Key Takeaways
- Easily map out trick-or-treating routes with Google Maps custom lists.
- Save a wide range of Halloween destinations with notes to organize your entire spooky season.
- Utilize Google Maps features like location sharing and offline maps for a safe Halloween night.
With Halloween just around the corner, it’s time to get in gear for spooky season. If you’re like me, you might have a hard time keeping track of floating holiday plans. That’s why I use Google Maps to plan the perfect Halloween routes for a night of trick-or-treating or seasonal itineraries.
Map Your Trick-or-Treating Route With a Customizable List
Whether you’re taking out your kids or your friends for a night of trick-or-treating, you don’t have to rely on memory to ensure you hit the best places. I know when I was a kid, we always had certain houses in mind: while “this one” gave out big candy bars, “that one” next to the park had a guy who dressed like Frankenstein and jumped out at you. Today, it’s easy to create custom lists with Google Maps, so you can put together the most desirable destinations and see your route from the palm of your hand.
Personally, I make custom lists all the time for myself and for my friends on my desktop. Here’s how I do it:
- Search for and select a business or address on Google Maps, and select Save.
- You’ll see a series of default Google lists like Favorites, Want to go, Travel plans, and Starred Places. Under these, you might find any custom lists that you’ve created in the past. At the bottom, select New list.
- Come up with a title for your Halloween-themed list, and you’re good to go.
To take it a step further, you can add notes to those saved places. For example, it might make sense to note which homes on your trick-or-treating route let your kids use their restroom or which houses have the scariest decorations.
You can also use Google’s custom lists for more than just one night of trick-or-treating. I recommend mapping out your entire spooky season and tagging the best-haunted hayrides or themed markets. For instance, I made a list of places hosting Halloween-related events in Portland, Maine, throughout the month, ranging from a “Spooktacular” latte art competition at a local coffee shop to seasonal theatrical performances.
After saving each location, I added a note specifying the date and time of those events, along with the website. You can easily Share these lists with your friends and family so everyone has access to your custom Halloween maps from their respective devices.
Check Google’s Recommendations for Your City’s Halloween Hot Spots
Earlier this year, Google dropped an update to its Maps app, adding up-to-date recommendation lists. According to Google’s blog announcement, all you have to do is search for the city where you live (or are traveling to) in Maps, then swipe up to find “curated lists of recommendations from people who know the city well.” Google’s recommendations are organized into three categories:
- 🏆 Top List – for “longstanding favorites”
- 🔥 Trending – updated weekly with popular Maps destinations
- 💎 Gems – lesser known but loved places
As far as I can tell, Google does not curate a season-specific list. However, I imagine that as we get closer to Halloween, the Trending list would be a good one to check out to see where people are going to celebrate the spooky season.
Use Google Maps to Stay Safe on Halloween Night
Although Halloween is meant to be frightening, you don’t need to add real-life scares to the equation. There are many ways to ensure a safe Halloween, including using Google Maps features like real-time location sharing and offline maps.
Location Sharing
Separating for the night? You can keep tabs on your people by sharing your location. Whether you’re a parent letting your kids voyage out on a trick-or-treating night or doing dress-up bar-hopping with friends, you can easily track one another on Google Maps.
Offline Maps
Additionally, Google lets you download offline maps if you’re heading to an area with unreliable service. That way, you’ll still see road names and addresses, be able to search for directions, and access your saved locations while wandering around on Halloween night.
In my experience, I’ve seen my saved lists even when I don’t have access to mobile data. For instance, when traveling internationally, I can still open Maps, watch my blue dot, and navigate to saved destinations. This is one of the reasons I love saving locations on Maps. That said, you can’t always see additional details on saved locations without service, nor can you look up directions if you get turned around. Hence, downloading offline maps is the safest bet.
While the best laid plans usually change, it’s nice to go in with one. For me, using Maps helps maximize my time in the world. When I set up a plan in advance, even a loose one, I can be more present on the day. Plus, sharing collaborative lists on Maps allows my family and friends to feel included in the process, and it takes the onus off of one person to plan everything. So this Halloween, if you’ve got it (Google Maps), haunt it (make a Halloween list)!