On the Trail with Google Maps

Trail Charts is a new Google Maps creation tool that allows anyone to create their own Google Map of trails, runs or routes.

To get an idea of what you can create with Trail Charts take a look at this map of the 2012 Olympic Torch Relay Route created with the API. The map shows the complete torch relay route, starting in May in Land's End and ending in the Olympic Stadium, London in July.

To create a map with Trails Chart all you need is a comma-separated or tab-separated text file containing your trail data. Trails Chart comes with a full API and allows for lots of customisation.

You can see an implementation of the Trail Charts API in action on MrHollister.com, which has used TrailCharts to map 99 hikes and trails in the USA.