Have the best Halloween by planning your route on Google Maps
Key things
- You can easily map trick routes using custom lists in Google Maps.
- Save a variety of Halloween destinations with notes and organize your entire spooky season.
- Use Google Maps features like location sharing and offline maps for a safe Halloween night.
Halloween is just around the corner and it’s time to dress up for the spooky season. If you’re like me, you might have trouble keeping track of floating vacation plans. That’s why I use Google Maps to plan the perfect Halloween routes for a trick-or-treating night or seasonal itineraries.
Map out your trick-or-treating route with a customizable list
Whether you’re taking your kids or your friends out for a night of trick-or-treating, you don’t have to rely on memory to hit the best spots. I know when I was little we always had certain houses in mind: while “this one” gave out big candies, “that one” next to the park had a guy who dressed up like Frankenstein and jumped on you. Today, it’s easy to create your own lists with Google Maps, so you can compile your most desired destinations and see your route right in the palm of your hand.
Personally, I make my own lists all the time for myself and my desktop friends. This is how I do it:
- Search and select a business or address in Google Maps and select Impose.
- You will see a number of default Google listings, e.g Favorites, i want to go, Travel plansand Places with an asterisk. Below these you can find any custom lists you’ve created in the past. Select at the bottom New list.
- Come up with a name for your Halloween-themed list and you’re good to go.
To take it a step further, you can add notes to these saved locations. For example, it might make sense to note which houses on your trick route allow your kids to use the toilet, or which houses have the scariest decorations.
You can also use Google’s own lists for more than one trick-or-treating night. I recommend mapping out your entire spooky season and marking the spookiest hayrides or theme markets. For example, I’ve created a list of places in Portland, Maine that host Halloween-related events throughout the month, from a “Spooktacular” latte art contest at a local coffee shop to seasonal theater performances.
After saving each location, I added a note with the date and time of those events along with the website. You can easily Share these lists with your friends and family so everyone can access your custom Halloween maps from their respective devices.
Check out Google’s recommendations for popular Halloween spots in your city
Earlier this year, Google stopped updating its Maps app and added up-to-date recommendation lists. Just search for the city you live in (or travel to) in Maps, then swipe up to find “curated lists of recommendations from people who know the city well,” according to an announcement on Google’s blog. Google recommendations are organized into three categories:
- 🏆 The best list – for “long-term favorites”
- 🔥 Trends – weekly updates with popular Map destinations
- 💎 Gems – lesser known but popular places
As far as I can tell, Google doesn’t create a list for a specific season. However, I imagine that as we approach Halloween, Trends list would be good to look at where people celebrate the spooky season.
Use Google Maps to stay safe on Halloween night
Although Halloween is supposed to be scary, you don’t have to add real-life scares to the equation. There are many ways to ensure a safe Halloween, including using Google Maps features like real-time location sharing and offline maps.
Location sharing
Department for the night? By sharing your location, you can keep track of your people. Whether you’re a parent letting your kids cruise on trick-or-treat nights or doing dress-up bars with friends, you can easily track each other on Google Maps.
Offline maps
In addition, Google allows you to download offline maps if you are heading to an area with unreliable service. This way, you’ll still be able to see road names and addresses, search for routes, and access your saved locations as you wander around on Halloween night.
In my experience, I have been able to see my saved lists even when I don’t have access to mobile data. For example, when I’m traveling abroad, I can still open Maps, track my blue dot, and navigate to saved destinations. This is one of the reasons I like saving places on Maps. This means that you can’t always see more details about saved locations without the service, nor can you look up the route if you turn around. Downloading offline maps is therefore the safest bet.
Although the best laid plans usually change, it’s nice to get going. Using Maps helps me maximize my time in the world. When I set a schedule in advance, even if it’s a loose one, I can be more present in the day. Plus, sharing collaborative lists in Maps allows my family and friends to feel a part of the process and takes the burden off one person to plan everything. So this Halloween, if you’ve got one (Google Maps), spook it (make a Halloween bucket list)!