Add Points of Interest (POI) to your route map to call attention to scenic vistas, water refill points, campgrounds, hotels, restaurants or any other noteworthy locations along your itinerary. POI markers allow users to flag a point, insert a title, URL and expandable detailed description with photos using your choice of icons from a menu of 40 activity-specific POI types. Highlight and embed route hazards, checkpoints, segment starts or any other pertinent course details within your map. POI markers will be visible to users navigating your route via the Ride with GPS mobile app.
Premium subscribers are able to place Points of Interest (POI) throughout planned routes to provide additional layers of detailed information within Ride with GPS map displays. POI markers will be visible during navigation via the Ride with GPS mobile app and can be expanded to reveal additional information, detailed descriptions and photos contained within. POI can also easily be added while navigating routes and will be embedded within your recorded ride. Flag a particular feature, identify intersections or simply drop a pin anywhere along your ride to mark the exact location with a POI marker.
Add POI to Routes
- Select the Drop POI button or use Right Click.
- Click anywhere within the map to Add POI. Placement is not required to be along route lines. Any POI can easily be relocated after it is created.
- Add details like POI Icon type, name, detailed description and photos.
- Save to create POI.
- Click and Drag POI into desired position if necessary.
As noted in the steps above, POI markers are not route-line dependent. They can be placed anywhere within the map area, edited into form then moved into position after the fact. They can also be used to mark positions off-route, such as geographical features or viewpoints independent of your GPS route line.
Once saved, your POI will be visible on the map, but will not factor into navigation or trigger turn by turn cues. If you want your marker announced via Voice Navigation, you will need to utilize a Custom Cue.
When to use POI vs. Custom Cues
- Use POI to give a visual reference on the map. Use the POI icons to call out notable things like geographical features, cafes, viewpoints or critical route details into which you may want to embed additional information like URL links, descriptions or photos that will not need to be route-dependent or tethered to your turn by turn navigation.
- Use Custom Cues to communicate routing points you need verbalized during Voice Navigation, included in your cuesheet and embedded within the route-line itself. Custom Cues are ideal for things like easy-to-miss turns, tricky intersections and critical points of navigation.
Editing POI
To edit a POI in the Route Planner, simply Click the desired POI Icon. This will expand into the form displayed when the POI was created. This form allows you to change the POI type, edit Name, URL and Description fields. Additionally this enables you to add photos, delete the POI, Cancel or Route to POI, which will automatically route to a specific POI from the final control point of the route.
The POI Type dropdown menu contains 40 common, activity-specific POI Icons such as Camping, Aid Station, Lodging, General Info and more. These POI Type icons let users know, quickly at a glance, what type of features to expect within a route and where they are located in context.
Viewing POI
On The Ride with GPS Website
On the web, POI icons are shown in their respective positions within a route's display page. Each icon can be actively expanded by clicking to reveal the detailed information, nested notes, URL links and photos contained within.
Embedded Maps
POI really bring maps embedded within your website, blog or journal to life. When routes are published on your website as embeds, they are fully interactive. Viewers are able to click on each POI for more information, zoom and pan within the map display, access the original route page or send the route straight to a device.
Hover or click on the POI icons below for expanded details.
Learn more about embedding a map on your website or embedding multiple routes.
View POI on a Map PDF
Basic and Premium subscribers have the ability to create PDF maps and cue sheets. When the PDF is generated, POI markers are listed on the cue sheet in the order they appear in the route, however by using the orange Rearrange button under the Map Options, they can be rearranged within the list by dragging and dropping into the desired order.
To learn more about creating and customizing cue sheets, visit our help page.
POI on Mobile
Within the mobile app, interactive POI markers will appear in their respective locations along the route. To expand, simply tap the POI icon. POI will display within the app when navigating a route, however they are simply informational and will not trigger navigational cues or be announced via voice navigation.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Will POIs show up on my cue sheet?
- Although you can route to a POI as part of the planning process, simply adding the POI to the map will not add it to the cue sheet at all. It only gets added to the map. We suggest adding a custom cue along with your POI if you want to take notice of it while riding.
- Is there a limit to the number of POIs I can include in a map?
- There is no hard limit to the number of POIs that you can include in a map, but at some point you reach a point where it simply clutters the map with too many icons and obscures the roads.
- What kind of information should I put in a POI?
- This is up to you. We usually recommend putting in places of business or information about rest stops. Maybe a photo to help you find the place but this can only be referenced on the website and mobile app. The POI photo will not show up in a PDF or on any Garmin device.
- I have the Adventure Cycling Association maps, how can I import all the service POIs?
- Check out this detailed article on Working with Adventure Cycling Association Files.