Create and print your own hiking map

How do I print my map free as a PDF? (map.geo.admin.ch)

map.geo.admin.ch is the official, freely usable federal map viewer (Federal Office of Topography swisstopo / geoportal geo.admin.ch). It shows the official national maps of the whole of Switzerland and has a built-in print tool with which you generate a print-ready PDF of your chosen section at no charge. Costs only arise when you print it out (paper/copy shop).

For beginners: start with A4 paper format and enter 1:25'000 as the target scale – that is the hiking standard and fits well on one sheet. Show the coordinate grid; that way you can give your position precisely in an emergency.

Expert tip: print two sheets of the same area – one at 1:25'000 for detail, one at 1:50'000 for the overview. Slip the printouts into a waterproof clear pouch or laminate them. For lasting use in your emergency bag, however, the ordered mySwissMap on waterproof paper is the more robust choice (next section).

1. Choose the section: open map.geo.admin.ch, use the search field to navigate to a place or address and zoom until your area is in view
2. Open the «Print» tool: it is in the menu (second tool at the top left); the later print area is marked on the map with a dark frame
3. Set up: specify the paper format (A3, A4 or A6), portrait or landscape orientation and the desired target scale for a to-scale output
4. Show optionally: the legend of the active map layers and a grid in LV95 national coordinates (E/N) – the latter is invaluable for stating your position in an emergency
5. Fine-tune: keep moving and zooming the map within the marked frame until the section fits
6. Generate the PDF: click «Create PDF for printing» – the finished PDF lands in your downloads and can be printed at home or at a copy shop

Ordering the individual paper map – mySwissMap

If you want a lasting, robust map, swisstopo offers mySwissMap – the «made-to-measure paper map». It is a printed national map whose centre you choose freely: you are not tied to the classic sheet layout, your location lies at the centre of the map. It is ordered via the portal myswissmap.swisstopo.admin.ch.

Material and format: waterproof paper, folded or unfolded, landscape or portrait format. Available scales include the national map 1:10'000, 1:25'000 and 1:50'000 as well as the hiking map 1:50'000, plus special maps. The price starts at around CHF 22.80 (excl. shipping, as of July 2026 – prices may change); volume discounts are available for larger quantities.

Customisation: your own map title and cover colour and – especially handy for hikers – drawing in your own points and routes or uploading a GPX or KML tour file.

For beginners: order a mySwissMap 1:25'000 with your home at the centre. This one map covers your daily surroundings, escape routes and the nearest hiking areas – ideal for the emergency bag.

Expert tip: before ordering, draw in your most important points – your municipality's emergency meeting point, a water source, a shelter, relatives – or upload the GPX track of your standard escape route. That way you carry your personal emergency logistics directly on the map.

Why your own paper map matters in emergency preparedness

Digital maps are convenient, but they have a weak point: they always need power – and that is exactly what fails first in an emergency. During a blackout or a prolonged electricity shortage, at some point you can no longer charge your phone; paper keeps working.

No GPS outage: during a strong solar storm or a disruption of the mobile network, positioning can fail. The paper map plus compass is unaffected by this.

Robust and waterproof: a laminated map or one printed on waterproof paper survives rain, snow and a fall – a smartphone display does not necessarily. And on an unfolded map you see valleys, ridges, paths and alternative routes at the same time, without swiping and zooming.

In the mountains the map is not a prepper quirk but a normative requirement: on white-red-white signposted mountain hiking trails a topographic map is assumed, and on white-blue-white marked alpine hiking trails a compass and altimeter as well (standard SN 640 829a). That is why an up-to-date paper map of your region belongs in your emergency bag.

Map and compass: the basics in brief

A map alone helps little if you do not know where you are. With a simple baseplate compass the paper map becomes a full navigation tool. The most important step is setting the map to north: turn the map (not just the compass) until the north-south lines are parallel to the compass needle and the north of the map points north – then the map matches the landscape.

Determining your position means comparing prominent terrain features – peaks, path junctions, streams, buildings – with the map. For the direction of travel you aim at your goal on the map set to north. If your route deviates: stop, reorient, and if in doubt return to the last known point.

On declination (magnetic declination): the compass needle points to the magnetic, not the geographic, North Pole. In Switzerland this deviation is currently around 3 to 4 degrees east and is slowly increasing. For rough hiking it is usually negligible, but relevant for clean bearings over greater distances. The current, location-specific value is provided by the swisstopo declination calculator. The full guide with the official J+S teaching material is found under «Map and compass».

Note: this information does not replace practical training. For alpine terrain, a map-reading and orientation course is worthwhile (e.g. SAC/J+S).

Which scale for what?

The scale tells you how much reality is reduced – a smaller denominator means more detail. Rule of thumb: for walking in the terrain 1:25'000, for planning and for the overview 1:50'000. Best of all, both.

How to proceed in concrete terms (summary)

1. Define the region: home, daily surroundings and the nearest hiking or retreat areas
2. Quick and free: choose the section on map.geo.admin.ch, print the 1:25'000 as a PDF (A4), slip it into a clear pouch
3. Lasting and robust: order the same region as a mySwissMap on waterproof paper and draw in the emergency meeting points
4. Add the compass: a simple baseplate compass in the emergency bag, practise setting the map to north, know the declination
5. Into the emergency bag: put map and compass permanently into the emergency backpack

Sources: swisstopo / geo.admin.ch (map viewer print function, mySwissMap). Prices as of July 2026, may change – check in the portal before ordering.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• swisstopo map.geo.admin.ch: the federal map viewer with the «Print» tool
• swisstopo mySwissMap: order the «made-to-measure paper map»
• swisstopo Help: printing maps and exporting them as PDF
• swisstopo mySwissMap: material, scales and customisation
• swisstopo National maps: scales and intended use
• swisstopo Hiking maps of Switzerland
• swisstopo Declination calculator: current value for your location
• swisstopo swisstopo app: the same national maps, free of charge
• Guide: Map and compass Navigating with the official J+S teaching material
• Guide: Lost and disoriented When map and terrain no longer match
• Guide: Alert in mountain emergencies Passing on coordinates read from the map
• Guide: Pack an emergency bag Map and compass belong in the go-bag
• Guide: Surviving a power outage Why paper works when there is no power
• Guide: Protection in a solar storm GPS and network outage: paper map plus compass remain
• Guide: Build emergency supplies The map is part of basic preparedness
• Radio: Satellite communication Report your position when there is no mobile network