diff --git a/app/channels/map_channel.rb b/app/channels/map_channel.rb
index 92d8ad76d..8621c2001 100644
--- a/app/channels/map_channel.rb
+++ b/app/channels/map_channel.rb
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ def map_atts(data)
   end
 
   def layer_atts(data)
-    data.slice("id", "type", "name", "query", "heatmap", "cluster")
+    data.slice("id", "type", "name", "query", "heatmap", "cluster", "show")
   end
 
   # load map with write access
diff --git a/app/javascript/channels/map_channel.js b/app/javascript/channels/map_channel.js
index 8cd7e4cdb..ab8a10139 100644
--- a/app/javascript/channels/map_channel.js
+++ b/app/javascript/channels/map_channel.js
@@ -1,9 +1,14 @@
 import consumer from 'channels/consumer'
+import { initializeLayerStyles, layers, loadLayerDefinitions } from 'maplibre/layers/layers'
 import {
-  upsert, destroyFeature, setBackgroundMapLayer, mapProperties,
-  initializeMaplibreProperties, map, 
-  reloadMapProperties } from 'maplibre/map'
-import { layers, initializeLayerStyles, loadLayerDefinitions } from 'maplibre/layers/layers'
+  destroyFeature,
+  initializeMaplibreProperties, map,
+  mapProperties,
+  reloadMapProperties,
+  setBackgroundMapLayer,
+  setLayerVisibility,
+  upsert
+} from 'maplibre/map'
 
 
 export let mapChannel
@@ -99,9 +104,13 @@ export function initializeSocket () {
             // Remove geojson key before comparison
             const { ['geojson']: _, ...layerDef } = layers[index]
             if (JSON.stringify(layerDef) !== JSON.stringify(data.layer)) {
+              // preserve geojson data when updating layer definition
+              const geojson = layers[index].geojson
               layers[index] = data.layer
+              if (geojson) { layers[index].geojson = geojson }
               console.log('Layer updated on server, reloading layer styles', data.layer)
               initializeLayerStyles(data.layer.id)
+              setLayerVisibility(data.layer.type + '-source-' + data.layer.id, data.layer.show !== false)
             }
           } else {
             layers.push(data.layer)
diff --git a/app/javascript/controllers/map/layers_controller.js b/app/javascript/controllers/map/layers_controller.js
index f9d922c8e..4b245748a 100644
--- a/app/javascript/controllers/map/layers_controller.js
+++ b/app/javascript/controllers/map/layers_controller.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { Controller } from '@hotwired/stimulus'
 import { mapChannel } from 'channels/map_channel'
-import { map, upsert, mapProperties, removeGeoJSONSource } from 'maplibre/map'
+import { map, upsert, mapProperties, removeGeoJSONSource, setLayerVisibility } from 'maplibre/map'
 import { initLayersModal } from 'maplibre/controls/shared'
 import { uploadImageToFeature, confirmImageLocation } from 'maplibre/feature'
 import { status } from 'helpers/status'
@@ -200,6 +200,39 @@ export default class extends Controller {
     list.classList.toggle('hidden')
   }
 
+  toggleLayerVisibility (event) {
+    event.preventDefault()
+    dom.closeTooltips()
+    const layerElement = event.target.closest('.layer-item')
+    const layerId = layerElement.getAttribute('data-layer-id')
+    const layer = layers.find(l => l.id === layerId)
+    const wasVisible = layer.show !== false
+    layer.show = !wasVisible
+
+    setLayerVisibility(layer.type + '-source-' + layerId, layer.show)
+
+    // update UI
+    const icon = layerElement.querySelector('button.layer-visibility i')
+    if (layer.show) {
+      icon.classList.replace('bi-eye-slash', 'bi-eye')
+      layerElement.classList.remove('opacity-50')
+    } else {
+      icon.classList.replace('bi-eye', 'bi-eye-slash')
+      layerElement.classList.add('opacity-50')
+    }
+
+    // when showing: initialize styles (and load data for overpass/wikipedia if needed)
+    if (layer.show) {
+      initializeLayerStyles(layerId)
+    }
+
+    // sync to server only in rw mode
+    if (window.gon.map_mode === "rw") {
+      const { geojson: _geojson, ...sendLayer } = layer
+      mapChannel.send_message('update_layer', sendLayer)
+    }
+  }
+
   createWikipediaLayer() {
     this.createLayer('wikipedia', 'Wikipedia', '')
   }
@@ -221,7 +254,7 @@ export default class extends Controller {
   createLayer(type, name, query) {
     let layerId = functions.featureId()
     // must match server attribute order, for proper comparison in map_channel
-    let layer = { "id": layerId, "type": type, "name": name, "heatmap": false, "cluster": true}
+    let layer = { "id": layerId, "type": type, "name": name, "heatmap": false, "cluster": true, "show": true}
     if (type == 'overpass') { 
       layer["query"] = query 
       // TODO: move cluster + heatmap to layer checkboxes 
diff --git a/app/javascript/helpers/dom.js b/app/javascript/helpers/dom.js
index 50d4822e7..bb7473ccf 100644
--- a/app/javascript/helpers/dom.js
+++ b/app/javascript/helpers/dom.js
@@ -57,11 +57,11 @@ export function initTooltips (root = document) {
   }
 }
 
-export function closeTooltips () {
-  functions.e('[data-toggle="tooltip"]', e => { 
-    const tooltip = bootstrap.Tooltip.getInstance(e); 
-    if (tooltip) tooltip.dispose()  
-    })
+export function closeTooltips (root = document) {
+  root.querySelectorAll('[data-toggle="tooltip"]').forEach(e => {
+    const tooltip = bootstrap.Tooltip.getInstance(e)
+    if (tooltip) tooltip.dispose()
+  })
 }
 
 export function scrollToId(elementId) {
diff --git a/app/javascript/maplibre/controls/shared.js b/app/javascript/maplibre/controls/shared.js
index 28669bf49..810e3c4ca 100644
--- a/app/javascript/maplibre/controls/shared.js
+++ b/app/javascript/maplibre/controls/shared.js
@@ -175,6 +175,7 @@ export function initSettingsModal () {
 // create the list of layers + features
 export function initLayersModal () {
   functions.e('#layers', e => {
+    dom.closeTooltips(e)
     e.innerHTML = ''
     const template = document.querySelector('#layer-item-template')
     layers.forEach(layer => {
@@ -200,6 +201,13 @@ export function initLayersModal () {
       featureCount.textContent = '(' + features.length + ')'
       head.parentNode.insertBefore(featureCount, head.nextSibling)
       e.appendChild(layerElement)
+      // visibility toggle for all layers
+      const visBtn = layerElement.querySelector('button.layer-visibility')
+      visBtn.classList.remove('hidden')
+      if (layer.show === false) {
+        visBtn.querySelector('i').classList.replace('bi-eye', 'bi-eye-slash')
+        layerElement.classList.add('opacity-50')
+      }
       if (layer.type !== 'geojson') {
         layerElement.querySelector('button.layer-refresh').classList.remove('hidden')
         layerElement.querySelector('button.layer-delete').classList.remove('hidden')
diff --git a/app/javascript/maplibre/layers/geojson.js b/app/javascript/maplibre/layers/geojson.js
index 17a876328..d3c30b1d2 100644
--- a/app/javascript/maplibre/layers/geojson.js
+++ b/app/javascript/maplibre/layers/geojson.js
@@ -4,12 +4,12 @@ import { lineString } from "@turf/helpers"
 import { length } from "@turf/length"
 import { draw, select } from 'maplibre/edit'
 import { getFeature, getFeatures, layers } from 'maplibre/layers/layers'
-import { map, mapProperties } from 'maplibre/map'
+import { map, mapProperties, removeStyleLayers } from 'maplibre/map'
 import { defaultLineWidth, featureColor, initializeClusterStyles, initializeViewStyles, labelFont, setSource, styles } from 'maplibre/styles/styles'
 
 export function initializeGeoJSONLayers(id = null) {
   // console.log('Initializing geojson layers')
-  let initLayers = layers.filter(l => l.type === 'geojson')
+  let initLayers = layers.filter(l => l.type === 'geojson' && l.show !== false)
   if (id) { initLayers = initLayers.filter(l => l.id === id) }
 
   initLayers.forEach((layer) => {
@@ -188,6 +188,7 @@ export function kmMarkerStyles (_id) {
 }
 
 export function initializeKmMarkerStyles(id) {
+  removeStyleLayers('km-marker-source-' + id)
   kmMarkerStyles(id).forEach(style => {
     style = setSource (style, 'km-marker-source-' + id)
     map.addLayer(style)
diff --git a/app/javascript/maplibre/layers/layers.js b/app/javascript/maplibre/layers/layers.js
index 8866d0752..d7e32b9c3 100644
--- a/app/javascript/maplibre/layers/layers.js
+++ b/app/javascript/maplibre/layers/layers.js
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ export function initializeLayerSources(id = null) {
   initLayers.forEach((layer) => {
     // drop cluster when heatmap is set
     const cluster = !!layer.cluster && !layer.heatmap
-    console.log('Adding source for layer', layer.type, layer.id, cluster)
+    console.log('Adding source for layer', layer)
     addGeoJSONSource(layer.type + '-source-' + layer.id, cluster)
     // add one source for km markers per geojson layer
     if (layer.type === 'geojson') {
@@ -66,6 +66,10 @@ export async function initializeLayerStyles(id = null) {
 // triggered by layer reload in the layers modal
 export function loadLayerData(id) {
   let layer = layers.find(l => l.id === id)
+  if (layer.show === false) {
+    console.log("Skipped loading data for not shown layer", layer)
+    return Promise.resolve()
+  }
   // geojson layers are loaded in loadLayerDefinitions
   if (layer.type === 'wikipedia') {
     return loadWikipediaLayer(layer.id)
diff --git a/app/javascript/maplibre/layers/overpass.js b/app/javascript/maplibre/layers/overpass.js
index 7fb25c2fa..b07bc8167 100644
--- a/app/javascript/maplibre/layers/overpass.js
+++ b/app/javascript/maplibre/layers/overpass.js
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import { map } from 'maplibre/map'
 import { initializeClusterStyles, initializeViewStyles } from 'maplibre/styles/styles'
 
 export function initializeOverpassLayers(id = null) {
-  let initLayers = layers.filter(l => l.type === 'overpass')
+  let initLayers = layers.filter(l => l.type === 'overpass' && l.show !== false)
   if (id) { initLayers = initLayers.filter(l => l.id === id)  }
   return initLayers.map((layer) => {
     const clustered = !layer.query.includes("heatmap=true") &&
diff --git a/app/javascript/maplibre/layers/wikipedia.js b/app/javascript/maplibre/layers/wikipedia.js
index 7ee48e07c..7d88a2776 100644
--- a/app/javascript/maplibre/layers/wikipedia.js
+++ b/app/javascript/maplibre/layers/wikipedia.js
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import { initializeClusterStyles, initializeViewStyles } from 'maplibre/styles/s
 
 export function initializeWikipediaLayers(id = null) {
   // console.log('Initializing Wikipedia layers')
-  let initLayers = layers.filter(l => l.type === 'wikipedia')
+  let initLayers = layers.filter(l => l.type === 'wikipedia' && l.show !== false)
   if (id) { initLayers = initLayers.filter(l => l.id === id) }
 
   return initLayers.map((layer) => {
diff --git a/app/javascript/maplibre/map.js b/app/javascript/maplibre/map.js
index 18da6cc7c..ed6bd128c 100644
--- a/app/javascript/maplibre/map.js
+++ b/app/javascript/maplibre/map.js
@@ -216,6 +216,21 @@ export function removeStyleLayers(sourceName) {
   }
 }
 
+export function setLayerVisibility(sourceName, visible) {
+  if (map.getStyle && map.getStyle().layers) {
+    const sources = [sourceName]
+    // geojson layers have a companion km-marker source
+    if (sourceName.startsWith('geojson-source-')) {
+      sources.push(sourceName.replace('geojson-source-', 'km-marker-source-'))
+    }
+    map.getStyle().layers
+      .filter(l => sources.includes(l.source))
+      .forEach(l => {
+        if (map.getLayer(l.id)) map.setLayoutProperty(l.id, 'visibility', visible ? 'visible' : 'none')
+      })
+  }
+}
+
 export function removeGeoJSONSource(sourceName) {
   removeStyleLayers(sourceName)
   if (map.getSource(sourceName)) {
diff --git a/app/models/layer.rb b/app/models/layer.rb
index 73ebf51aa..2d9e35724 100644
--- a/app/models/layer.rb
+++ b/app/models/layer.rb
@@ -14,13 +14,14 @@ class Layer
   field :query
   field :heatmap, type: Boolean
   field :cluster, type: Boolean
+  field :show, type: Boolean, default: true
   field :features_count, type: Integer, default: 0
 
   after_save :broadcast_update, if: -> { map.present? }
   after_destroy :broadcast_destroy, if: -> { map.present? }
 
   def to_summary_json
-    json = { id: id, type: type, name: name, heatmap: !!heatmap, cluster: !!cluster }
+    json = { id: id, type: type, name: name, heatmap: !!heatmap, cluster: !!cluster, show: show != false }
     json[:query] = query if type == "overpass"
     json
   end
@@ -44,7 +45,7 @@ def clone_with_features
   end
 
   def broadcast_update
-    if (%w[name query heatmap cluster] & previous_changes.keys).any?
+    if (%w[name query heatmap cluster show] & previous_changes.keys).any?
       # broadcast to private + public channel
       [ map.private_id, map.public_id ].each do |map_id|
         ActionCable.server.broadcast("map_channel_#{map_id}",
diff --git a/app/views/maps/modals/_layers.haml b/app/views/maps/modals/_layers.haml
index 505bef295..b97aea6d9 100644
--- a/app/views/maps/modals/_layers.haml
+++ b/app/views/maps/modals/_layers.haml
@@ -69,12 +69,14 @@
               %i.bi.bi-caret-right-fill
               %span.mapforge-font.layer-name.me-2 Layer name
             %span.text-nowrap
-              %button.hidden.ms-2.btn.btn-secondary.btn-layer-actions.layer-refresh{ data: { action: "click->map--layers#refreshLayer", "toggle": 'tooltip', 'bs-custom-class': 'maplibregl-ctrl-tooltip' }, title: "Refresh layer for current view" }
+              %button.hidden.ms-2.btn.btn-secondary.btn-layer-actions.layer-visibility{ data: { action: "click->map--layers#toggleLayerVisibility", "toggle": 'tooltip', 'bs-custom-class': 'maplibregl-ctrl-tooltip' }, title: "Toggle visibility" }
+                %i.bi.bi-eye
+              %button.hidden.btn.btn-secondary.btn-layer-actions.layer-refresh{ data: { action: "click->map--layers#refreshLayer", "toggle": 'tooltip', 'bs-custom-class': 'maplibregl-ctrl-tooltip' }, title: "Refresh layer for current view" }
                 %i.bi.bi-arrow-clockwise.reload-icon
               %button.hidden.btn.btn-secondary.btn-layer-actions.layer-edit{ data: { action: "click->map--layers#toggleEdit", "toggle": 'tooltip', 'bs-custom-class': 'maplibregl-ctrl-tooltip' }, title: "Edit query" }
                 %i.bi.bi-pencil-square
               %button.hidden.btn.btn-orange.btn-layer-actions.layer-delete{ data: { action: "click->map--layers#deleteLayer", "toggle": 'tooltip', 'bs-custom-class': 'maplibregl-ctrl-tooltip' }, title: "Delete Layer" }
-                %i.bi.bi-trash             
+                %i.bi.bi-trash
 
           .layer-content.hidden
 
diff --git a/spec/features/map_layers_spec.rb b/spec/features/map_layers_spec.rb
index 5922de4e9..a3ea4b70c 100644
--- a/spec/features/map_layers_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/features/map_layers_spec.rb
@@ -129,6 +129,49 @@
     end
   end
 
+  context "layer visibility" do
+    before do
+      find(".maplibregl-ctrl-layers").click
+    end
+
+    it "toggles layer visibility" do
+      find("button.layer-visibility").click
+      expect(page).to have_css(".layer-item.opacity-50")
+      expect(page).to have_css("button.layer-visibility i.bi-eye-slash")
+      wait_for { map.layers.first.reload.show }.to be false
+    end
+
+    it "shows hidden layer" do
+      map.layers.first.update!(show: false)
+      visit map.private_map_path
+      expect_map_loaded
+      find(".maplibregl-ctrl-layers").click
+      expect(page).to have_css("button.layer-visibility i.bi-eye-slash")
+      find("button.layer-visibility").click
+      expect(page).to have_css("button.layer-visibility i.bi-eye")
+      expect(page).not_to have_css(".layer-item.opacity-50")
+      wait_for { map.layers.first.reload.show }.to be true
+    end
+  end
+
+  context "layer visibility in readonly mode" do
+    it "does not sync visibility change to server" do
+      find(".maplibregl-ctrl-layers").click
+      find("button.layer-visibility").click
+      wait_for { map.layers.first.reload.show }.to be false
+
+      visit map.public_map_path
+      expect_map_loaded
+      find(".maplibregl-ctrl-layers").click
+      expect(page).to have_css("button.layer-visibility i.bi-eye-slash")
+      # toggle in ro mode
+      find("button.layer-visibility").click
+      expect(page).to have_css("button.layer-visibility i.bi-eye")
+      # server state unchanged
+      expect(map.layers.first.reload.show).to be false
+    end
+  end
+
   context "add new layer" do
     before do
       find(".maplibregl-ctrl-layers").click
diff --git a/spec/models/layer_spec.rb b/spec/models/layer_spec.rb
index 5eda823dc..3d2848d67 100644
--- a/spec/models/layer_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/models/layer_spec.rb
@@ -11,4 +11,45 @@
       expect(clone.id).not_to eq subject.id
     end
   end
+
+  describe "#show" do
+    it "defaults to true" do
+      layer = create(:layer)
+      expect(layer.show).to be true
+    end
+
+    it "can be set to false" do
+      layer = create(:layer, show: false)
+      expect(layer.show).to be false
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe "#to_summary_json" do
+    it "includes show: true by default" do
+      layer = create(:layer)
+      expect(layer.to_summary_json[:show]).to be true
+    end
+
+    it "includes show: false when hidden" do
+      layer = create(:layer, show: false)
+      expect(layer.to_summary_json[:show]).to be false
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe "#broadcast_update" do
+    let!(:map) { create(:map) }
+    let!(:layer) { map.layers.first }
+
+    it "broadcasts when show changes" do
+      allow(ActionCable.server).to receive(:broadcast)
+      layer.update!(show: false)
+      expect(ActionCable.server).to have_received(:broadcast).twice
+    end
+
+    it "does not broadcast when show is unchanged" do
+      allow(ActionCable.server).to receive(:broadcast)
+      layer.update!(features_count: 5)
+      expect(ActionCable.server).not_to have_received(:broadcast)
+    end
+  end
 end