WAY FINDING
around Newcastle and Lake Macquarie
How do you find the safe ways around Newcastle and Lake Macquarie on bike? NCM recommends:
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Using a cycling specific way-finding app
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Using the official council maps, and
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Using NCM's komoot routes
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1. Wayfinding Apps:
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Citymapper
Android​ | Apple -
Komoot​
Android​ | Apple
​​​​​​
2. Council and government resources:
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Transport for NSW Cycleway online map (recommend using the legend to switch off general roads and road shoulders)​​​​​
Google and Apple maps are not great for finding the safest way to cycle between two points, although Apple is probably better in this regard than Google. To overcome this, NCM recommends using a specialist way-finding app like those listed below. Many of these apps use an open Internet map system called OpenStreetMap; NCM volunteers post corrections and updates to this to improve the way-finding results from these apps. Unfortunately none of these apps are perfect; they are listed here in roughly our recommended order based on their way-finding capabilities:
NCM's komoot
NCM uses the Komoot app to ​publish routes and collections of routes for the benefit of the community.
Our profile page is at - https://www.komoot.com/user/newcastlecycleways - and our collections are visible at ​https://www.komoot.com/user/newcastlecycleways/collections/personal
Find a collection that is relevant for your journey and then you can get a set of routes to save to your komoot app to help you navigate; it can even give you turn by turn navigation via voice.
Check out our page of four tourist orientated cycling routes centered around the old Civic train station (now the Newcastle Visitor Information Centre) - https://www.newcastlecycleways.org.au/see-the-city