What Is a Push Pin Travel Map?

A push pin travel map is a wall map printed on canvas over a pinnable backing, so you can mark every place you have been with a pin. The map is the artwork and the pins are the record. Most people start by pinning the trips they have already taken, then keep adding as they go.

I'm Brenda. My husband Mike and I started Push Pin Travel Maps in 2012, after we went looking for a map like this for our own wall and couldn't find one worth hanging. So we made one. Friends asked where we got it, and the answer turned into a company. We've helped over 250,000 travelers pick a map since then, and this page is the plain explanation I wish someone had handed us at the start.

How does a push pin travel map work?

The mechanics are simpler than most people expect. Your map is printed on premium canvas, and behind that canvas sits a layer of foam board. That backing is the whole trick. It gives the pin something to grip, so a pin pushes in with thumb pressure and stays put, then pulls back out without leaving a crater.

On a gallery wrapped map, the canvas is stretched around an internal wood frame so the artwork continues around the sides. There's no glass and no mat board in the way, which is what makes the pinning possible. That's what surprises people who've only ever had a framed print on the wall.

How is it different from a scratch off or corkboard map?

These three get shopped against each other constantly, and they behave nothing alike once they're on a wall.

A scratch off map hides the artwork under a foil layer you scrape away to reveal each country. It's satisfying once. It's also coarse. A scratch off map is cut to countries, so you reveal all of Italy whether you spent a week in Rome or drove the length of the country. You can't mark the cities, which is how most people actually remember a trip. And it's permanent: the foil flakes at the edges over time, and there's no way to undo a scratch or track two people separately.

A corkboard map is closer to what we make, because pins go in and come out. The difference is the surface. Cork is coarse, so the print sits on a textured board and fine detail gets lost, and cork sheds over the years as pins go in and out of the same spot. Our canvas sits over a smooth backing instead, so the print stays sharp and still takes a pin cleanly.

A framed paper map behind glass can't be pinned at all, which catches people out when they buy one intending to.

What formats do push pin travel maps come in?

Every one of our maps is printed on canvas and made to order in the USA. What changes between the formats is how we finish that canvas and how you hang it.

Gallery wrapped canvas

Available in 24" x 36", 30" x 45", and 34" x 51", from $199.99. The canvas wraps around a sturdy internal wood frame, with the pinnable backing behind it. It arrives ready to hang, with no frame around the outside. This is the one most people picture when they imagine a modern map on a wall, and it's our most popular starting point. Browse the gallery wrapped maps.

Float mount framed canvas

Available in 26" x 38", 32" x 47", and 36" x 53", from $289.99. It starts as the same gallery wrapped canvas with the same pinnable backing, then a solid wood float frame is added around it, leaving a small gap so the map looks like it's floating inside the frame. Six frame colors to pick from. Choose this one if the room already has wood tones you want to echo. See the framed canvas maps.

Extra large three panel

From $349.99. One map split across three gallery wrapped panels. Each panel measures 18" x 36" and they hang with a small gap between them, so the finished piece spans a little over 54" across the wall. This is the statement version, and it suits a long wall above a sofa better than a single panel does. See the three panel maps.

Canvas poster

Available in 24" x 36", 30" x 45", 36" x 54", and 44" x 66", from $99.99. Printed on the same canvas and shipped rolled in a tube, trimmed to its finished size and ready for traditional framing. Two honest caveats. A poster doesn't arrive ready to hang, and it doesn't include extra canvas for stretching, so plan on framing it yourself. It still includes pins and personalization. See the canvas posters.

What size should you get?

The instinct is to measure the wall first. I'd start somewhere else: think about how you plan to pin. If you pin countries on a world map, a 24" x 36" has room to spare. If you pin individual cities, especially across Europe or the US east coast, those pins crowd fast and you'll wish you had gone bigger. Travelers who have been to forty or more countries usually end up at the 30" x 45" or larger.

The other question is what you're mapping. A world map spreads pins across the whole surface. A US map concentrates them, because most people's domestic travel clusters around a handful of regions.

We wrote a full walkthrough on this: what size push pin map do I need goes room by room. You can also compare every format side by side on the sizes and styles page.

Who actually hangs one of these?

After more than a decade of packing these, a few clear patterns show up.

Travelers tracking their own history. This is the most common reason by far. A world map goes up, an evening disappears to pinning old trips, and the map becomes the thing guests ask about.

Families marking milestones together. Kids pin the vacation while it's still fresh. Some families pin where grandparents were born, or everywhere they've lived as a household. Our custom family sign art came out of exactly those requests.

Road trippers and park collectors. National parks, state high points, ballparks, and long interstate runs all pin beautifully on a US map. If you're working a list instead of a history, look at bucket list art, which is built for exactly that.

Couples at weddings and anniversaries. A map works as a guest book, where guests pin their hometown instead of signing a page. Mike and I used one as the seating chart at our own wedding in 2013, with city names in place of table numbers, and I wrote up how we did it afterward.

Golfers and sports fans. Courses played and stadiums visited, mostly. Our golf maps exist because golfers kept asking for a version of the same idea.

What kind of pins do you use?

The map gets all the attention and the pins do most of the work. Every map ships with 150 push pins in a mix of red, white and black, and for a lot of people that's the end of it. The rest of you will want to think about it a little.

Color coding is the most useful habit. One color for places you've been, another for the list you're working on. Couples often take one color each, then a third for trips taken together. It reads clearly from across a room, and it means the map answers a question instead of only filling a wall.

How a pin legend works

A pin legend designates what each pin color on your map represents. It can be added to any of our 9 canvas personalization templates, and it prints at the bottom of the template as part of the artwork. The wording is yours. Some of the ones we set most often:

• Past Adventures, Future Trips, Favorite Destinations
• His Travels, Her Travels, Family Travels
• Places Visited, Places Lived, Bucket List
• Been, Going, One Day...

We can accommodate 2 to 6 legend items comfortably, and sometimes more depending on how long each line is and which map you've chosen. When the map arrives, you place a different pin color next to each legend line, then pin the map in those colors.

One practical note. Your map comes with 3 pin colors, so if you go past 3 legend items, order extra colors at the same time from our standard pins. It's a small thing that's annoying to discover after the map is already on the wall.

Pin size matters more on a world map than a US map, because city pins sit close together across Europe. Our standard pins cover most of it. If the map is tracking ballparks or courses, the ball shaped sports pins are a nice touch.

How do you hang a push pin travel map?

Gallery wrapped, framed, and three panel maps all arrive ready to hang. Canvas posters ship rolled and need framing first. Beyond that, a push pin map asks almost nothing of you. There's no glass to clean and no mat to fade.

Height is the thing people get wrong. A map you have to reach up to pin stops getting pinned. Hang it where you can comfortably touch the top third standing flat on the floor. Our guide to hanging your push pin travel map covers the hardware and the measuring.

Why buy from Push Pin Travel Maps?

We've been making these since 2012. Every map is made by hand, to order, and we have thousands of reviews from people who've had one on the wall for years.

If you have a question, you'll get an answer from a real person. That covers picking a size, rush shipping for a gift, returns, and anything that goes wrong. If your personalization looks off to us, we'll email before we print it.

Not sure which map or size? Get in touch and we'll help you decide.

Common questions

What is a push pin travel map?

A push pin travel map is a wall map printed on canvas over a pinnable backing, designed so you can mark places you have visited with colored push pins. It works as wall art and as a personal travel record at the same time.

How do the pins stay in the map?

A layer of foam board sits behind the canvas. Pins push in with thumb pressure and grip that backing, so they hold. They can be pulled out and repositioned without damaging the canvas.

What sizes do push pin travel maps come in?

Gallery wrapped canvas comes in 24" x 36", 30" x 45", and 34" x 51". Float mount framed canvas comes in 26" x 38", 32" x 47", and 36" x 53". Three panel maps use three 18" x 36" panels. Canvas posters go up to 44" x 66".

How much does a push pin travel map cost?

A rolled canvas poster starts at $99.99. Gallery wrapped canvas starts at $199.99, float mount framed canvas starts at $289.99, and extra large three panel maps start at $349.99. The largest framed sizes reach $619.99.

What is the difference between a push pin map and a scratch off map?

A scratch off map hides the artwork under a foil layer you scrape away, which is permanent and cannot track two people separately. A push pin map uses pins that go in and come out, so you can recolor, correct, or restart at any time.

What is the difference between gallery wrapped and framed canvas?

Both start as the same canvas with the same pinnable backing. A gallery wrapped map has no outer frame and the artwork continues around the sides. A float mount framed map adds a solid wood frame with a small gap around the canvas, so the map appears to float inside it.

What is a pin legend?

A pin legend designates what each pin color on your map represents, for example "Past Adventures, Future Trips, Favorite Destinations." It can be added to any of our 9 canvas personalization templates and prints as part of the artwork. We can accommodate 2 to 6 legend items. Maps ship with 3 pin colors, so order additional colors if your legend runs longer than 3 lines.

Can you personalize a push pin travel map?

Yes. Personalization is printed directly onto the map before it's made, so it prints as part of the artwork. Nothing gets stuck on afterward.

The bottom line

A push pin travel map turns a wall into a record of where you've been. Pick the format that matches your room and size up if you pin cities rather than countries. It's worth giving some thought to pin colors before you start. If you want one recommendation to begin with, it's the Gallery Wrapped Executive World Travel Map.

Browse all push pin travel maps

Brenda Phelps co founded Push Pin Travel Maps with her husband Mike in 2012. They're based in Denver, Colorado.

1. Push Pin Travel Maps, "Find Your Perfect Map Size & Style," retrieved 2026-09-09. View source
2. Push Pin Travel Maps, "About Us," retrieved 2026-09-09. View source