Life

7 Maps To Check Out Before The Women's March

by Eliza Castile
Alex Wong/Getty Images News/Getty Images

On Jan. 20, Americans finally have to face the fact that toupeéd cartoon villain come-to-life Donald J. Trump will occupy the highest office in American politics (ugh). On Jan. 21, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators are going to deal with this fact by protesting at the Women's March on Washington (yay!). If you're planning on attending what promises to be a historic event, you'll probably want to take a look at a few Women's March maps, so you'll have an idea of where you're headed during the protest itself. It's time to start preparing for the big day, and once you've done all the fun (well, maybe not so fun) stuff like packing your bags and arranging transportation, you'll want to make sure you're armed with as much information as possible, too.

The Women's March began as a suggestion in a Facebook post by a retired woman in Hawaii, but it exploded in popularity seemingly overnight. Today, nearly 200 groups representing a variety of issues have signed on as partners, and 616 sister marches are taking place in cities around the world in solidarity with the main event in Washington, D.C. According to the Women's March website, more than a million women are estimated to march this Saturday under a banner of an intersectional set of principles.

If you're able to make it to the Women's March on Washington this weekend, you'll want to prepare beforehand. For one thing, you can't count on receiving cell signal, so once you've taken a look at the following useful maps, you'll want to print them out or save them to your phone; the Daily Dot has a guide to saving maps for offline use.

1

The Starting Point

The rally will begin at 10 a.m., followed by the march at 1:15 p.m. Both the rally and the march's starting point will take place at the intersection of Independence Avenue and SW Third Street, near the U.S. Capitol.

2

Area Guide & Events

Organizers of the march in D.C. have created an interactive map with plenty of useful information, including the route of the march, restroom locations, local businesses owned by women, and Metro stations. Check it out here.

3

Catering & Warm-Up Stations

Demonstrating is hungry work, so be sure to check out this map listing places in D.C. near the march — they'll be catering Welcome Stations and warm-up spots for marchers. Food trucks are also likely to be parked and waiting near the march that day.

4

Metro Stations

Most marchers will be using public transportation, especially since some streets will be closed around the route. Be sure to print out a map of the Metro stations, whether you're planning on getting around by bus or train. The WMTA's website also has a trip planner, which is always a good idea to check out.

5

Warming Station

The CARE Action Network is sponsoring a warming station, a room for nursing parents, and a press desk for journalists. You can find out more information here.

6

Inauguration Day Road Closures

If you're traveling into the city the day before the march, remember that Inauguration Day is going to come with tons of road closures. Take a look at the map above or over at The Washingtonian.

7

General Washington, D.C.

Finally, it can't hurt to have a map of the area for reference, so save one to your phone. Be safe and make your voice heard.