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minnesota forests: Maps & Airphotos

This page includes links and to help you find airphotos and map data about your property.

Map your property!
It's easy to create a custom map of your property using Google Maps. You can add boundaries, trails, or placemarks to your map, then add text, pictures, links, or video to each of those features. You can choose to keep your map private or to share it with others.

Learn how to build your map:

  1. Check out Google Maps' My Maps user guide.
  2. Come to a Woodland Advisor Airphotos & Custom Maps class (look here for class listings: March 1, 2008 in Brainerd and April 5 in Grand Rapids).
  3. Watch a narrated slideshow called How to create and share a custom map.


Airphotos:
Airphotos online screencapture

Airphotos Online
:
This site offers free low-and medium resolution aerial photos of Minnesota's forested counties. Search photos by location name or by clicking the map. High-resolution digital and hard copy photos can also be ordered through the site.

If you have any trouble finding or ordering your photo, view our Airphotos Online slideshow tutorial.


Interactive custom maps:

Landview screencaptureLandview allows you to create customized maps. Once you zoom in on a location, you can select which layers appear on the map: roads, lakes & rivers, state parks, and many more. Landview also allows you to see how your area has changed over time by viewing historic air photos.

Landview is an excellent application, but has a few quirks. Consider viewing our Landview slideshow tutorial.

NorthStar Mapper: Another custom mapping application for Minnesota is NorthStar Mapper, managed by the Land Management Information Center.


Other sources of map data:
Google Earth is a downloadable application that everybody should try. It takes a few minutes to download and install, but allows you to “fly over” the entire surface of the earth and zoom in on any location you want. The location could be your cabin, a remote temple in Mongolia, or anything in between. As fascinating as it is, Google Earth has highly variable resolution, and the imagery may not be current. Google Earth imagery is not recommended if accuracy is a priority.

More Minnesota maps:  You can find maps of lake depths, public trails, state parks, plant communities, and much more at DNR's Minnesota map resources page.


Learn more:
Attend an upcoming Woodland Advisor / Minnesota Logger Education Program workshop on accessing online airphotos and map data. For class listings, visit the Woodland Advisor class calendar or the MLEP workshop schedule page.


The content on this page was developed by the University of Minnesota Extension for the Minnesota Logger Education Program. The project was funded by the Blandin Foundation.


For more information...

Slideshow: How to create and share a custom map


Slideshow: How to use Airphotos Online

Click to view Airphotos Online narrated slideshow







Slideshow: How to build a customized map using Landview
Click to view Landview narrated slideshow







MFRC visual quality guidelines overview (PDF) or maps of visual sensitivity.

Upcoming DNR timber sale info and auction calendar

MDNR Protected waters information or downloadable maps. (PDF. You may need to adjust the zoom in your PDF viewer.)

Native plant community descriptions

Topographic maps from Terraserver.com

Calculate the distance of a route using the Gmap Pedometer

MN lake depth maps