Key:trailblazed

Description

Markings on outdoor paths and trails by signs, markers, poles, cairns or in another way.

Group: hiking

Used on these elements

Useful combination

Usage

Tag trailblazed=* on paths or tracks which are marked using poles, cairns or other markings. If only part of the way is trailblazed, only tag the relevant sections. Do not tag trailblazed=* on route relations containing such a way. In route relations, use osmc:symbol=* symbol=* wiki:symbol=* or colour=* to tag the waymarking of the entire route.

In some quite rare cases it can happen that two or more types of blazing appear on a section of the way. In this case dominant blazing should be tagged or simply trailblazed=yes can be used.
trailblazed:visibility=* tag can be used as additional tag giving information about trail marking visibility
When there is an additional symbol (painted or attached) on pole or cairn, the way should be tagged trailblazed=poles or trailblazed=cairns (and not trailblazed=symbols). symbol=* can be used to specify the additional symbol. Some also suggest osmc:symbol=* or wiki:symbol=*, but those should only apply to relations.
For more than ten years, the tag had only a "yes" or "no" value and the other values were only approved in 2021. For that reason, trailblazed=yes can mean all the other positive values too. It is not clear how distinctive the markings must be in order to classify as trailblazed=symbols. Do splashes of paint or arrows clasify? In the table below, a sprayed arrow is used for trailblazed=yes and a splash of paint for trailblazed=symbols, which does not seem to make much sense.

Tag	Description	Definition of marking
`trailblazed=no`	trail is not blazed	No trail marking at all.
`trailblazed=poles`	trail is blazed by poles	Trail marking made by erected poles wooden or plastic, colored or natural.
`trailblazed=cairns`	trail is blazed by cairns	Trail marking made by piled stones. Stones should be piled up in such manner that there is not doubt they are man-made and they are there for navigational reason.
`trailblazed=symbols`	trail is blazed by symbols	Trail marking made by colorful symbols painted directly on other objects like trees, stones, houses and so on.
`trailblazed=yes`	trail is blazed in some way	An unspecified type of trail marking. Used when mappers are unable or unwilling to choose a more specific value.

Picture	Tag	Description
	`trailblazed=poles` `trailblazed:visibility=good`	Trail marking made by poles. Even though there is a red cross on top of the pole, tag it as `trailblazed=poles`. `trailblazed:visibility=good` would indicate that poles might not be perfectly visible as in heavy snowfall or fog. `osmc:symbol=red:red_x` could be used for this symbol, but it should normally apply to a relation.
	`trailblazed=cairns` `trailblazed:visibility=bad`	Trail marking made by cairns. Even though there is red color on the cairn, tag it as `trailblazed=cairns`. As cairn are far from each other, `trailblazed:visibility=bad` or `trailblazed:visibility=horrible` could be appropriate. `osmc:symbol=red:red_arch` could be used for this symbol, but it should normally apply to a relation.
	`trailblazed=symbols`	Trail marking made by symbols. Therefore, tag it as `trailblazed=symbols`. `osmc:symbol=red:red_round:white_dot` could be used for this symbol, but it should normally apply to a relation.
	`trailblazed=symbols`	Trail marking made by a marker attached to the tree. Therefore, tag it as `trailblazed=symbols`. `wiki:symbol=*` could be used for this symbol, but it should normally apply to a relation.