BeamNG.drive maps are the places you load to drive, explore, race, train or test cars. Some are open landscapes with towns, coastlines and dirt trails, while others are race circuits, rock-crawling terrain or bare test grids. Each map suits certain kinds of driving, so knowing what a map is built for helps you pick the right one and get more out of the game.
Map Type
Driving Environments
Automation Test Track
- Biome
- Temperate, tussock grassland
- Map Size
- 2048 x 2048
- Best Use
- Testing, racing, rally
Cliff
- Biome
- Cliff, grassland
- Map Size
- 2048 x 2048
- Best Use
- Destruction, rock crawling
Derby Arenas
- Biome
- Temperate, grassland
- Map Size
- 1024 x 1024
- Best Use
- Derbies
ETK Driver Experience Center
- Biome
- Temperate, forest
- Map Size
- 1024 x 1024
- Best Use
- Testing, training
East Coast, USA
- Biome
- Temperate, coastal, forest
- Map Size
- 2048 x 2048
- Best Use
- Cruising, exploration, time trials
Hirochi Raceway
- Biome
- Temperate, forest
- Map Size
- 1536 x 1536
- Best Use
- Racing, drifting, time trials, training
Industrial Site
- Biome
- Temperate, coastal, grassland
- Map Size
- 1024 x 1024
- Best Use
- Racing, off-roading, crawling, time trials, derbies
Italy
- Biome
- Mediterranean, island
- Map Size
- 4096 x 4096
- Best Use
- Cruising, exploration, time trials
Johnson Valley
- Biome
- Desert
- Map Size
- 3072 x 3072
- Best Use
- Time trials, exploration, rock crawling, point to point
Jungle Rock Island
- Biome
- Tropical, jungle, island
- Map Size
- 2048 x 2048
- Best Use
- Cruising, exploration, off-roading, time trials
Small Island, USA
- Biome
- Temperate, island
- Map Size
- 1024 x 1024
- Best Use
- Cruising, exploration, off-roading, time trials
Utah, USA
- Biome
- Desert, canyon, mesa
- Map Size
- 2048 x 2048
- Best Use
- Cruising, exploration, crawling, time trials
West Coast, USA
- Biome
- Urban, coastal, semi-arid
- Map Size
- 2048 x 2048
- Best Use
- Cruising, exploration, racing, time trials
Map Type
Test and Showroom Spaces
Gridmap
- Biome
- Virtual (VR)
- Map Size
- 1024 x 1024
- Best Use
- Stunts, testing
Showroom
- Biome
- Virtual (VR)
- Map Size
- -
- Best Use
- Photoshoots
Grid, Small, Pure
- Biome
- Virtual (VR)
- Map Size
- -
- Best Use
- -
How BeamNG.drive Maps Work
A map is the place you load, and everything you do happens on it. The game also calls maps levels, so you may see both words in its menus. You pick a map from the Level Selector, which since version 0.40 can filter maps by location, size and author, making it easier to find the one you want.
Once you're on a map, the Map app in the side menu shows an overview of the area and its missions, and it lets you teleport to different spots. Freeroam is the open-ended mode, where you can customize your car and drive however you like. Scenarios, missions and time trials use the places and routes built into specific maps, so the map you pick also decides which challenges are open to you.
Driving Maps vs Test Spaces in BeamNG.drive
The maps are split into two groups. Driving environments are the places with towns, roads, trails and rough terrain to explore, race on or climb. Test and showroom spaces are plainer, set up for a specific job like stunts, testing or taking photos.
The split tells you where to start. If you want to drive a route or race, begin with the driving environments. If you want a clean space to try a car or a stunt, or a studio for photos, the test and showroom spaces are set up for that.
Best BeamNG.drive Maps for Cruising and Exploring
If you just want to drive without a goal, start with the open maps. East Coast, West Coast, Italy, Small Island, Jungle Rock Island and Utah are all built for cruising and exploring, mixing roads with towns, coastline and wilder ground. Italy is the largest of the official maps, so it gives you the most ground to wander.
Small Island is the quiet choice, with few buildings and a looping coastal road to follow. For a mix of roads and rough country, Jungle Rock Island and Utah let you wander off the pavement. Time trials are on all of these maps too. They're about competing with yourself, so the same roads become a way to measure how your driving improves.
Best BeamNG.drive Maps for Racing and Drifting
Hirochi Raceway is the map to choose when you want a proper circuit. It's a historic track that has been revived, and it's built for racing, drifting, time trials and training. Among the maps, it's the clearest dedicated circuit for both racing and drifting, where you slide the car through corners.
Not every racing map is a track. Utah has well-maintained asphalt roads for racing, West Coast also suits a race, and Industrial Site has small race tracks set within its coastal industrial area. For demolition derbies and dirt races, Derby Arenas is the map built for that, with arenas rather than roads.
Best BeamNG.drive Maps for Rock Crawling and Off-Roading
Rock crawling is about picking your way over rough, rocky ground, and Johnson Valley is built for it. It's a rocky desert valley with a dedicated off-road area, so the rough ground is the whole point of the map. Its terrain runs from scrubby lowland to a rocky mountain and tall dunes, which gives you plenty of variety.
Cliff is built around a steep mountain rising from the ocean, so climbing is the main challenge. Utah lets you climb canyon rocks as well as head off-road, so it's a good choice if you want rock climbing mixed with roads. Industrial Site, Small Island and Jungle Rock Island also have off-road routes if you want to try the same kind of driving elsewhere.
Best BeamNG.drive Maps for Testing, Stunts and Photos
Automation Test Track is a facility for Automation vehicles, and the ETK Driver Experience Center is a German training center for drivers. These are set up around a specific purpose, so they're the pick when the goal is a car test or driver training rather than a free drive.
Gridmap is the place for stunts. It's a virtual test terrain with obstacles, stunt ramps and test patterns, so it suits both stunt runs and vehicle testing. Grid, Small, Pure takes the opposite approach. It's an empty grid stretching to the horizon, so nothing gets in the way of a plain test.
Showroom is the photo studio. You can change the background colors and take pictures of vehicles for thumbnails there. For shots of cars out on the open road, Photo Mode in the side menu is the better tool, since it's made for artistic screenshots.
FAQ
Can you use custom maps in BeamNG.drive?
On PC, yes, though the PS5 version has no mod support. Players make their own maps, and you can find them in the mod repository in the game or on the forum. Because they come from outside the official set, be careful when you install anything from third-party sites.
Can you change the time of day on a map?
Yes. The Environment settings in the side menu cover time of day, weather and gravity. Photo Mode's environment settings also offer a day length choice, where Level Default follows the value each map sets and Realtime is the other option.
Why do some maps run slowly?
Areas with dense foliage can pull frame rates down, which is why version 0.40 optimized foliage on maps like Jungle Rock Island and Italy. If your frame rate stays below 25 in Freeroam, you'll get a notification, and the same warning appears in the Pause Menu.
Did the maps change in version 0.40?
Yes. West Coast got a large round of fixes, including closed holes, adjusted sidewalks and a new backdrop. Italy received fixes to its roads, traffic signs, trees near the road and a bridge over the highway. Other maps got updated terrain backdrops, and the old invisible-wall map limits were removed from some of them.
