How to Save a Route on Google Maps: Your Definitive Guide

Want to preserve your perfectly crafted Google Maps route for future adventures? You’re not alone. Saving a route isn’t as straightforward as pinning a location, but fear not! We’ll demystify the process and equip you with all the knowledge you need.

Unfortunately, Google Maps doesn’t offer a direct “save route” button. However, there are several clever workarounds and methods to achieve the same result. These methods rely on leveraging Google’s existing features like saved places (lists), shared links, and offline maps.

Let’s explore these options in detail:

Method 1: Utilizing Saved Places (Lists)

This method is ideal if your route focuses on specific destinations or landmarks. It allows you to create a personalized collection of locations, effectively outlining your planned journey.

1. Define Your Route: Open Google Maps and input your starting point and desired destination(s). Add all necessary stops along your preferred route.
2. Search for Each Location: Carefully search for each point of interest (POI), landmark, or stop along your calculated route within Google Maps.
3. Save Each Location to a List: For each location, click the “Save” button below the location’s name and information. You’ll be prompted to add it to an existing list or create a new one.
4. Create a Dedicated Route List: We strongly recommend creating a new list specifically for your route. Name it something descriptive like “Coastal Highway Trip” or “Downtown Food Tour.” This keeps your route organized and easily accessible.
5. Access Your Saved Route: To revisit your route, go to “Saved” in the bottom navigation bar, then select “Lists.” Find your dedicated route list, and you’ll see all your saved locations in order.
6. Manually Recreate the Route: Although this method doesn’t automatically rebuild the route, you can easily tap each location in your list to get directions from your current location or from the previous stop.

Advantages:

• Organization: Keeps your routes neatly categorized.
• Customization: Allows you to add notes and details to each saved location.
• Flexibility: Easily add or remove locations from your route.

Disadvantages:

• Manual Recreation: Requires manually rebuilding the route each time.
• Doesn’t Save Route Preferences: Doesn’t retain specific route preferences like avoiding tolls or highways.

Method 2: Sharing and Bookmarking the Route Link

This technique allows you to save a snapshot of your route as a shareable link. You can then bookmark this link in your browser or save it in a notes app for easy access.

1. Plan Your Route: As before, enter your start and end points, adding any necessary stops to create your desired route in Google Maps.
2. Share the Route: Click the “Share” button (usually an arrow icon) within Google Maps. This will generate a shareable link to your specific route.
3. Copy the Link: Copy the generated link to your clipboard.
4. Save the Link: Paste the link into a safe place, such as a browser bookmark, a note-taking app (like Evernote or Google Keep), or even an email to yourself.
5. Access Your Saved Route: When you need to access your route, simply click or paste the saved link into your web browser. This will open Google Maps with your route pre-populated.

Advantages:

• Easy Sharing: Simple to share your route with others.
• Preserves Route Preferences: Retains your specified route preferences (avoid tolls, highways, etc.).
• Quick Access: Convenient access through bookmarks or saved notes.

Disadvantages:

• Requires Internet Connection: Needs an active internet connection to access the route.
• Link Can Become Outdated: If Google Maps significantly updates its mapping data, the link might eventually break or show a slightly different route.

Method 3: Taking Screenshots

A very basic, yet surprisingly effective, method is simply taking screenshots of your route and directions. This provides a visual reference for navigation.

1. Plan Your Route: Create your route in Google Maps.
2. Take Screenshots: Take screenshots of the overall route map and each turn-by-turn direction instruction.
3. Organize Screenshots: Save the screenshots in a dedicated folder on your device or in a cloud storage service like Google Drive or Dropbox.
4. Navigate Using Screenshots: Use the screenshots as your guide while traveling.

Advantages:

• Offline Access: No internet connection required after taking screenshots.
• Simple and Direct: Easy to implement.

Disadvantages:

• Manual Navigation: Requires manual interpretation of the screenshots.
• Not Interactive: Doesn’t offer real-time updates or rerouting capabilities.
• Can Be Cumbersome: Managing multiple screenshots can become tedious for long routes.

Method 4: Downloading Offline Maps (Partial Solution)

While it doesn’t save the route itself, downloading an offline map of the area you’ll be traveling through is crucial, especially in areas with limited or unreliable internet connectivity. This allows you to still use Google Maps for navigation, even if you can’t access the internet.

1. Identify Your Route Area: Determine the general area your route covers.
2. Download Offline Map: In Google Maps, tap your profile picture, then “Offline Maps,” then “Select Your Own Map.” Adjust the highlighted area to encompass your route. Download the map.
3. Navigate Offline: When you’re within the downloaded area and offline, Google Maps will use the downloaded map for navigation. You will need to have started the route before going offline.

Advantages:

• Offline Navigation: Enables navigation without an internet connection within the downloaded area.

Disadvantages:

• Doesn’t Save the Route: Doesn’t save the planned route; you still need to create it while you have internet access.
• Map Size: Offline maps can take up significant storage space on your device.
• Limited Functionality: Some features may be limited or unavailable offline.

FAQs: Mastering Route Saving on Google Maps

1. Can I save a route on Google Maps to use it offline?

No, you can’t directly save a complete route with waypoints for offline use. However, you can download an offline map of the area your route covers. While this doesn’t save the route itself, it allows you to navigate within that area even without an internet connection if you started the route while online.

2. How do I share a route with someone on Google Maps?

After creating your route, tap the “Share” button. This will generate a link that you can send to others via text, email, or social media. When they click the link, the route will open in their Google Maps app.

3. Can I edit a saved route in Google Maps?

Since you’re not technically “saving” the route directly, editing depends on the method you used. If you saved individual locations to a list, you can easily add or remove locations from the list. If you saved a link, you’ll need to recreate the route with the desired changes and generate a new link.

4. Is there a limit to the number of places I can save to a list in Google Maps?

Google Maps does not publicly state a hard limit on the number of saved places per list. However, performance may degrade with excessively large lists. It is generally recommended to keep lists reasonably sized for optimal usability.

5. Will Google Maps notify me of traffic changes on a “saved” route?

If you are actively navigating the route (using Google Maps for turn-by-turn directions), Google Maps will provide real-time traffic updates and suggest alternate routes if necessary. This applies regardless of whether you used a saved list or a shared link to initiate the route.

6. How do I access my saved places in Google Maps?

Tap the “Saved” icon (it looks like a ribbon) at the bottom of the Google Maps app. Here you’ll find your saved places organized into lists, including any lists you created for specific routes.

7. Can I save a route with multiple destinations on Google Maps?

Yes, you can create routes with multiple destinations. When planning your route, use the “+” button to add additional stops. You can then use the methods described above (saved places, shared link) to “save” the route.

8. How do I rearrange the order of stops on a route in Google Maps?

While planning your route with multiple stops, tap and hold the three horizontal lines next to each destination. Drag the destination up or down to rearrange the order of your stops.

9. Does Google Maps save my recent searches and routes automatically?

Google Maps keeps a record of your search history and locations visited (if you have Location Services enabled). You can access this information in your Google account activity. However, this is not the same as actively saving a route for future use.

10. Are there any third-party apps that allow me to save routes on Google Maps?

Yes, there are several third-party apps and services that offer more advanced route planning and saving capabilities. These apps often integrate with Google Maps and provide features like route optimization, collaborative route planning, and offline route saving. Researching apps like “RouteXL,” “MyRoute,” or similar options might prove beneficial.

11. How can I delete a saved place or list in Google Maps?

To delete a saved place, find it within your “Saved” locations and tap the “Saved” button again to remove it from the list. To delete an entire list, open the list, tap the three dots in the top right corner, and select “Delete List.”

12. What happens to a saved route link if the destination closes permanently?

If a destination on your saved route link permanently closes, Google Maps will likely flag the location as closed. When you open the route link, you may receive a notification about the closure. You’ll need to manually adjust the route by removing the closed destination.