Hiking

Feature : Hiking

Description

About tagging of ways, points, areas and relations related to hiking.

Group

Hiking

Tags

This page is concerned with tagging of ways, points, areas and relations related to hiking.

Tagging ways, points and areas

Key	Value	Element	Comment	Photo
Ways
highway	path		Preferably used for a hiking path/trail. Follow the photo guide for help with tagging.
	footway		For designated footpaths, i.e. mainly/exclusively for pedestrians.
	track		Rough roads normally used for agricultural or forestry uses etc. Use tracktype=* to describe the surface firmness.
ford	yes stepping_stones		The way crosses through stream or river.
Attributes of ways
surface (optional)	asphalt cobblestone sett concrete wood compacted ground dirt grass gravel etc.		The surface of the trail.
smoothness (optional)	excellent good intermediate bad very_bad horrible very_horrible impassable		The physical usability of a way for wheeled vehicles.
tracktype (optional)	grade1 grade2 grade3 grade4 grade5		Paved track Surface of gravel or densely packed dirt/sand An even mixture of hard and soft materials Prominently dirt/sand/grass, but with some hard materials Only grass, sand and/or soil
trailblazed (optional)	yes		Way segment with frequent way markings (examples; tape/ribbon, painted arrows, metal arrow signs, snow poles)
informal (optional)	yes		Way segment which has not been intentionally established.
incline (optional)	value% up down		For marking a way's incline (or steepness/slope).
sac_scale (optional)	hiking mountain_hiking demanding_mountain_hiking alpine_hiking demanding_alpine_hiking difficult_alpine_hiking		Level of difficulty of a hiking trail, according to the classification of the Swiss Alpine Club: T1 (easiest) to T6 (most difficult). Recommended for mountain trails as well as approach trails
trail_visibility (optional)	excellent good intermediate bad horrible no		Visibility of the trail on ground, based on above classification of the Swiss Alpine Club.
assisted_trail (optional)	yes		Way segment with various safety measures
Infrastructure
tourism	alpine_hut		An alpine hut is a remote building located in the mountains intended to provide board and lodging. It is managed during the opening period.
tourism	wilderness_hut		A wilderness hut is a remote building with fireplace intended to provide shelter and sleeping accommodation. It is not regularly staffed.
amenity	shelter		A small shelter against bad weather conditions. To additionally describe the kind of shelter use shelter_type=*.
shelter_type (optional)	basic_hut		A basic hut is a remote building intended to provide basic shelter and sleeping accommodation.
	lean_to		A lean-to is a shelter with an open wall located in the countryside intended to provide shelter.
	picnic_shelter		Structure on picnic sites to protect from rain. Normally open on all sides.
	rock_shelter		Shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff.
tourism	camp_site		Backcountry camping without facilities. The access is usually restricted to foot, bicycle, canoe or ski. Set backcountry=yes.
tourism	information		Information resource for tourists and visitors. To additionally describe the kind of information use information=*.
information (optional)	board		A board with information.
	map		A board with a map.
	guidepost		Signpost/Guidepost See also Relation:destination sign
amenity	parking		Parking place. Often found at trailheads, can share the name of the trailhead.
amenity	bench		Bench
amenity	toilets		Toilets
tourism	picnic_site		A place where you can have an outdoor picnic. Optional: fireplace=yes. See also fire pit: leisure=firepit
barrier	gate		An entrance that can be opened or closed to get through the barrier.
man_made	cairn		An artificial pile of stones, often in a conical form. It is used by hikers, villagers, pilgrims, etc. as a mark to show the way, a border, or peak of mountain.
man_made	footwear_decontamination		A facility to decontaminate footwear for hikers.
shop	outdoor		Shop focused on selling camping, walking, climbing, and other outdoor sports equipment (Handheld GPS, etc.)
safety_rope	yes length in m		a chain or rope as safety measure on the trail
ladder	yes length in m		a ladder as safety measure on the trail
rungs	yes # of rungs		rungs, stemples or pins as safety measure on the trail
Nature
natural	peak		Top of a hill or mountain (summit) add: name=* ele=*
natural	volcano		A volcano, either dormant, extinct or active
natural	saddle		The lowest point along a ridge or between two mountain tops. add: name=* ele=*
mountain_pass	yes		The highest point of a mountain pass. add, if node is not identical to natural=saddle: name=* ele=*
natural	cliff		A vertical or nearly vertical drop in terrain. It may pose a hazard to hikers.
natural	valley		A valley
natural	ridge		A mountain or hill ridge
natural	arete		A thin, almost knife-like ridge of rock which is typically formed when two glaciers erode parallel U-shaped valleys
natural	water		Lakes, etc. Can use drinking_water=yes/no/treated to describe whether water is potable or needs treatment.
natural	cave_entrance		Entrance to a cave (an underground opening large enough for a human to enter).
tourism	viewpoint		A place with a good view of surrounding area. Can be officially designated or informal.
amenity	drinking_water		A source of drinking water.
natural	spring		A point where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground naturally. Use drinking_water=* to describe whether the water is potable.
seasonal	yes, no, spring, summer, autumn, winter, wet_season, dry_season		Useful for natural features which appear or disappear with differing seasonal conditions.
Additional tags
place	locality		For an unpopulated named place.
name	Text		The common default name.
ele	Number		Elevation above sea level in metres.

Other tags in use without any documentation yet

• https://taginfo.openstreetmap.org/keys/overgrown

Tagging walking and hiking Route Networks

Foot and hiking routes are walking routes, an established course of travel along a set of ways between destinations. They are often named, numbered or otherwise identifiable. A foot route is generally a shorter, easier route, often intended for leisure. A hiking route is generally longer and/or more strenuous and may require experience to be navigated safely.

Routes that are suitable for inclusion in OSM should usually match one or more of the following guidelines:

• The route is signed or otherwise identifiable on the ground.
• The route is established, documented and/or maintained by an organization that is well known or officially responsible for this function (e.g. mountaineering clubs, tourism boards, ...).
• The route itself is shared common knowledge among a significant number of people that are not all mutually connected. This usually means that it is easy to find different sources of information about it online or many people living in the area know about it. Examples for routes matching this criteria include the Haute Randonnée Pyrénéenne or the Greater Patagonia Trail, which are both unofficial and mostly unsigned, but are well known among long distance hikers.

If in doubt, suitability of a route for inclusion in OSM should be discussed with the relevant OSM community.

User contributed routes uploaded to trip planning and travel guide websites should typically not be added to OSM unless other criteria are met.

To tag a foot or hiking route you create a relation with the appropriate tags and add all different ways of the foot/hiking route to this relation. The order of the ways matters. Please see Relation:route#Order matters

Tags of the relation

Key	Value	Explanation
Required
type	route	This relation represents a route.
route	hiking foot	route=foot is used for routes which are walkable without any limitations regarding fitness, equipment or weather conditions. As a guideline, you could say that ordinary shoes or trainers (at a pinch, even flip-flops) are adequate for this type of walking trail. route=hiking is used for routes that rather match Wikipedia's definition: "A long, vigorous walk, usually on trails, in the countryside"). As a guideline, you could say that a hiking trail needs walking shoes or hiking boots because you will encounter sharp rocks and/or heavy undergrowth and/or muddy terrain and/or have to wade through shallow streams. Don't use route=pilgrimage (almost non-existent). Instead, add pilgrimage=yes to a hiking-route.
Recommended
network	iwn nwn rwn lwn	International walking network: long distance paths that cross several countries National walking network: used for walking routes that are nationally significant and long distance paths Regional walking network: used for walking routes that cross regions and are regionally significant Local walking network: used for small local walking routes
Useful and tags. These tags are not at all required, but can provided additional and valuable information
ascent	ascent	The ascent covered by a route in metres. If a route has start and end point at different altitude use descent too
colour	a hex triplet a css colour name	The major colour of the symbol used on the route. Colour code noted in hex triplet format or as CSS/HTML colour name. Example: "#008080" for teal colour in hex triplet, or simply "teal" as a css colour name.
descent	descent	The descent covered by a route in metres. Use it only if it differs from the ascent (different altitude at start/endpoint of a route).
description	a short description	What is special about this route
distance	distance	The distance covered by this route, if known. For information of users and automatic evaluation e.g. of completeness. Given including a unit and with a dot for decimals. (e.g. 12.5 km)
educational	yes/no	When the route is Educational trail
historic	yes/no	When the route is a historic or heritage trail
name	a name	The route is known by this name (e.g., "Westweg")
name:code=*	localised name	For adding localized names in different languages, add additional name:code=* tags with a suffix on the name key, where code is a language's ISO code.
operator	operator name	The route is operated by this authority/company etc. e.g. "Schwarzwaldverein", "Alpenverein"
osmc:symbol	*	Represents the symbol used on the route. Some renderers uses the osmc:symbol=* to indicate a route on the map.
ref	a reference	The route is known by this reference (e.g. "E1"). Node network routes use ref=mm-nn where mm and nn are the node reference numbers.
roundtrip	yes/no	Use roundtrip=no to indicate that a route goes from A to B and instead of being circular (roundtrip=yes).
signed_direction	yes/no	Use signed_direction=yes to indicate that the route is to be walked in only one direction, according to the signposts on the ground. The ways within the relation should be ordered, as they are used to determine the direction of the signposts. (Note: Since 2019, it's preferred not to use oneway=yes anymore, as it could cause confusion with oneway=* as a legal restriction. See discussion on tagging mailinglist).
stage	a reference to a stage	Sometimes longer routes are divided into stages. With this tag a stage reference can be indicated.
state	alternate	Sometimes routes may not be permanent or may be in a proposed state. See also the life cycle tags for this usage.
survey:date	yyyy-mm-dd	Date of the most recent survey
symbol	symbol description	Consider using osmc:symbol=* instead. Describes the symbol that is used to mark the way along the route, e.g., "Red cross on white background" for the "Frankenweg" in Franconia, Germany
website	*	Website that describes the route
wikipedia	language:page title	Wikipedia page that describes the route

Elements of a relation

Routes consist of ways that mark where it leads. For hiking and walking relations it will by typically primarily highway=path, highway=footway, highway=track, highway=steps with some highway=cycleway, highway=service, highway=residential. Sometimes also highway=unclassified and other roads higher in road importance will appear.

A route relation may have one or more ways as elements. A route relation can also have other route relations as elements, called parent relation containing child relations or super relations.

Some mappers also add nodes as relation members, e.g. for major guideposts on the route.

Roles

Most of the time, elements will be added with an empty role. For recreational route relations, a basic functional role set has been approved, see Roles for recreational route relations. The approved roles are: main, alternative, approach, excursion, and connection. When no role is set, main is assumed. The roles are applicable to way members and relation members.

Ways and Relations

Role value	Explanation
None or main	The role value for the main section(s) of a signposted or in any way waymarked route.
alternative	A signposted or otherwise waymarked alternative branching off then rejoining the main route at a significantly different point. The alternative is used instead of a section of the main route.
excursion	A signposted or otherwise waymarked side track which rejoins the main track at or close to the same point where it left, e.g. to visit a place of interest. The excursion is an optional addition to the main route.
approach	Signposted or otherwise waymarked access route to or from transport infrastructure e.g. parking, train station, bus station, cable car. An approach is used in addition to the main route.
connection	Signposted or otherwise waymarked link route from one recreational route to another recreational route and vice versa. A connection is used to switch from one route to another. Note that an approach might act as a connection, e.g. when it ends/begins at a major train station where other routes also pass through. In that case, use the role approach. Given this definition, the connection should appear in both routes involved.
guidepost	A guidepost with directions regarding the path in question.

(the above table is a template, you can edit it directly via this link)

Usage

Foru more details and country specific instructions, see Walking Routes#Usage.

Mapping Projects

To compare and choose your favorite hiking map, there is a dedicated page :

• Hiking Maps

Relief Mapping Projects

• Ideas for a new Hiking Map gather feature ideas for a new OSM Slippy map layer especially for hikers
• Shaded relief maps using mapnik Documentation about rendering a topographical map
• Relief maps Overwiew
• Hillshading with Mapnik Howto

Offline-Maps

• OpenAndroMaps - mostly Android, desktop viewer available
• haihui - offline hiking maps in the browser
• Trekarta - offline maps for Android with hiking mode that visualizes trail difficulty, visibility, OSMC symbols and hiking routes.

Maps for Garmin-devices

• OSM_Map_On_Garmin/Download Here are maps in Garmin image file format people have created from OSM data.

Online-Maps

• MapTiler Outdoor Global outdoor map for hiking and biking with contour lines and hillshading.
• OSMC Wanderreitkarte shows OSM with contour lines and hill shading and hiking routes (Europe only)
• WayMarked Trails (ex-Lonvia's Weltwanderkarte) shows OSM with hill shading and hiking routes, among other interesting layers like MTB and rollerblades.
• Hikebikemap shows OSM with contour lines and hiking and biking routes
• Cyclemap shows OSM with contour lines and biking routes
• WORLD OSM WMS shows OSM with hill shading for Europe.
• Hiking/openhikingmap shows OSM with contour lines and hill shading
• BeyondTracks.com/map Bushwalking maps for Australia, Tramping maps for New Zealand.
• Topotresc Hiking map of the Pyrenees and Catalonia with contour lines, hillshading, official paths (GR,PR,SL), huts, etc.
• sheltermap by pangoSE that shows all types of huts and shelters on a slippy map with OSM walking trails embedded (Outdoors style by thunderforest).
• 4UMaps - topographic outdoor map for hiking and mountain biking.
• openstreetmap.cz - hiking marked trails map of Czech Republic
• Freemap - UK walking map with contours.
• Overpass visualisation.

See Also

• Relief maps
• US National Park Service Tagging
• Proposed features/trailhead
• Proposed relation: Region Topographical use: mountain range / massive / mountain/ valleys
• Proposed features/trailblazed
• Route altitude profiles SRTM Create an altitude profile for routes based on the freely available NASA SRTM3 altitude data.
• OpenTrail OpenTrail aims to be an OSM-based Android app for UK hiking/walking.
• Managing waypoints with OSM Extract waypoints from OSM database.
• [1] Making Your Own Hiking Maps With Kosmos.
• hikingbook.pl This program will create hiking books out of osm files.
• UK Leisure Map A ruleset for Maperitive showing relevant features and UK public rights of way
• GB Leisure Carto A CartoCSS style and Python script for creating maps which use the OSGB projection and grid