An attempt is made to develop theoretical questions of thematic mapping in the direction of «recreational mapping» on the basis of studying the available cartographic materials of different authors on this issue and our own practical research in the territory of the Baikal region. The previously compiled maps mostly only fixed the objects that were used in the tourist-recreational sphere, mainly in medical-recreational or cultural-cognitive activities. Later they began to pay attention to the natural component, namely, the state and change of landscapes that carry the main recreational load. The article deals with the cartographic analysis of the recreational potential of the territory, that is, as a natural component, socio-economic and ecological, in order to visualize both the positive factors of the possible development of recreational activities in the study area, and restraining, limiting the widespread use of the territory in the tourist-recreational direction. To study the recreational potential of the territory, various methods and indicators are selected, with which certain requirements are imposed, according to them the use of the cartographic method is optimal for systematic and visual presentation of the results of the study. Depending on the purpose and level of the study, the scale of the maps, the level of informativeness and the mapping objects corresponding to this study are chosen. The use of the results of these studies is possible, first of all, by local authorities, tour operators, tourists, geography students, ecologists in the educational process when studying the thematic mapping directions.