Hover Street View for RideWithGPS — preview cycling routes

Tracking since Apr 7, 2026.

Changelog

• May 19, 2026
  description

  Hover anywhere on a RideWithGPS route and see a Google Street View preview of that exact spot — oriented in the direction the route is heading. Sweep your cursor along the route to scout the entire ride in seconds.
  
  The map alone doesn't show road conditions: surface type, shoulder width, traffic. RideWithGPS has Google's pegman built in, but you have to drag it, drop it, peek, back out, and re-drag for every point you want to check.
  
  This extension adds a continuous street view hover over the route & elevation map.
  
  Features:
  - Hover near any part of a route to see a Google Street View image
  - Shows street name and city, plus a compass and heading
  - Click the preview to open full Google Maps Street View
  - Works in both the route editor and route viewer, on any public route
  
  Requirements:
  * Google Maps must be selected as the map type in RideWithGPS
  * Google Maps API key with Street View Static API enabled (10k requests/month are free).
  
  Why a key? RideWithGPS's built-in Street View uses Google's free embed (iframe), which only supports discrete clicks, not continuous hover. To fetch a fresh image as your cursor moves, this extension uses Google's Street View Static API, which is keyed per user. The extension caches aggressively and skips redundant requests; the popup shows your monthly usage so you always know where you stand.
  
  Fully open source under MIT license: https://github.com/nslussar/rwgps-streetview

  Hover anywhere on a RideWithGPS route and see a Google Street View preview of that exact spot — oriented in the direction the route is heading. Sweep your cursor along the route to scout the entire ride in seconds.
  
  The map alone doesn't show road conditions: surface type, shoulder width, traffic. RideWithGPS has Google's pegman built in, but you have to drag it, drop it, peek, back out, and re-drag for every point you want to check.
  
  This extension adds a continuous street view hover over the route & elevation map.
  
  Features:
  - Hover near any part of a route to see a Google Street View image
  - Shows street name and city, plus a compass and heading
  - Click the preview to open full Google Maps Street View
  - Works in both the route editor and route viewer, on any public or private route
  
  Two modes:
  * Experimental Preview — no API key needed. Bike trail coverage is limited. The fastest way to try the extension.
  * Bring your own API key — better bike trail coverage. 10,000 free requests / month from Google's Street View Static API.
  
  Requirements:
  * Google Maps must be selected as the map type in RideWithGPS
  * (Optional) Google Maps API key with Street View Static API enabled, for the API key mode
  
  When using the API key mode, the extension keeps usage under the 10k/month free tier by bucketing nearby points for a better cache hit ratio, skipping redundant requests, and throttling requests as the cursor moves. The popup shows current monthly usage and lets you set a hard monthly cap.
  
  Fully open source under MIT license: https://github.com/nslussar/rwgps-streetview
  
  Recent changes:
  * Experimental Preview mode (opt-in): no Google Maps API key needed, but limited trails coverage
  * Keyboard shortcuts: `s` toggles the overlay, `v` opens full Street View in new tab
  * UX tweaks, verbose/debug logging toggle

• May 8, 2026
  description

  Check what the road looks like before you ride it!
  
  Recent changes (since v1.0.6):
  - Much improved function on initial page load; plus overlay reliability and street view loading
  - Added compass/heading display
  - Overall the extension should now work 100% of the time, 99% of the time
  
  RideWithGPS is great for planning routes, but it's hard to tell from the map whether a road is a quiet country lane or a busy highway with no shoulder. This extension adds a Street View preview that appears when you hover over the route, with the Street View correctly pointed where the route is headed.
  
  - Hover near any part of a route to see a Street View preview
  - Shows street name and city, compass and heading at the bottom of the preview
  - Click on the preview to open full Google Maps Street View
  - Works in both the route editor and route viewer (any route, not just yours)
  
  NB! This extension requires 
  * Google Maps selected as the map type in RideWithGPS 
  * Google Maps API key with Street View Static API enabled (free tier: ~28,500 requests/month). Setup instructions included.
  
  This extension is fully open source under MIT license, see https://github.com/nslussar/rwgps-streetview

  Hover anywhere on a RideWithGPS route and see a Google Street View preview of that exact spot — oriented in the direction the route is heading. Sweep your cursor along the route to scout the entire ride in seconds.
  
  The map alone doesn't show road conditions: surface type, shoulder width, traffic. RideWithGPS has Google's pegman built in, but you have to drag it, drop it, peek, back out, and re-drag for every point you want to check.
  
  This extension adds a continuous street view hover over the route & elevation map.
  
  Features:
  - Hover near any part of a route to see a Google Street View image
  - Shows street name and city, plus a compass and heading
  - Click the preview to open full Google Maps Street View
  - Works in both the route editor and route viewer, on any public route
  
  Requirements:
  * Google Maps must be selected as the map type in RideWithGPS
  * Google Maps API key with Street View Static API enabled (10k requests/month are free).
  
  Why a key? RideWithGPS's built-in Street View uses Google's free embed (iframe), which only supports discrete clicks, not continuous hover. To fetch a fresh image as your cursor moves, this extension uses Google's Street View Static API, which is keyed per user. The extension caches aggressively and skips redundant requests; the popup shows your monthly usage so you always know where you stand.
  
  Fully open source under MIT license: https://github.com/nslussar/rwgps-streetview

• May 8, 2026
  short_description

  See Google Street View while planning routes on RideWithGPS. Hover over any route to preview the road ahead.

  Hover over a RideWithGPS route to preview Google Street View. Scout entire cycling routes without dragging the pegman.

• May 8, 2026
  name

  Street View Preview for RideWithGPS

  Hover Street View for RideWithGPS — preview cycling routes

• May 8, 2026
  host_permissions

  (empty)

  https://maps.googleapis.com/*, https://ridewithgps.com/*

• May 8, 2026
  permissions

  storage

  storage, webRequest

• Apr 24, 2026
  description

  *Check what the road looks like before you ride it!*
  
  Changes v1.0.6 -> v1.0.7:
  - Extension now works immediately after entering your API key — no page reload needed
  - Clear error message when API key is invalid
  - Overlay no longer flickers when holding the cursor still on a route
  - API key field is now a password field for privacy
  - Improved reliability on pages where Google Maps loads slowly
  
  ---
  
  RideWithGPS is great for planning routes, but it's hard to tell from the map whether a road is a quiet country lane or a busy highway with no shoulder. This extension adds a Street View preview that appears when you hover over the route.
  
  - Hover near any part of a route to see a Street View preview
  - Shows street name and city at the bottom of the preview
  - Click to open full Google Maps Street View for a closer look
  - Works in both the route editor and route viewer (any route, not just yours)
  
  Requires Google Maps selected as the map type and a Google Maps API key with Street View Static API enabled (free tier: ~28,500 requests/month). Setup instructions included.

  Check what the road looks like before you ride it!
  
  Recent changes (since v1.0.6):
  - Much improved function on initial page load; plus overlay reliability and street view loading
  - Added compass/heading display
  - Overall the extension should now work 100% of the time, 99% of the time
  
  RideWithGPS is great for planning routes, but it's hard to tell from the map whether a road is a quiet country lane or a busy highway with no shoulder. This extension adds a Street View preview that appears when you hover over the route, with the Street View correctly pointed where the route is headed.
  
  - Hover near any part of a route to see a Street View preview
  - Shows street name and city, compass and heading at the bottom of the preview
  - Click on the preview to open full Google Maps Street View
  - Works in both the route editor and route viewer (any route, not just yours)
  
  NB! This extension requires 
  * Google Maps selected as the map type in RideWithGPS 
  * Google Maps API key with Street View Static API enabled (free tier: ~28,500 requests/month). Setup instructions included.
  
  This extension is fully open source under MIT license, see https://github.com/nslussar/rwgps-streetview

• Apr 19, 2026
  description

  Street View Preview for RideWithGPS route planner

  *Check what the road looks like before you ride it!*
  
  Changes v1.0.6 -> v1.0.7:
  - Extension now works immediately after entering your API key — no page reload needed
  - Clear error message when API key is invalid
  - Overlay no longer flickers when holding the cursor still on a route
  - API key field is now a password field for privacy
  - Improved reliability on pages where Google Maps loads slowly
  
  ---
  
  RideWithGPS is great for planning routes, but it's hard to tell from the map whether a road is a quiet country lane or a busy highway with no shoulder. This extension adds a Street View preview that appears when you hover over the route.
  
  - Hover near any part of a route to see a Street View preview
  - Shows street name and city at the bottom of the preview
  - Click to open full Google Maps Street View for a closer look
  - Works in both the route editor and route viewer (any route, not just yours)
  
  Requires Google Maps selected as the map type and a Google Maps API key with Street View Static API enabled (free tier: ~28,500 requests/month). Setup instructions included.

Permissions & access

Permissions

storagewebRequest

Host access

https://maps.googleapis.com/*, https://ridewithgps.com/*

Screenshots