How to Plan a Road Trip in Google Maps: Multiple Stops, My Maps and Campsites

Google Maps handles directions and navigation. Google My Maps lets you create a custom map with places, layers and saved directions. For a multi-day road trip, use My Maps as your planning overview and open the day's destinations in Google Maps when you need driving directions.

Build the overview on a computer, where it is easier to compare places and organize layers. Before leaving, check that you can find the information you need on the phone you will take.

Begin with your departure point, travel dates, overnight locations and return deadline. Then decide how much driving fits around the activities you want to do.

An overnight stop gives the day a clear endpoint. It also becomes the next day's starting point, which makes backtracking and unrealistic transitions easier to notice.

Here is an illustrative three-day trip from Montréal to Parc national de la Jacques-Cartier, with two nights at one campground. It demonstrates how to organize a map; it is not a tested itinerary or a statement of current availability. Choose dates when your campsite and planned activities are operating.

Sépaq lists Des Alluvions campsites in its reservation system. Check the individual site, dates, equipment rules and arrival instructions before making it a fixed part of your trip.

At this stage, broad locations help you see the shape of the journey. Before departure, replace them with the exact meal stop, entrance, parking area and overnight location you intend to use.

Create a separate route for each day. For Day 1 of the example, the order is your Montréal departure address, your selected stop in Trois-Rivières, then the campground arrival point.

On a computer:

1. Open Google Maps and select Directions.
2. Enter your starting point and destination, then choose driving.
3. Use Add destination for another stop.
4. Drag the destination entries into the order you want.

On iPhone or Android:

1. Find your destination and tap Directions.
2. Open More, then Edit stops.
3. Add and reorder the stops, then tap Done.

Google documents a limit of nine stops, including the final destination, in addition to the starting point. See its computer instructions or mobile instructions for the current interface.

Keep optional places out of the day's committed driving sequence until you decide to visit them. A map full of interesting possibilities is useful; a route that sends you to every possibility can quickly become impractical.

If one day needs too many stops, split it into morning and afternoon routes. Keep the shared stop at the end of the first route and the beginning of the second so the handoff is clear.

On a computer, open Google My Maps, sign in and choose Create a new map. Give it a recognizable name, such as "Jacques-Cartier camping trip," and put your travel dates in the description. Google's map creation guide covers the initial setup.

Use one places layer called "Stays and useful stops." Add the campground, your meal stop and your selected city parking location. Search for each place, inspect the result, then choose Add to map. If a result does not identify the correct entrance, use the operator's directions to resolve the location before relying on it. See Google's instructions for adding places.

Next, create the daily routes:

1. Select Add directions.
2. Enter the first day's start and finish.
3. Use Add destination for the intermediate stop, arranging the route in travel order.
4. Rename the resulting directions layer "Day 1: Montréal to camp."
5. Repeat for Days 2 and 3.

Each set of directions occupies its own layer. Google explains this in its My Maps directions guide.

You now have four layers: one for useful places and three for daily drives. Add a fifth, "Alternatives," for places you might use if your plans change.

My Maps supports up to ten layers. For a longer journey, group related days or split the trip into regional maps. Use the layer checkboxes to hide alternatives while reviewing the confirmed plan. Google's layer guide explains the available controls.

For the example trip, hiding the alternatives should leave a simple picture: travel to camp, spend a day in the park, then return via Québec City. If the map looks complicated, inspect which optional stops have become commitments.

A campground name alone leaves several questions unanswered. Where do you check in? Which entrance should you use? Does your booking cover the site you pinned?

Keep a short note with each overnight location:

• Arrival and departure dates.
• Campground sector and site number, once confirmed.
• Official booking page and operator contact.
• Check-in instructions and any arrival deadline.
• Vehicle or equipment restrictions relevant to your group.
• The date you last checked the information.

For Des Alluvions, use the specific campsite details in your Sépaq confirmation. Do not assume that every site in the same sector has identical facilities or equipment rules.

Use a clear status label such as "candidate" or "booked." Change the label only when the reservation is confirmed. Keep confirmation codes and other private booking details in your own trip records, especially if you plan to share the map widely.

An alternative campground can stay in the alternatives layer until you need it. If you change overnights, check both the drive into the replacement and the following day's departure. A small change to the map can move a substantial part of the next day's schedule.

Give each day a short time budget alongside the route. Include meals, parking, check-in, activities and the time needed to set up camp.

For example, suppose you choose to leave at 9 a.m. and aim to arrive at camp by 5 p.m. That gives you eight hours. If you reserve one hour for lunch, two hours for an activity and one hour for breaks and arrival tasks, four hours remain for driving.

That is an illustrative calculation, not a drive-time estimate for the Québec example. Compare your own allowance with the current route estimate and adjust the plan before committing to another stop.

A useful daily note is:

Departure time: __. Driving allowance: __. Planned stops: __. Activity time: __. Arrival target: __. Optional stop to remove if delayed: __.

Keep hikes separate from driving legs, including the time needed to reach the trailhead, park and return to the vehicle. For a more detailed overnight-trip worksheet, use our camping road-trip planning guide.

In My Maps, open Share and choose who should have access. Give companions the access they need, and keep a personal trip map private unless there is a reason to make it public. Google's sharing guide explains the settings.

Ask a travel companion to open the link before departure. That catches account and access problems while you still have time to fix them.

Google's instructions for viewing custom maps on a phone point to You, then Maps, in the Google Maps app. Use My Maps in a browser to create or edit the custom map.

Treat viewing your custom map and starting navigation as separate checks. Before driving, open the intended destination in Google Maps and review the route and stop order there. Do not assume that seeing a custom route line means the entire trip is ready for turn-by-turn navigation.

For the example, check Day 1's campground destination on your phone, then find Day 3's city parking location. You should be able to identify both without searching through the whole trip again.

On iPhone or Android, open your Google Maps profile menu, choose Offline maps, then Select your own map. Adjust the download area and save it while connected. Cover the full driving route and the surrounding area you may need.

Google's offline driving guidance requires the entire route to fall within the downloaded area. Offline use does not provide traffic information, alternative routes, or walking, cycling and transit directions. Availability also varies by country or region. See the official instructions for Android and iPhone.

Before departure, disconnect from the network and check the information you expect to use. Keep booking details and arrival instructions accessible separately. For a hike, prepare the appropriate trail map as its own task.

Our offline trip-planning and hiking-map guide explains what to check for each part of an outdoor trip.

Once your map has a sensible route, you can organize the wider trip around it: how long to stay, which activities fit, where to sleep and what needs to happen between destinations.

In Xploreum, describe your trip to Xavier with your starting point, dates, group, budget, vehicle and preferred activities. Include any confirmed campsites or other fixed commitments. Xavier helps build a mapped, day-by-day Xpedition that you review as you go.

For this example, you could start with:

Help me plan three days from Montréal around Parc national de la Jacques-Cartier. We are two adults traveling by car with a tent. We want two nights at the same campground, one day for a moderate hike and time in Québec City on the return. Ask me for our dates, budget and booking status before building the itinerary.

Give Xavier the actual details of any reservation you already hold. Complete bookings with the relevant operator and check current access conditions before traveling. See the Xploreum FAQ for current product features and account access.

If you are still choosing your planning tools, compare the options in our road-trip planner guide.

Build your Xpedition with Xavier.

Google's help pages and the Sépaq reservation listing were checked on November 11, 2026. Google's interface labels and limits can change, so confirm them in the app before you rely on a step.

• Google Maps Help: Get directions and show routes, computer. Accessed November 11, 2026.
• Google Maps Help: Get directions and show routes, iPhone and iPad. Accessed November 11, 2026.
• Google My Maps Help: Create a map. Accessed November 11, 2026.
• Google My Maps Help: Add and edit places. Accessed November 11, 2026.
• Google My Maps Help: Add directions. Accessed November 11, 2026.
• Google My Maps Help: Layers. Accessed November 11, 2026.
• Google My Maps Help: Share, download or print a map. Accessed November 11, 2026.
• Google Maps Help: View your My Maps in Google Maps, iPhone and iPad. Accessed November 11, 2026.
• Google Maps Help: Download areas and navigate offline, Android. Accessed November 11, 2026.
• Google Maps Help: Download areas and navigate offline, iPhone and iPad. Accessed November 11, 2026.
• Sépaq: Des Alluvions campsites, Parc national de la Jacques-Cartier. Accessed November 11, 2026.
• Xploreum: Product FAQ. Accessed November 11, 2026.