Info and map for National/State Parks, Forests, Wildlife Reserves

The Main Map

The main map starts out using the Open Street Map, and is initially centered over the continental U.S. at a zoom level of 5. To move around the map, simply hold down the left mouse button and move it in the desired direction. To zoom in or out, use the mouse's scroll wheel. To magnify a section of the map, right click and drag the magnifying glass to your desired area. To close it, left click.

Zoom and Home

The magnifying glass allows you to zoom in (+) or zoom out (-) while the home button takes you back to the middle of the US.

Cluster Marker

A cluster marker contains a number which indicates the number of park icons in that area. The marker colors indicate the number of icons in the cluster; green less than 10; yellow less than 100; red over a hundred. The zoom level controls the number of icons covered by the marker; further out will decrease the number of clusters, but the numbers will be higher and vice-versa for zooming in. Placing your mouse over a cluster will display a blue polygon showing you the area it covers and clicking on a cluster will zoom you to that area.

Scale Bar

The scale bar helps get a sense of distances and sizes on the map and will automatically adjust as you zoom in/out on the map.

Current Position of Mouse

At the bottom of the map is a small rectangle showing the current mouse position as latitude and longitude. It also displays the current zoom level.

Mini-World

A small globe indicating where on the planet you are currently viewing.

Attribution

The upper right corner rectangle displays the attribution for the current map being displayed.

The Information Tab displays basic information about the selected feature, such as the name, coordinates, brief description, and small image of the feature. Note that a "feature" can be a park, forest, monument, etc.

The Directions Tab displays basic directions to the feature as well as a link to any online maps provided by the features owner, such as NPS, FWS, State, etc), as well as a small google map inset that you can interact with like a regular Google Map. You can also click on "View larger map" to open a new window centered on the features location.

The Weather Tab displays a small blurb about the annual weather patterns at the feature location as well as a weather "widget" showing a weekly weather forecast for the features area.

The Alerts Tab displays any informational (green), warning (yellow), or danger (red) alerts for the feature area. Currently, only alerts for the National Parks exists.

The Search Tab is used to take a user to a particular place, such as a state, feature, or location via lat/lon coordinates. Currently, the Feature Search has not been implemented.

The Map Help displays information about the basemap and various controls that can be found on the map.

The Side Panel Help which is the current panel you are on.

The Layer Panel Help displays help on the Basemaps, Features, and possible future WMS services. Note that you can check/uncheck Features at any time. The number in parenthesis, such as (13) tells you the zoom level at which they will appear, ie. the 13 indicates the features won't be viewable on the map until at least zoom level 13. Note that with zoom levels, the higher the number the more "zoomed in" you will be.

The Options Tab allows a user to turn on and off the Latitude/Longitude grid lines, Time Zone lines, the mini-Globe, and the Map Scale.

The First Section of the layer panel, located on the right side of the map, is for the available list of basemaps. In some cases, a different basemap may be preferable depending on the zoom level and the area you are currently zoomed in to. Note that a number of these maps may not look like much when you are looking from higher above, but as you zoom in they start bringing in levels of detail that might be exactly what you were looking for or could lead to new discoveries. Numbers in parenthesis after the name represents the maximum zoom for that layer. Ex. (20)
The available maps are:

Outoor Maps:

Open Street Map (19) - collaborative project where contributors can freely add new features to the map.
National Geographic @ESRI (18) - developed by National Geographic and ESRI as a multi-scale reference map of the world.
Open Cycle Map (22) - collaborative map geared towards cyclists
Open Topo Map (17) - open source map showing an areas topology
Outdoors Map (22) - shows hiking routes, ski runs, and other useful "outdoorsy" Points Of Interest (POIs).
Landscape Map (22) - covers an areas natural features, such as mountain peaks including their elevation, glaciers, etc. A great map for zooming in to find those new discoveries.
Run, Bike, and Hike Map (18) - another excellent map for zooming in to find the details for an area and making those new discoveries.

Imagery Maps:

World Imagery (18) - An ESRI map providing satellite and aerial imagery.
Ocean (13) - ESRI Ocean basemap.
Earth At Night (8) - NASA provided map displaying the whole earth during the night.

Fun Maps:

Pioneer Map (22) - map with an old 1800's look.
Sunny Map (22) - Bright and light colored. (@JAWG)
Light Map (22) - White with gray tones. (@JAWG)
Dark Map (22) - Dark with gray tones. (@JAWG)
Matrix Map (22) - Dark with bright green tones. (@JAWG)
Watercolor Map (18) - these maps are great if you need to take screen grabs of an area and are gentler on the eyes.
Spinal Map (22) - a map with "devilishy" good looks.

Waymark Overlays: overlays on top of current basemap.

Hiking Trails - lines drawn over the basemap for popular hiking trails.
Cycling Trails - lines drawn over the basemap for popular cycling trails.
Ski Slope Trails - lines drawn over the basemap for popular ski-slope trails.

The Second Section of the layer panel is for the available list of sub features. As noted before, these sub features will only be displayed for the currently selected park, forest, monument, etc. The list of features is fairly entensive and please note they may change over time.

Current set of planned featurs

Emergency: Fire Stations, Police Stations and Hospitals
Cultural: Artwork, Fountains, Galleries, Libraries, Museums, Planetariums, and Theatres
Food: Cafes, Fast Food, Ice Cream, and Restaurants
Historical: Aircraft Wrecks, Archaeological Sites, Boundary Stones, Castles, Cemeteries, Historic Districts, Lighthouses, Mines, Memorials, and Ruins
Inside the Park: Cabins, Camp/RV Sites, Drinking water, Gift Shops, Information, Parking, Picnic Sites, Ranger Stations, Restrooms, Viewpoints, Visitor Centers, Waste, and Wilderness Huts
Natural: Beaches, Caves, Cliffs, Gardens, Geological, Glaciers, Hot Springs, Peaks, Natural Springs, and Stones of Note
Bicycle Parking, Boat Rental, Dive Centers, Marinas, Parks, Playgrounds, and Slipways
Shops/Stores: Bicycle Shops, Convenience Stores, General Stores, Grocery Stores, Outdoor Shops, and Pharmacies
Tourism: Tourist Attractions
Trails: Hiking Trails, Guide Posts, and Maps
Transportation: Airports, Ferry Terminals, Fuel Stations, and Train Stations
Water: Bays/Capes, Dams, Islands, Waterfalls, and Wetlands