Google Photo Map helps me find places I’ve been.

Many years ago, we were traveling on the Oregon coast and I remember telling people about stopping at a restaurant that had the best seafood Cioppino I’d ever had. What if I found myself on the Oregon coast again and I wanted to find that restaurant? I don’t remember the name of the restaurant, I don’t even remember the town. All I remember is that it was on the Oregon coast at about the mid-point of the state.

I’ll bet I took a photo of it.

That means I can use Google Photos’ new photo map feature and probably find it. Bonus: I can even use Google Maps to navigate there once I find the photo.

  • Using my iPhone or Android device
  • Open Google Photos and tap the Search button at the bottom
  • Tap “Explore Map” – pinch and drag the map until I see the Oregon coast
  • Notice the “heat map” colors indicating where photos are. Tap the heat map bubble in the location I remember.
  • Now the actual photos are displaying in the bottom half of the screen. Scroll thru until I see the photo of the restaurant. Tap on photo to bring it up full screen.
  • Swipe up and tap “Open in Maps” to go to Google Maps and navigate to the location of the photo.