Garmin

Quote:
Originally Posted by Carol H View Post
Actually I think Steve has them on a better track. Would be very shocked to find a new Garmin didn't come preloaded with that info. Just need to find the right switch which if its like TomTom its well buried.
When you click on POI and then click on lodging you can then scroll down to campgrounds (Private) Public parks are under POI - recreation- parks and gardens
Way side rests are under POI - auto services - rest stops
The directions from Garmin leave something to be desired , I just kept pushing buttons (All POI 's were factory loaded on GPS)
steve dunham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-27-2012, 08:04 AM   #17
Member
 
mike_bc's Avatar
 
Name: Michael
Trailer: Bigfoot 25B25RQ
BC
Posts: 98
Quote:
Originally Posted by mary and bob View Post
While browsing through the KOA campground book I found a couple of the campgrounds say to NOT follow GPS directions. No reason given, maybe overhead clearance issues, or vehicle restrictions on some roads??
We have had inconsistent results inputing KOA's into the GPS. It seems that many are in rural areas with just general addresses so the GPS could only offer a location in the general vicinity and not street by street directions.


Tip: Use Tractor Trailer profile in your set up to stay clear of express lanes etc..
mike_bc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-27-2012, 08:48 AM   #18
Member
 
Name: Gail & Tom O
Trailer: Eggcamper 2010
Maryland
Posts: 54
If you have an iPhone the RVParkfinder app by Trailer Life Directory is very good. Also they are in the process of making an app like it for the Android phones.
__________________
GailO
Gail & Tom O. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-27-2012, 10:32 AM   #19
Senior Member
 
Carol H's Avatar
 
Trailer: 92 16 ft Scamp
Posts: 11,756
Registry
Quote:
Originally Posted by mike_bc View Post
We have had inconsistent results inputing KOA's into the GPS. It seems that many are in rural areas with just general addresses so the GPS could only offer a location in the general vicinity and not street by street directions.
Have had the GPS issue as Mike suggests at a few places that are rural. Often end up sitting outside an unmarked building with the campground actually being a half mile or so down the road - never to far off though. Wish places like that who know the street address will not work well with a GPS would put the actual GPS coordinates for their campground on their ads or websites as it solves the problem - I see many are starting to do that.
Carol H is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-31-2012, 09:41 PM   #20
Senior Member
 
D Davis's Avatar
 
Name: Diane
Trailer: Casita, previously u-haul ct13
Virginia
Posts: 1,020
I guess I wish there were gps maps as good as the DeLorme atlas. So far, have not seen that quality. Thank you all for your wonderful tips and links. I appreciate you. The links you posted seem to be useful resources and better than the factory loaded junk.
D Davis is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Campground question Amy M Camping, Campout Reports 11 11-21-2012 09:36 PM
GPS Glenn Baglo General Chat 3 09-18-2008 07:41 AM
GPS Question Darwin Maring Problem Solving | Owners Helping Owners 10 12-25-2006 12:19 AM
campground question Kathy Davisson Camping, Campout Reports 12 01-19-2006 03:56 PM

» Upcoming Events
No events scheduled in
the next 465 days.
» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 06:23 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.