Where we’re going, there are no Maps

Years ago, in the era between the introduction of the iPhone and the modern period of widespread cellular coverage, my wife and I were driving with our quite young children across the vast, unexplored expanse of north-central Pennsylvania, en route to a family wedding. We had plotted out the route and knew where we were going: Eagles Mere, a tiny, former luxury resort town once at the end of a railway line. The town used to attract well-known actors, as well as New York City denizens, who would escape the summer heat and polio outbreaks back in the city.

As we tootled along, chatting with the kids and keeping them occupied, we suddenly went off the grid. We were still on a state highway, not yet turned to a smaller road, and yet there was no coverage. We figuratively slapped ourselves in the head. Had we gotten AAA maps or printed out whatever the technology was of the day—did MapQuest even still exist? No. We relied on having continuous cellular service. Readers, we did not wind up in the forest for a week, discovered by rescuers clad in bark and branches, feeding the children non-toxic berries. But we did learn a lesson.

Eagles Mere used to be a fancy place; it remains beautiful.

Always have a map that doesn’t require cellular access! I mean, duh, of course, but we had been lulled in our coastal urban elitism to expect service, service, everywhere!

Of course, it wasn’t long after that Google introduced a download option; Apple added one for its Maps app a full decade later.1 Downloading a map lets you access nearly everything you need while off the cellular grid, in an area where you don’t have service, when you have just a trickle of data, or when data access is metered and high-cost.

The usual provisos apply: something could go wrong, you might not have access to your iPhone or iPad, the map might be missing details you need, and so on. If you want a belt to go with your suspenders, consider printing out a paper map! Yes, paper still exists.

Common offline features

In both Google and Apple’s mapping apps—say that five times fast—a Download button should appear whenever you search by a name, like a park, business, or city. Otherwise, you have to hunt a bit, as I’ll explain below. Downloadable maps may require from about 150 MB to over 1 GB of storage, depending on the area you select and the amount of detail Apple or Google downloads for that selection.

Search on a place name, and you can immediately download an offline map.

The settings for both apps are quite similar: tap your profile picture in either app, then tap Offline Maps; in Google Maps, tap the gear icon. Now you can change preferences:

Downloads (Apple)/Download preferences (Google): Opt whether to download only over Wi-Fi or over both Wi-Fi and cellular.

Automatic Updates (Apple)/Auto-update offline maps (Google): When enabled, maps are periodically refreshed.

Optimize Storage (Apple): The app automatically purges maps you haven’t used “in a while.”

Sync with Apple Watch (iPhone only): You can also push offline maps to your Apple Watch, which has a lot less storage, but, really, how much are you keeping on it, anyway?

Only Use Offline Maps (Apple): This forces the use of offline maps even when you have an Internet connection, which is useful when you are in one of the bandwidth scenarios above: low throughput or expensive usage-based service. Google automatically switches to an offline map when there’s low throughput available, or you have no connection.

Offline maps have remarkably similar settings between Apple Maps and Google Maps.

Download from Apple Maps

If you search for a city name and there’s an exact best result, a Download button appears in the search result. I’ve also found that if Maps isn’t certain the match is correct, you may have to tap the city link, and then a Download button will appear. Enter a business name, tap the link that corresponds to the firm you want, and you can then tap the more (…) icon and choose Download Map. This also works for street addresses.

If you aren’t offered a Download button, you can use the menu to choose Download Map (left), and then refine your selection.

In all of the above cases, Maps shows you a portrait selection by default on an iPhone and a landscape one on an iPad. Adjust the area shape, and pinch and expand to zoom in or out, then tap Download. The estimated map download size appears above the Cancel and Download buttons.

Manage your offline data by tapping your profile picture and tapping Offline Maps. You’ll see all the stored maps, can delete them, and control settings. Tap a map, and you can then tap Rename, change the included area, or tap Delete Map. In the main Offline Maps view, tap Download New Map (iOS/iPadOS 26) or Add Offline Map (iOS/iPadOS 27) to search for a location and then immediately have the area-selection view appear.

Download from Google Maps

Search for a city name and tap a result. You may have to swipe left in the button bar to see the “Download offline map” link; tap it. If you’re viewing a map, tap your profile picture, then tap “Offline maps.” Tap “Select your own map,” then zoom in or out on the current map area; tap Download when you have the selection you want.

From your profile picture, tap “Offline maps” to view the list of available maps. Tap a map and tap Delete or Update, or tap the Edit (pencil) icon to rename it. From the main view, you can also tap the More (…) button to the right of a map to update, rename, or delete. You can’t change the selected area, however.

Print a goldarned map out

Having a physical map may seem like something from the early 2000s, so long ago few living souls remember it, but it’s an extra backup against calamity. With a color inkjet printer, you can squeeze a fair amount of detail into a letter-sized or A4 page.

Apple Maps in macOS lets you print maps with directions that are probably adequate.

Printing directions via Apple Maps in macOS Tahoe worked surprisingly well. It was like the good old days, but better, offering multiple pages of maps and step-by-step directions. You just get a standard print dialog, with no details to tweak. Google Maps on maps.google.com has a print mode, but it’s lackluster, with no step-by-step directions. In Safari, the preview and printed output were incorrect.

Postscript: Where she’s going, there are no Offline Maps

Of course, right after I wrote this, my older went off on a hike and came back…complaining about the poor performance of Offline Maps in Apple Maps. She was in a not-terribly-remote area in the mountains, about 90 minutes away, with intermittent cellular access. She had downloaded the map before she left, thinking it was successful. But even with no cell access or with the Offline Maps forced-use option enabled, she couldn’t get the offline map to work. Fortunately, the trail was well-signed and full of people, and there was no real chance of getting lost.

Back in Seattle, examining Offline Maps, these out-of-area maps she downloaded showed up as 0 KB. We tried to download the map again, but Apple Maps wouldn’t let us use the trailhead as a landmark. We found a nearby place and tried to download. The progress circle showed that a download was first underway, then complete, yet the download was again 0 KB. This happened repeatedly. More bizarrely, the offline map couldn’t be deleted. I attempted to replicate on my iPhone, where everything worked without error, including using the trailhead as the place name—a Download button appeared as expected.

We didn’t test Google Maps for comparison, since her hike was over, but it’s another reason to download and check that your offline maps are up to date and valid before departing.

[Got a question for the column? You can email glenn@sixcolors.com or use /glenn in our subscriber-only Discord community.]

This came long after the semi-disastrous Apple Maps launch and early years that led many people—my spouse included—to swear off it. ↩