How to make a custom road trip souvenir map
Your photos live on your phone. The route — the real story of where you went and how you got there — usually lives nowhere. Souvenir Map Maker turns that route into something you'll actually want on your wall: your stops, your roads, your colors, ready to print as a poster. It's free, it takes minutes, and you don't need an account.
We built it ourselves — Jon and Kelly, the couple behind Road Trip Locals — because we wanted our own road trips hanging in our own home, not buried in a camera roll.
Make your souvenir map in five steps
- Add your stops. Search for a city, state, country or landmark — national parks included — or click the map to drop a pin anywhere. Reorder stops with the arrow buttons, and swap any stop for a different place without starting over.
- Show how you got there. Driving legs follow real roads between stops, so the route looks like the trip you actually took. Flights are drawn as a clean straight line, and trains as a dotted one.
- Make it unmistakably yours. Choose colors for the land, ocean, lakes and route, pick your pin shapes, and decide which city names, state lines and labels to show. Drag any label or dot exactly where you want it, and resize them.
- Preview your postcard. Add a title and subtitle, choose your fonts, pick a print size from 4 × 6 up to 18 × 24 inches, and frame the map by dragging and zooming until it looks right.
- Download and print. Download a print-ready PNG and take it to any photo counter, upload it to an online print shop, or print it yourself.
A souvenir worth giving, too
People make these for all kinds of trips:
- A national park road trip you never want to forget
- An anniversary or honeymoon route, framed as a gift
- A family reunion, a move across the country, or a first big trip with the kids
- A bucket-list drive finally checked off
Tips for a print that matches your screen
Screens glow and paper only reflects light, so prints often come out darker or warmer than they looked on screen. The preview includes Lighten for print and Cool for print sliders that adjust only the land, ocean and lake colors — your route, dots, labels and text stay exactly as designed. For a large poster, order a small test print first.
Print it, then frame it
A printed map is nice. A framed one is a keepsake. We print ours at 18 × 24 inches — big enough for the route and labels to breathe — and frame them in white woodgrain, which keeps the focus on the map.
- Download your map and upload the PNG to a photo counter or online print shop like any other photo.
- Order the same size you downloaded. For a large poster, a satin finish keeps glare down once it's framed.
- Order a small test print first if you can — it's the cheapest way to check the colors.
- Frame it, and hang the trip where you'll see it every day.
Our pick: the 18 × 24 white woodgrain frame we use for our own maps.
See the 18 × 24 white woodgrain frame we use
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Keeping and sharing your trips
Your trip is saved automatically in your browser on your device — no account needed. Use Export trip to save a backup file and Import trip to open it again later or on another computer. You can also save favorite looks as templates and complete routes as saved maps.
Common questions
Is the souvenir map maker really free?
Yes. It's free to use and you don't need an account. Open the map maker and start adding stops. Your trip is saved in your own browser on your device.
How do the routes work?
For each stop you choose how you arrived. Driving legs follow real roads between the two stops. Flights are drawn as a straight line, and trains as a dotted line.
What print sizes can I make?
4 × 6, 5 × 7, 8 × 10, 11 × 14, 16 × 20 and 18 × 24 inches, in portrait or landscape. The download is sized for the print you choose.
What's the best size for a framed road trip map?
We print ours at 18 × 24 inches and frame them in white woodgrain. It's large enough for the route and labels to breathe, and ready-made frames in that size are easy to find.
Where can I print my map?
Anywhere that prints photos or posters, such as a local photo counter, an online print shop or a store like CVS. You download a PNG and upload it like any other photo.
Why do my prints look darker or warmer than my screen?
Screens emit light and paper only reflects it, and print shops often add a warm tint. The map maker has Lighten for print and Cool for print sliders that adjust only the land, ocean and lake colors to compensate before you order.
Where is my trip saved, and how do I back it up?
In your browser on the device you used. Use Export trip to save a backup file, and Import trip to load it again or move it to another device.
Still planning the trip itself?
Road Trip Locals has travel guides and road trip itineraries to help you plan the route you'll turn into a map. Explore Road Trip Locals.