Natl. Geographic TOPO! software

I have Colorado and Wyoming, and have used it to plan and print custom maps. It's great for quickly figuring mileage and elevation profiles that, if you carry one, can be dumped into your GPS.

I dig maps. Playing with it helps get me through my long, cold winters!

I heard a new version just came out? Is that true? Maybe that is why it is now on sale.

search the web for 'free topo'

or

http://libremap.org/

P.S.

I have Delorme Topo USA that I use for various projects. General map software applications are great for finding coordinates of places and adding your own stuff and planning trips. However, the distance of trails sometimes is only ballpark close. The longer the trail segment, the more inaccuracy. For example, a 2,000 mile trail will "compute" to about 1,850 or so miles. It was explained to me that this is because the software does not have every detailed curve – over long distances, this adds up. Shorter trail segments are usually pretty close based on my experience.

Check out maptech terrain navigator. you can demo it on the website.

http://www.topofusion.com

I have used Topo for years on my mac, a g5 imac. It works pretty well. It has some bugs and some things that bother me (it always starts off in Missouri, and never remembers that I am in the NE), but I have been happy I bought it. Printing does work in the new version. I can sync with my serial GPS (a geko 301). The 3d view is pretty good, but sometimes I find using google maps more useful for that type of view (buying the google maps option to sync with a GPS may be an alternative to buying topo).

For a mac, the other choice is MacGpsPro. I use that for the topos in Quebec, although I know he sells maps for the US states too. MacGpsPro uses the actual scans of maps. This is not nearly as nice as the seamless maps on topo, and the topo maps also look much nicer. But MacGPSpro can import just about any kind of map, including free USFS maps that you can find and download. But that can be a lot of work to find and calibrate, so for the money Topo is still well worth it.

Getting all of NE and the Daks also seems like a great deal. I will probably never hike in RI, but I sure like having the Whites, the Daks, Maine and Vermont loaded on my computer. I would be surprised if you weren't happy with the purchase.

I've been considering this purchase as well. Is it only topography or does it have park details in there also? I've got a few National Geo maps for specific parks that show trailhead names, possible water locations, trail permissions (atv/hikers/mountainbikes/etc). OS isn't really a concern as I have access to several, but still prefer Mac OS X.

The topo maps don't really include other park details (not sure which parks you are thinking of here in the east), at least that I have noticed. I think the data on the topo is from the USGS quad. When I compare the mansfield quad with topo, the content provided looks to be the same. But the topo maps look much, much better. I think that is coloring and the shading they use. They do offer the option to turn on street detail overlay, so that additional names that can be helpful.

Have you seen the demo of topo? this is for windows, but gives a pretty good idea of the 5 levels of the maps, and shows the 3d view nicely for what it is.

http://maps.nationalgeographic.com/downloads/State_demo.htm

If you have a garmin mapping GPS, garmin just came out with maps for mac. I don't have a mapping GPS so I haven't tried that and haven't read any reviews. The garmin maps are 100k, not 24k like the topo, so they will be much less detailed. But getting the garmin maps first would be worth considering.

Michael,
My apologies. I should have spcified that the maps I was referring to are on paper.
As for mapping GPS, have you seen the Magellan Triton series? They allow you to download USGS maps to the GPS. I've not seen one yet, only read reviews and comments about the quirks.
Chris