What is the map telling me about Forest Service roads, MVUM and public land?
By Chad, founder · Verified for 1.3.1 on October 21, 2026
Tap a road or trail, tap the ground. Here’s what the numbers, the MVUM and the shading mean, and where the map stops and the sign takes over. In the app, the Map Key explains every line and color.
What do I see when I tap a road or trail?
Tap a road or trail for the number on the sign, the vehicles it’s open to, its season and whose land it crosses. Trail cards fold open the published scales: trail class, grade, tread width, allowed uses and trail type.
What is the MVUM?
The Forest Service’s Motor Vehicle Use Map: which National Forest roads and trails are open to which vehicles, and when. SK Maps carries it in the 44 states with National Forest, and it comes with every state download. Check the posted MVUM for the forest you’re in; the sign at the gate wins.
Does SK Maps show BLM roads?
Yes, as BLM routes with their travel-plan numbers, in the 14 states where BLM publishes them.
What does the land shading mean?
Public land is shaded by the agency that manages it, in 48 states, and tapping the ground names the parcel under your finger. Shading is ownership, not permission. Unshaded land is private or has no owner recorded; tap it to check.
What are access easements?
Recorded public access across private land, published by the Forest Service, BLM, Army Corps, Park Service and Fish and Wildlife, in 49 states. The outline can run wider than the road; the recorded document and posted signs govern.
Will the route planner keep me on roads open to my vehicle?
In a motorized mode (Overland or Moto/OHV), planning only uses what the agency lists open to your vehicle. It plans from the agencies’ data, so read the signs as you ride.
What can’t the map know?
A gate closed yesterday, a closure order, a fire restriction or a permit. The map data is updated regularly, and a downloaded state updates itself over Wi-Fi when new data comes out. It’s still a picture of what the agencies last published. The sign at the gate wins.
Getting the map onto the phone first? Prepare your iPhone for offline navigation.
Get SK Maps
SK Maps: Offroad GPS is on the App Store for iPhone and iPad, free to try for two weeks on the annual plan. More in the guides and support.