Wondering just how far you walk on your daily walk? How about if you add a block or two? Here’s a great tool you can use to find out:

Gmaps Pedometer is an easy to use, free website that helps you plan your walks quickly or plot a walk you have already taken. Then, you can save it to your favorites and make any additions or subtractions to keep up with your distance.

Here’s how it works:

Click on this link to see the site: Gmaps Pedometer.

You will see a map of the US. They have maps of Japan, China and the UK, but I could not get them to work.

So, in the US, click on your state and then use the tools at the top left corner of the map to navigate around until you can find your street. You use the + tool to zoom in and the minus tool to zoom out. The directional arrows will help you move the map around (pan) to keep your area on the screen. You want your “city” or area to be in the center while you zoom in. If you keep it in the center, all is good. Otherwise, you may “lose” it and need to pan around to find it. You can always go back to the main map by clicking the center of the directional arrows, too.

Once you have your street or the beginning point of your walk on the screen, you can then start recording your map. Simply click the “start recording” button in the upper left of the page, then, click on your beginning point on the map. You will see a little red balloon-shaped icon at that point. Then, click on another point and you’ll see a red line connecting the two points together and another balloon icon at that point.

Now, you can see the total distance you have walked, and the distance of the “last leg” (both will be the same if you have only one leg marked.) Keep adding legs to your route and the distance will increase accordingly.

When you add at least one mile, you will see another red balloon with a “1” in it for one mile. You get a new mile marker balloon for each mile you add to your trip. So, if you want to walk three miles, just keep adding distance until you see the balloon with a “3” in it. Or, determine 1.5 miles on the map, then click “complete” there and back route and the program will come back the same way you went, thus doubling your distance and bringing you back home.

You can also use the site’s calorie counter by entering your weight after you have your route on the map.

Plus, you can print the map if you want to have a hard copy to take with you. This is very handy if you are traveling or walking in a new area.

Finally, once you have a route determined, you can save the route. Just click “save route” and you will get a URL address for that particular route. You can then either copy the URL for later reference, or save the route in your bookmarks or favorites.