How to Enter Coordinates in a Garmin GPS

By Aaron Wein

Use your Garmin to guide you to precise coordinates.
i Sean Gallup/Getty Images News/Getty Images

When using a Garmin Nuvi automotive GPS device for guidance, most people enter the destination's address. However, some places do not have specific addresses, such as boat launches or trail heads. In those instances, websites often list latitude and longitude coordinate data rather than an address to help guide you to the location. Utilize the Nuvi's somewhat-hidden coordinates feature to let the device provide turn-by-turn navigation to the destination.

Step 1

Turn on your Nuvi and click the "Where to?" button.

Step 2

Tap "Coordinates." If you do not see "Coordinates" on the first screen, tap the downward-pointing arrow, then tap "Coordinates."

Step 3

Tap "Format" at the bottom of the screen. A "Select Format" menu appears displaying three options.

Step 4

Tap the format that matches the format of the coordinates to which you want to navigate, then tap "Save." The three format options are:

h ddd mm' ss.s" h ddd mm.mmm' h ddd.ddddd

("H" stands for hour, "D" stands for day, "S" stands for seconds and "M" stands for minutes in the format options.)

Step 5

Tap the longitude field to enter the coordinate's longitude and tap "Done." Repeat this step for the latitude field.

Step 6

Tap "Next."

Step 7

Tap "Go."

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