USFS has posted KMZ files with trail data for Pacific NW

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Joseph Elfelt
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USFS has posted KMZ files with trail data for Pacific NW

Post by Joseph Elfelt » October 1st, 2016, 6:45 am

Yesterday by chance I happened to look at the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest website and followed this link to their “Maps and Publications” page.
http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/okawen/ma ... rdb5262344

If you scroll to near the bottom of that page you find a section titled “National Forest trails in the Pacific Northwest”. That section has links to close to 20 KMZ files with trail data. The text states that this is the best available data but is not perfect.

Lots of software can open these KMZ files. For example, the simplest way to open one of these files with Gmap4 is to make your link like so:
_https://mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4.php?q=__________________
Replace the underline with the full http link that points to a KMZ file and then paste the entire link into a browser.

The embedded map you see below displays the KMZ file for the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. If you click a trail you will see a popup with some attribute data.

Thank you to the folks at the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest for posting this trail data. And while I am not complaining, this trail data would be even more useful if this data was also loaded onto the ‘authoritative’ GIS server that the FS operates. Hint. Hint.

Oopsie - Something is amiss since the following link is supposed to be an embedded map.


David.97005
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Re: USFS has posted KMZ files with trail data for Pacific NW

Post by David.97005 » October 1st, 2016, 7:49 am

its odd that te gorge trails stop at the outdated pre-2009 wilderness boundary, and not the current boundary of the expanded wilderness, which includes the Gorge 'face' as put in law in 2009, Public Law 111-11

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VanMarmot
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Re: USFS has posted KMZ files with trail data for Pacific NW

Post by VanMarmot » October 1st, 2016, 2:47 pm

I downloaded the files for the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest and over-laid some of my actual tracks. Based on that, I'd say that the USFS "tracks" are often just line approximations of where a trail really is. And there are lines for trails that haven't seen use in 40+ years. So, while these files are interesting and yet another piece of info to consider when planning a trip, I wouldn't take them as definitive. They also don't distinguish too clearly between trails, old roads, OHV tracks, and snowmobile trails, so your "trail" might not actually be that.

Joseph Elfelt
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Re: USFS has posted KMZ files with trail data for Pacific NW

Post by Joseph Elfelt » October 1st, 2016, 2:53 pm

I suspect that the data quality varies by forest. Pity there is not some metadata to shed light on that point.

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adamschneider
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Re: USFS has posted KMZ files with trail data for Pacific NW

Post by adamschneider » October 1st, 2016, 3:11 pm

Every time I look at USGS/USFS maps on my GPS when I'm out hiking, I'm simultaneously impressed by the accuracy of the contour lines and dismayed by the inaccuracy of the trails.

If I want to download trail data these days, I use OpenStreetMap data via GraphHopper's GPX export function. Here's an example (north side of the Muddy Fork valley): https://graphhopper.com/maps/?point=45. ... F+Outdoors

Check out the discrepancy between the accurate OSM trails (blue) and the trails on the USFS map (dashed red and dashed black):
Image

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texasbb
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Re: USFS has posted KMZ files with trail data for Pacific NW

Post by texasbb » October 1st, 2016, 6:20 pm

adamschneider wrote:Check out the discrepancy between the accurate OSM trails (blue) and the trails on the USFS map (dashed red and dashed black):
Image
How do you know it's the OSM that's accurate? Not questioning you, just curious.

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adamschneider
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Re: USFS has posted KMZ files with trail data for Pacific NW

Post by adamschneider » October 1st, 2016, 6:49 pm

texasbb wrote:How do you know it's the OSM that's accurate? Not questioning you, just curious.
Because I've compiled lots of GPS tracks, including my own, from the trails around Mt. Hood in an effort to create a good solid data set. The OSM data matches my files almost exactly.

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aiwetir
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Re: USFS has posted KMZ files with trail data for Pacific NW

Post by aiwetir » October 1st, 2016, 8:44 pm

Or I used this tool which compiles all these tracks and magically slides the trails over the GPS traces

I'd post an image but I'm mobile

http://strava.github.io/iD/#background= ... 81/45.3973
- Michael

matimeo
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Re: USFS has posted KMZ files with trail data for Pacific NW

Post by matimeo » November 2nd, 2016, 8:27 am

I bumped into this information on the USFS site in the early this year or late last year. You can actually import the KMZ files into Google Maps by using the "My Maps" feature. I've actually built up a database that has all of the trails in my surrounding area, and I can edit trailhead information to include links with information or brief personal trip reports.

It's pretty cool because now I can just pull up google maps and get a visual of all the trails out there- it makes trip planning a lot simpler.

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