Paper Maps

WMDunkin

Adventurer
who makes the most detailed paper maps? I am ideally looking for one with the whole US, but a state by state would still work. I would love for it to have every road on it. It would be a great backup to my gps/phone.
 

robgendreau

Explorer
Now what is the difference between an atlas and a gazetteer?

A gazetteer is an index of places and info; think tabular data. Usually included with atlases.

I favor the Benchmark Atlases over DeLorme here in the west (they only cover western states). Very accurate info, particularly in regard to offroad stuff, which has been changing a lot hereabouts. Campground listings, etc.
 

Ramjet

Explorer
HEMA makes a great road map for the US. But to be honest, downloading maps in the scale you want is the ideal way to go. Especially if you are only going to be in one particular area. The more detailed the map, the better off you are.
 

robgendreau

Explorer
Speaking of, I'd also recommend the AAA maps. Seems to me the ones made by the SoCal AAA are better than the NorCal/Nev AAA. More detail sometimes, although even for the same place in CA they may have different info. Their special interest maps are dynamite, like the Indian Country one. If you had a older one, keep it. It had sites on it apparently that were later removed so folks wouldn't disturb archaeological sites, apparently.

But unless you're a collector, you'll never find in paper what you're seeking, since things change. That's why digital mapping is so useful. And ironically it's easier to find old maps online than in paper (I LOVE the 1900 topos on CalTopo.com for example). Every map is a tradeoff in terms of what's added and what's not; it's quite the art. At one point you could buy complete paper sets of topos for states from the USGS; I doubt you can do that now. But you could probably buy a whole dataset.
 

mikelite80

Adventurer
I also carry a "Book Map" for the state I'm in. I'm not sure which brand. It lives in rig, in the pouch behind my seat. Since the iPad came out I don't think i've used it once. I will still always carry it, but at this point it's more likely to be used as an emergency fire starter.
 

highdesertranger

Adventurer
the best topo maps are usgs. however to cover a state like California in 7.5(the most detailed) it takes over 6,000 maps. i have the nat geo maps on cd that have the whole state. the usgs are great for detail that i have not seen on other maps. i do carry other maps and have 2 garmins, one with maps one without. but nothing beats the usgs. highdesertranger
 

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