Shortly before my second year of college, I received a few orientation and mobility lessons for learning how to navigate with low vision and a blindness cane. These lessons were helpful for learning general travel skills, but I noticed they didn’t get into specifics about navigating college campuses or using university resources available for students with vision loss. One lesson that would have been really helpful is tips for using my blindness cane when navigating campus in the dark or at night, so I’ve created the College O&M series to share my most-used tips and strategies for learning about this topic and others. Here are my tips for learning how to navigate college campuses at night, from the perspective of a student with low vision who uses a blindness cane.
Disclaimer
I am not a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS), and I strongly recommended working with a COMS from the state department for visual impairment or vocational rehabilitation to determine the appropriate mobility solution for individuals. The tips and strategies shared throughout this post are informed by my lived experiences using a blindness cane (white cane) on my college campus.
Using a blindness cane (white cane) at night
All of my blindness canes can be used safely at night, as they have white and/or colored reflective tape; this is a standard design feature of blindness canes. To make myself stand out even more when traveling near the parking garage or other areas where drivers may not be paying attention, I have used a gl0w-in-the-dark cane or with my bright yellow reflective cane, which provides higher contrast against the dark sky and is less likely to be confused with the reflective poles on my college campus.
To provide even more light, another option is to use a cane light. Different from light-up canes, cane lights can be attached directly to any blindness cane and illuminates the path exactly where the cane tip is about to touch, similar to a hands-free flashlight. This can be helpful for revealing cracks, puddles, and other ground-level obstacles.
For students that experience light sensitivity, tinted glasses can help with filtering out bright lights and can make it easier to navigate low-contrast environments at night. I personally wear brown non-polarized tinted glasses, and I don’t wear my sunglasses at night!
Related links
- Decoding The Colors of Blindness Canes
- Decoding The Tips of Blindness Canes
- Wearing Tinted Glasses for Low Vision
- How To Order Custom Colors for Blindness Canes
Planning night routes in advance
I don’t like getting lost on campus at any time of day, and dislike getting lost on campus at night even more. When I was first living on campus and figuring out how to get to classrooms or other places, I would often spend a couple of minutes planning routes in advance so I could safely get to wherever I needed to go. Here are some practical strategies for planning routes that are especially useful at night:
- Pre-load campus addresses in GPS app. When I first started living on campus, I added about 15 different campus addresses to my phone and labeled them within Google Maps. This makes it much easier to search for locations and ask for directions using the dictation feature. Since some buildings are not labeled correctly within GPS apps, adding your own labels manually is a helpful workaround.
- Enable detailed walking instructions in Google Maps. Google Maps has an option specifically designed for users with vision loss that provides additional navigational information, such as alerts for busy streets and more precise time estimates. To enable it: go to Account and Settings > Settings > Navigation Settings > turn on Detailed Voice Guidance under Walking options.
- Use accessible campus maps. Many colleges provide digital campus maps that can be downloaded and zoomed in on your phone or tablet. Some orientation and mobility specialists or disability services office may offer a tactile or high-contrast map of campus that incorporates enlarged text, high-contrast graphics, and/or tactile elements that support route planning and independent navigation
- Use Google My Maps to create a custom campus map. Google My Maps allows you to label points of interest (dorm, dining hall, bus stop) and share the map with friends or family. This is especially useful for planning nighttime routes in advance.
- Review location history. The timeline feature in Google Maps lets you view a history of routes you’ve traveled, which is helpful when learning new paths to buildings on campus.
Related links
- Using GPS Apps On College Campuses: College O&M
- Smartphone Apps For Orientation and Mobility
- Accessible Maps and Wayfinding Tools For Low Vision
Sticking to safe, well-lit routes
While I am all for exploring campus and learning new shortcuts during the day, I recommend sticking to populated and well-lit routes when walking alone at night; no taking shortcuts through a forest or the back side of a building. I tend to follow the main sidewalk and use routes that have security officers stationed along the way, since those are the routes where I feel the safest.
A few additional strategies for route safety:
- Learn routes during the day first. O&M training emphasizes practicing routes in familiar conditions before traveling them in lower-light environments. Walk your nighttime routes during daylight so you know where the curb cuts, uneven pavement, and landmarks are.
- Identify landmarks along the way. Tactile landmarks (a change in pavement texture, a railing, a slope) are especially useful at night when visual landmarks may be harder to see. Other characteristics such as sounds, scents, or weather/temperature changes can also be useful.
- Be aware of campus construction. Sidewalk closures and construction zones can disrupt familiar routes, especially at night or if equipment is left out unsecured/unattended. This is also something to keep in mind when navigating college campuses during the day as well.
Related links
- Building Identification: College O&M
- Finding College Classrooms: College O&M
- Campus Addresses Every Student Should Know: College O&M
- Satellite Campuses: College O&M
- Navigating Campus Construction: College O&M
Traveling with a human guide
While I am fully capable of navigating campus independently at night, I feel much more comfortable walking with a friend for late-night adventures to the dining hall or similar places. A friend can also act as a human guide or help me stay alert when I am walking to and from my destination. Alternatively, I might meet my friends at the dining hall and then have someone walk back with me afterwards when it is later at night.
When I was in a building or floor/hall group chat, many students would post messages inviting others to walk with them to the dining hall or other places after dark. This is a low-pressure way to find someone to walk with, without having to ask anyone directly.
Related links
- How To Be An Effective Human Guide For People With Vision Loss
- How I Talk About Disability With New Friends
- How Do People With Visual Impairments Guide Each Other?
Leaving late-night classes
Whenever possible, I try not to take in-person classes at night. Students with disabilities often have priority registration times as part of approved disability accommodations, which can make it easier to register for classes during daylight hours. That said, I have had classes that get out at 10 PM, which is the latest class time at my university and after hours for the disability transportation service, so I would use these strategies to get back to my dorm safely:
- Use the campus bus system. My dorm was a one-minute walk from the bus stop and I didn’t have to cross the street, which made this a reliable option. Download the campus transportation app to access real-time bus information for routes that aren’t available in Google Maps or Apple Maps, like the on-campus shuttle
- Ask a professor or a classmate to walk with you to a central, well-lit area. For one of my classes that got out at 10 PM, a trusted professor walked with me to my dorm, which was near the parking garage where their car was located. Most professors are happy to help students get to a well-lit area or help them figure out where they are going, especially during the first few weeks of class or when it gets dark earlier in the day.
- Share location. Use the location-sharing feature in a messaging app so a friend or family member can follow your route in real time. On iOS, users can share their location indefinitely through the Messages app; on Android, users can send a precise location link via Google Maps.
- Walk with a friend. Using ridesharing services on campus can get expensive quickly! I had several friends who had late-night classes in neighboring buildings, so I would often walk back to my dorm with someone or a friend would drive me if their car was parked nearby.
Related links
- How To Approach Someone with Low Vision
- Using Disability Transportation Services In College
- How To Schedule College Classes
- Why You Should Register With Disability Services in College
Use campus security resources
There were many nights in college where I went to the dining hall at 7 PM and didn’t leave until 2 AM. To avoid walking back by myself, I take advantage of my college’s free security escort program so I don’t have to walk back to my dorm alone. Many college campuses also have blue light phones or campus safety apps that can be used to help students safely travel at night. Some applications offer features where a trusted friend or staff member can monitor the user’s location in real time as they walk or offer options for contacting emergency contacts after a set period of inactivity.
Another helpful strategy to use for pinpointing locations at night is the free what3words app, which can be used to generate a three-word geocode that can precisely pinpoint a user’s location within ten feet (three meters). While what3words should not be used as the sole way of gathering location information in an emergency, this can be helpful for students who are unsure about where they are (especially when traveling off-campus).
Related links
- Navigating The Dining Hall: College O&M
- Dorms and Campus Housing: College O&M
- How To Store Emergency Medical Information For Android and iOS
- Three words to tell US public safety teams exactly where you are | what3words
More tips for navigating college campuses at night with a blindness cane (white cane)
- During my first semester, the most common reason that I would be outside past midnight was because of the fire alarm! Learn more about strategies for handling fire alarms in Dealing With Dorm Fire Alarms: College O&M
- My friends and I enjoyed going to events at the on-campus performing arts center, and I would often hang out with friends in the dorm common area afterwards. I share strategies for navigating these venues in Performing Arts Centers and Low Vision: College O&M
- One night, I went to the dining hall at 11 PM to get food before a snowstorm; I knew it would not be safe for me to walk in the snow in the dark, so I wanted to make sure my mini fridge was full. I include tips for traveling in the snow in Walking In The Snow: College O&M
Published October 30, 2019. Updated October 2025