Urbex Map | How to Create Your Own Map with Google My Maps
One of the most practical solutions for organizing your Urbex locations is to use Google My Maps , the Google tool that allows you to create customized maps with locations, layers, icons, colors, lines and paths.
It is particularly useful for those who are building up their own location archive over time, because it allows you to collect locations to be verified, known locations, parking lots, points of interest and routes in a single map.
The map can also be viewed directly from the Google Maps app using the same Google account.
In this article
What is Google My Maps?
Google My Maps lets you create custom maps using your Google account.
Unlike regular Google Maps, a My Maps map can be organized to suit your needs, adding pins, lines, shapes, paths, and different layers of information .
For an Urbex enthusiast, it can become a sort of personal geographic database , in which to collect and organize all the identified locations over time.
How to create an Urbex map
The map is created from the browser.
Sign in to Google My Maps with your Google account and select "Create a new map" .
Once you open the map you can edit the name and description, for example: "Personal Urbex Map" or organize it by area: "Urbex Lombardy" , "Urbex Piedmont" , etc.
Google allows you to create a map with up to 10 layers , while each layer can contain up to 2,000 elements including places, lines and shapes.
How to organize your map with layers
Layers are probably the most useful feature of My Maps for creating a tidy Urbex map.
Instead of putting everything in the same group, you can divide the information by category.
For example:
Location Urbex
Location to be verified
Locations already explored
Parking lots
Routes
Points of interest
Historical information
Each layer can be activated or deactivated . This allows, for example, to display only the locations without showing parking lots and routes.
An even simpler organization might be:
Level 1 — Location
All structures identified.
Level 2 — To be verified
Interesting buildings that still need to be explored further.
Level 3 — Parking
Useful places to leave your car.
Level 4 — Paths
Roads and routes to take into consideration.
This way the map remains readable even when the amount of information increases.
Tokens, icons and colors
Within My Maps you can place pins directly on the map or add a location through search.
Each marker can be customized with icons and colors .
This feature is very useful for creating a visual legend.
For example:
🟢 Green → location verified
🟡 Yellow → location to be verified
🔴 Red → location no longer available
🔵 Blue → parking
⚪ Grey → point of interest
It's not necessary to use these exact colors: the important thing is to establish a logic and always keep it the same.
My Maps also allows you to apply uniform styles or assign different colors and icons to individual elements.
Add lines and paths
In addition to markers, you can draw lines and shapes on the map.
This function can be used, for example, to indicate:
a road route;
a secondary road;
a journey on foot;
a path;
an area to avoid;
a particularly interesting area.
To create a line, simply use the "Draw a line" tool, select the points on the map and save the route with a name.
In an Urbex map it can therefore be useful to have a layer dedicated exclusively to paths .
How to organize parking and access points
Another interesting use of the markers is to create a small logistical organization of the location.
For example, for a given area you can have:
📍 Location
The main point of the building.
🅿️ Parking
The place where you can leave your car, when permitted.
📌 Reference point
An easily recognizable element nearby.
➜ Route
The road or route to follow.
In this way the map not only serves to remember where a location is , but also to store all the useful geographical information connected to it.
Of course, any information regarding access must be considered separately from simple geographic location: an abandoned location may still be on private property .
How to use the map when searching
The map can become a research tool that grows over time.
When you find a possible abandoned building, you can add a marker and place it in the "To be checked" layer.
You can then add information to the description such as:
name of the structure;
old business;
year of abandonment, if known;
source of information;
any photographs;
research status;
date of last inspection.
Once you gather enough information, you can move the point to the appropriate layer or change its color and icon .
In this way the map gradually becomes a real personal archive of Urbex searches .
How to see your map on Google Maps
One of the coolest features is the ability to view the My Maps map directly within Google Maps .
It is important to use the same Google account that was used to create the map.
From computer
Open Google Maps and log in with your account.
Go to:
Saved → Maps
Here, Google displays the My Maps maps created or viewed with that account. Selecting a map opens it and, if necessary, returns to My Maps to edit it.
From smartphone
In the Google Maps app:
You → Maps
Here you can find the My Maps maps associated with your account and view them directly on the map.
This is especially convenient when you're on the move: the map is prepared on the computer with My Maps and then consulted directly from Google Maps on your phone .
My Maps, on the other hand, is a tool designed to be created and edited via a browser; the My Maps app is not available as a standalone Android application.
An example of organization
A good Urbex map might be structured like this:
Level | Usage |
🏚️ Location | Locations identified |
🔎 To be verified | Possible locations still to be explored |
📸 Explore | Locations already documented |
🅿️ Parking | Parking and rest areas |
➜ Routes | Roads and routes |
ℹ️ Info | Landmarks and additional information |
Within each level it is then possible to use different colors and icons to make the various elements immediately recognizable.
The important thing is not to create a structure that is too complicated: a map must be quick to read and easy to update .
Conclusions
Creating your own Urbex map with Google My Maps is an easy way to organize your locations and all their related information over time.
The ability to use layers, markers, icons, colors, lines, and paths allows you to transform a normal map into a real personal archive.
The biggest advantage is that the map can then be viewed through Google Maps with the same account , making the collected information easily accessible even from your smartphone.
For those who are constantly looking for new locations, a well-organized map can over time become one of the most useful tools for researching, cataloging and keeping track of your Urbex archive .
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