Parks Should Be Identified on Route Maps to Enhance Navigation and Travel Experience.

Outline for the article

• Opening hook: route maps aren’t just about where to go—they shape how you experience a journey.

• Core idea: parks belong on route maps because they’re meaningful waypoints for rest, scenery, and recreation.

• What doesn’t belong as a standout feature: highway intersections, utility poles, building permits—and why that’s okay.

• How to present parks clearly: icons, color, labels, legends, and accessibility considerations.

• Tie-in to HFC Designer I & II topics: points of interest, user experience, data quality, and map storytelling.

• Practical tips for students: who the map is for, how to test readability, and how to gather feedback.

• A light detour: how digital maps and real-world data sources shape map design today.

• Quick recap and takeaways.

Which items should you highlight on a route map? A quick guide you can actually use

Let me start with a simple question: when you’re sketching a route map, what should you point to, and why does it matter? The answer hinges on how the map will be used. For many route maps, parks rise to the top as a standout feature. They’re not just green shapes on a legend; they’re opportunities. Places where people can rest, stretch, let kids explore, or grab a bite after a long leg of travel. Parks offer context—scenic value, shade, a place to enjoy a moment of calm amid movement. When you’re designing a map for a broad audience—families on a weekend outing, students exploring a campus-adjacent zone, or travelers looking for a scenic detour—parks become a natural anchor point that enriches the journey.

Contrast that with other potential map elements. Highway intersections are essential for navigation in many contexts, but they aren’t necessarily standout landmarks for a points-of-interest (POI) map. They’re functional—things you might use to plan a turn or estimate travel time. Utility poles? They’re infrastructure details that tend to clutter a map without enhancing the traveler’s decision-making. Building permits? Those are administrative artifacts that don’t inform the traveler’s route or experience. In short, not everything useful to a city planner translates into a visible, traveler-facing feature on the map.

What exactly makes parks so well-suited as map highlights? Think of parks as multipurpose landmarks. A good park pin on a route map signals:

• A potential rest stop: a shaded bench, a picnic area, or a restroom facility.

• A natural or cultural highlight: a botanical garden, a pond, a historic site, or a lookout point.

• A leisure option: a playground, a hiking trail, or a scenic overlook along the route.

• A social cue: places where families or groups often gather, making the route feel inviting rather than purely functional.

When you annotate parks on a map, you’re doing more than marking a location. You’re guiding a traveler’s mood and choices. That’s a big deal for HFC Designer topics, where the design must balance precise navigation with human experience. You’re helping someone decide whether a leg of the trip includes a pause for coffee, a short stroll, or a longer outdoor break. The map becomes a conversational partner rather than a cold coordinate list.

How to present parks so they actually help users

Clarity is your best friend here. Use a distinct, legible symbol for parks and keep it consistent across the map. A simple tree icon or a green rounded square often works, but pick something that reads well at the map’s scale and is accessible to color-blind readers. Pair the symbol with a concise label, for example, “Riverside Park” or simply “Riverside Park – rest area.” If you’re targeting families, you might add a tiny indicator for kid-friendly amenities (playground, pavilion) in the label or as a secondary icon.

Color matters too. A calm, nature-inspired palette—greens or teal greens—helps parks pop without shouting. Make sure the legend explains the iconography clearly. Avoid color alone to convey meaning; pair color with text or symbols so someone who’s non-visual can still glean the information.

Scale and density are important. On a regional map, parks will be fewer but larger features. On a neighborhood or campus map, you’ll want a higher density of smaller green areas. In both cases, maintain legible text and avoid jamming too many labels into a tight space. If a park’s label would overlap a road or another feature, place the label strategically and consider a leader line to keep the map readable.

Accessibility considerations should shape your choices too. Use high-contrast colors for text against the park symbol, and ensure labels are large enough to read at typical viewing distances. If you’re producing an online map, consider a text-friendly mode or a screen-reader compatible legend so everyone can navigate comfortably.

Connecting to the bigger picture: how this ties to HFC Designer I & II topics

In many HFC-related design contexts, the map is more than a picture—it’s a decision-support tool. The right POIs can influence how a route is perceived and used. Parks, as core examples, demonstrate how information shapes behavior. They remind designers to think about who is using the map and why. Is the map for casual travelers seeking scenery? For students on campus exploring green spaces between buildings? For commuters who want a quick, restful detour? The answers guide what to emphasize and how to present it.

Data quality is another thread worth pulling. Parks come from parks departments, national or regional GIS datasets, or crowdsourced community maps. When you pull data from different sources, you’ll want to verify consistency: are the park polygons accurate, is the naming up to date, and do the park boundaries align with the street network? In practice, that means a quick data check, zoomed-in verifications, and sometimes small edits to ensure the map tells the right story.

A little tangent you might enjoy: the shift from static to dynamic map design

If you’re curious about how modern route maps evolve, you’ll notice a trend toward dynamic, context-aware maps. On a static map, you’d mark a park and call it a day. On a dynamic map, parks can reveal more when you hover or tap: amenities, opening hours, event notices, or suggested activities. This adds a layer of interaction that aligns with what many travelers want in real life—instant, relevant options without cluttering the screen.

To get there, designers lean on robust data feeds, thoughtful tagging, and careful user testing. Tools like ArcGIS, QGIS, and even consumer-grade platforms help you shape a map that’s both accurate and delightful to use. It’s less about cramming every possible feature into the map and more about curating a small, purposeful set of POIs that truly support the traveler’s journey.

Practical tips you can put into action

• Define your user: Are you designing for families, students, tourists, or daily commuters? The audience determines which parks to highlight and how much detail to show.

• Pick a handful of parks per map section: Too many can overwhelm. Start with a few well-chosen parks that offer distinct benefits (a big green space, a kid-friendly option, a scenic overlook).

• Use consistent labeling: Park name + key amenity in parentheses if space allows (e.g., Riverside Park (Playground)).

• Test readability: Print a draft, view it at different sizes, and ask a friend to interpret the map without guidance. If they struggle, you know you’ve got work to do.

• Consider accessibility: High-contrast colors, large fonts, and alternative legend formats help a wider audience engage with the map.

• Tie parks to the route’s rhythm: Place parks where a traveler might realistically want a break—midpoints, after a long stretch, or near viewpoints.

A practical analogy

Think of a route map as a friendly guide on a road trip. You wouldn’t want to stop every few blocks for a landmark you can’t actually reach. Parks are the kind of landmarks that invite you to pause, reflect, and enjoy the surroundings. They’re like the rest stops that soothe tired legs, but with a little more charm—bandstand concerts, lake breezes, a shady grove where you can stretch without feeling rushed. When a map highlights parks, it’s doing what good travel storytelling does: it invites you to linger a bit and savor the moment, rather than just hurry from point A to point B.

Wrapping it up

In the end, the choice to identify parks on a route map isn’t about adding decoration. It’s about guiding the traveler’s experience with intention. Parks serve as meaningful anchors that convey rest, activity options, and aesthetic appeal. They help transform a map from a mere set of directions into a usable, inviting plan for a journey.

If you’re navigating certification topics around map design, remember this: the best maps balance clarity, relevance, and human touch. They anticipate questions a traveler might have, present information in an accessible way, and still feel like a natural part of the landscape. Parks do a lot of that heavy lifting, and they do it with a quiet confidence that most travelers recognize right away.

So the next time you’re sketching a route, ask yourself: which parks along this path will brighten someone’s day? Which ones will encourage a rest, a stroll, or a moment to breathe? Answering those questions will help you craft route maps that feel both practical and inviting—maps that don’t just point the way, but enrich the journey. And if you want to deepen your understanding of how POIs shape design decisions, you’ll find a lot of value in exploring real-world mapping projects, talking with city planners, and experimenting with the data tools that bring these ideas to life. The map is your canvas—and parks can be the heart of the tale you tell.