Ride with GPS Launches Singletrack Trail Ratings Layer

Ride with GPS just announced the MTB Trail Ratings map layer, a new planning tool for mountain bikers that displays singletrack alongside difficulty ratings—free for all users on web and mobile. Accessible from the Layers menu, the feature reveals trail names and their difficulty level when users zoom in on any route or ride map, making it easy to locate and mix expert lines or mellow singletrack into any ride.

The layer is powered by OpenStreetMap (OSM), the global open-source mapping database. Ride with GPS also uses two widely recognized tagging systems—mtb:scale:imba (IMBA scale, common in North America) and mtb:scale (Singletrack Scale/STS, frequently used in Europe and elsewhere)—to provide at-a-glance difficulty cues. Of course, ratings can vary by region and are inherently subjective, so RWGPS encourages folks to consider local context when planning trips.

Community input remains critical for this feature. If a local trail lacks a rating, users can right-click in the Ride with GPS Route Planner to jump directly to the OSM editor and add or update attributes such as surface, access, or difficulty. To help first-time contributors, Ride with GPS has published a step-by-step guide to editing OSM.

By combining open data with community contributions, the MTB Trail Ratings layer underscores Ride with GPS’s ongoing commitment to better planning tools and rider-driven maps. We’re always excited to see these upgrades. Learn more at the blog post from RWGPS here.

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