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komoot launches Trail View for improved route planning

New feature “brings maps to life” with user-contributed photographs of paths and trails

The route planning and navigation digital platform komoot has launched a new feature called Trail View that adds user-contributed photographs of paths and trails to maps so you can, for example, check whether a route is suitable for riding on a gravel bike and/or with your level of experience before setting out.

“An image recognition technology that uses artificial intelligence to curate images, Trail View has been born out of komoot’s desire to provide its community with the most information-rich portrayal of the trail ahead - through images,” says komoot.

2022 Komoot Trail View - 1 (3)

Trail View is available to all users via the komoot web platform. You just select the Trail View map layer.

Photos contributed by komoot users who have been on that trail already show up as green dots on the Trail View map. You click the dot to view the image. But Trail View doesn’t include all user images.

Find out how to get started with komoot

“Trail View scans all uploaded images and shows only those with paths and trails,” says komoot. “It eliminates images that do not fit the criteria (images that include faces, animals, landscapes, buildings etc).

“To launch Trail View, over 15 million images uploaded to komoot by its community have been automatically scanned to identify approximately one million that show trails and paths. And it will only get better as the community contributes more informative images of trails to help others to visualise their adventure before setting out.”

We all know that what’s shown as a track or trail on a map can vary enormously. It might be well-surfaced or it might be a boggy mess. Say that you’re planning a gravel bike ride with friends who lack experience on anything but asphalt. You can use Trail View to check out whether the route you have in mind is going to be suitable for you all and the bikes you’re riding.

Also, Trail View can help you if you’re looking for a more technically challenging route.

Check out road.cc's favourite rides on komoot

“Clear information about the condition and composition of the trail will help mountain bikers choose the right equipment, hiking families and groups to reduce risk, gravel cyclists to avoid paths with rocks – increasing the likelihood of Type 1 fun all-round,” says komoot.

2022 Komoot Trail View - 2 (2)

“It also provides a reason to get excited as komoot users can now visualise what awaits them on their adventures.”

Trail View is available now to all komoot users

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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4 comments

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Shades | 2 years ago
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I always use Komoot and then sync the route with a Wahoo (can even do it mid-ride if necessary); some features have gone subscription only so may have to start paying in the future.  Open Cycle Map shows national cycle routes in european countries.  This would be a good feature to check out a un-tarmaced path (as some bike paths are) to see if it's road bike friendly, or even to see whether single-track is gravel or MTB.

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huntswheelers | 2 years ago
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Never had any success planning rides with Komoot...the only time I got it to work was to uploaded a pre planned route with Plotaroute...so I don't use it , tried it but a Plotaroute download in the format which works for mine and anyone's GPS unit with a Google earth fly through works for me.... Never failed yet. I pay for the premium version with O.S overlay....

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Sriracha replied to huntswheelers | 2 years ago
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By contrast, I've never had a problem with Komoot. Generally I just drag/drop waypoint markers and let komoot join the dots. Sometimes I plug in a destination and let komoot sort the whole route. Works on my phone or PC.

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Miller | 2 years ago
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Nice idea. I just took a look and there are plenty of photos already there. Seems like you can only get a small hover-over pic though, not a full size image? Maybe that's enough for the intended purpose.

I've been experimenting with using a 360 cam to contribute blue lines to Google Streetview with the aim of adding GSV to some local unsurfaced trails. Here's an example: https://goo.gl/maps/mCCku1VScUx4QEdf7

I can't deliver anything near the same quality as proper Google GSV however.

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