I’m a true map buff, a ‘Cartophile’ as its called in certain circles. Sometimes i spent hours staring at maps planning new adventures. To have a good look at the terrain your going to be running trough is an important part of prepping for a safe run. It prepares you to what to expect out on the trial & create a certain “map in your mind” over the route. Especially when the weather turn or the visibility suddenly deteriorates it good to have a certain idea (from your metal map) what your position is relative to the paper map so you can safely make your way down out of the clouds.
I might write an more in depth article about orientation on trail runs later-on. This article is about where to find your maps & descriptions about marked trails to prepare for your runs in Norway. Nothing beats printed local maps bought in the tourist information center or the local book store. Paper-maps are far more detailed & have a lot of extra information about the area & points of interest printed on them.
In advance of your arrival in the area you might rely heavily on that what is available on the web to plan your run. Down below i list some of my favorite online map services i use for planning purpose. Most of these sites with tour suggestions are in Norwegian only so have your google translate plugin ready on your browser!
Here are some of my personal favorites:
Kartverket
Most of the detailed topographical maps in Norway get published the the national map service. Most of their maps are public data and can be printed or downloaded freely. On the map page, Norgeskart.no, you can print parts of the map. It also has several of layer & map options to turn on & off. The Landkart & Raster map-layers from Kartverket are also used on this site on all the online maps.
Some useful options in the menu:
Different map styles can be selected here, i use both Landkart and Raster a lot (Raster is slightly more detailed in my opinion ( turns to black & white on its most detailed)
- ‘Hiking & outdoor recreation’ options to turn on marked walking trails, trail information & Winter x-country skiing tracks
- ‘Referencemarks’ UTM grid, (1x1km squares), useful to hget your location on the map if you don’t have one on your GPS device
- ‘Skriv ut’ Print your map directly. Both A4 & A3 format (remember to select the options above first if you want them to be printed on your map).
DNT – ut.no map services
The map service from Ut.no also uses Kartverkets maps as background but what is unique with its amount hiking trails added by its users. There are far more trails that user have provided then the red lines show on the map.
Turn on the ‘Turforslag’ toggle to show all the hiking suggestions provided by private users and other organizations. Most to all information on the site is in Norwegian, a google translate app on the browser might be of good help to translate some of the text.
Ut.no web service from the Norwegian tourist organization (DNT), together in a partnership with Statskog, Friluftsrådenes Landsforbund og Kartverket.
Norgeskart Outdoors phone APP
Free & paid pro (with more options) map app that uses kartverkets map layers. Easy to turn on and off different extra layers with information.
I use this app frequently if i just quickly want to check my position or if I’m going in the right direction. The Offline map option on the pro version comes quite handy if your running a short round without having a paper map in your pack.
Some of the useful functions:
free
- Detailed maps from Kartverket
- Tracking & route plotting functions
- Rotate the map to the direction your going or keep it light up with the north.
Shows the direction your running on the map (gps-direction) with a black line when available - Blue arrow for the direction your device is pointing
- Import/export av GPX og KML
Pro
- Download & save parts of the map in advance so they are available inn the app when you have no connection
- Access to the desktop browser portal norgeskart.avinet.no
- Synchronize your trails-points and other data with other devices and the online norgeskart portal
Memorable additions:
- Friluftsrådenes Godtur map – Shows different hiking suggestions on the map.
- kartutskrift.no – Easy website to print kartverkets topographical maps, quick to add UTM grids ect.
- Friluftsrådenes landsforbundt Telltur map – Shows different hiking suggestions on the map. Users can also register that they have walked the round and register all the trips they have completed
- NVE Avalanche risk map – Useful for planning winter ski touring trips. Shows terrain with slopes over 30 degrees in red and the possible avalanche path
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