Visited states map maker
Mark the US states you have been to and your visited states map fills in as you go. Split the ones you properly visited from the ones you only drove across, decide for yourself whether an airport counts, and end up with a picture of your travelling that people can read in a second.
Also known as: states i've been to map, us travel map, states visited tracker, map of states i have been to, been there map.
Free. No account needed. Export a PNG.
What counts as visited
The one real decision on a travel map. Four categories that keep it honest, and the wording is yours to change.
| Legend entry | What it means |
|---|---|
| Lived there | Had an address, paid rent, got post. The strictest category and the one people are proudest of. |
| Properly visited | Slept there, or spent a real day there. The category that does most of the work. |
| Passed through | Drove across it, changed planes in it, ate at one exit off the interstate. |
| Not yet | Left blank or given a flat colour, so the gaps in the map are as clear as the fills. |
How to make a visited states map
- Set your rules first. Decide what counts before you start clicking. Almost every argument about one of these maps is really an argument about whether a layover, a drive-through or a night in a motel by the highway counts as visiting.
- Build the legend. Two colours is a fine map. Three or four is a better one: lived, visited, passed through, never. Write the labels in your own words, because they are what makes it your map rather than a template.
- Fill in the states. Click each state and the colour goes on. Doing the ones you are sure about first is quicker, and the leftovers are usually the interesting question anyway.
- Save it and update it later. Export a PNG for a post or a profile, or publish it and keep the link. A published map can be edited and published again after the next trip, so it can stay current rather than being a snapshot.
What you can do
- All fifty states as separate clickable shapes, plus Washington DC if you have been.
- As many categories as your travelling needs: lived, visited, passed through, never.
- Colours or patterns, so "drove through" reads differently from "spent a week".
- A legend you write yourself, dragged to wherever the map has space.
- State codes on the map for anyone reading it who is not American.
- County lines can be laid over the states if a state-level map is too coarse for how much you have driven.
- Crop the exported view to the lower 48 when Alaska and Hawaii would waste half the frame.
- Works on a phone, so the map can be updated from the road.
- A full-size PNG at the end, with no watermark and no export limit.
Make your own visited states map
The road trip so far
One colour per trip, or one for this year against everything before it. A map of three road trips laid over each other says more about them than the photos do.
National parks and long lists
The states you have knocked off a list you are working through: parks, ballparks, capitols, state high points. The map is the progress bar.
Work travel
Where the job has actually sent you, which is almost never where you would have chosen. A quick version of this map is a surprisingly good thing to have on hand for a bio.
Family map
Where everyone has been between them, or one colour per person to see who has covered the most ground. This one usually ends in a plan for the next trip.
The honest audit
Split "been to" from "actually seen" and the map gets a lot less flattering and a lot more interesting. Airports and interstates cover a lot of ground without showing you much.
Other map makers
Common questions
Does an airport layover count as visiting?
That is your call, and the map is built for exactly that argument. Give layovers their own colour and the question answers itself in the picture: the state is on the map, but it does not look the same as the ones you actually saw.
How do I show states I only drove through?
Give them their own legend entry, or use a pattern fill instead of a flat colour. A stripe reads as "yes, but not really" without needing a sentence next to it.
Can I count counties instead of whole states?
Yes, on the county map maker. It is the more precise version of this map for anyone who has driven a lot: colouring in a state you crossed once flatters the map, colouring the counties does not.
Can I do the same thing for countries?
Yes. The visited countries map is the world version of this page, with every country instead of the fifty states.
Can I update the map after a trip?
Yes. Publish it once and the map keeps a private edit link, so you can colour in the new states and publish again on the same URL rather than making a second map.
Can the map show my total?
There is no counter that adds it up for you. Most people put the number in the title or in a legend entry ("31 of 50"), which has the advantage of being the first thing a reader sees rather than something they have to work out.
What about Washington DC?
It can be switched on as its own marker, which matters more on this map than on most: a lot of people have been to DC and nowhere else in that part of the country, and without the marker there is nowhere to record it.
Is an account needed to save it?
No. The editor opens immediately and the map stays in this browser as you work. An account is only worth it if you want the map on a profile page or want to edit it from another device.