Best place to download trail maps?

[likes hikes]

I'm looking for a site that has quality downloadable maps, anyone have a good source?

[Jeremy and Angela]

http://caltopo.com
http://www.hillmap.com

For the PCT: http://www.pctmap.net

Note that trails marked on the USGS maps will be general approximations and may be rather old. If you can find a current GPX track for a given trail, that should give you better accuracy. (I had a bit of fun this past weekend trying to intersect a trail that wasn't where the map said it was. I even found a trail marker for the old route, which worried me as I started to doubt my ability to recognize a trail.)

[likes hikes]

Ill be honest, I clicked on those, and I am not quite sure that to do. How do i get a map for a certain area? Say for example I wanted to find a map for a specific loop in the Sawtooths or the Sawtooth recreation area as a whole? I'm clueless when it comes to maps as I have always just winged it, which is not the greatest of ideas.

[Jerry Adams]

Do you just want to look at it online?

Print it out on paper?

Download to GPS?

[Kiel Senninger]

If you know the general location of what you're looking for zoom in on that area to see the trails and terrain there. In the upper right of the screen there's a drop down menu for what kind of map and you'll probably want to select the USGS 7.5 option. If you already have a specific trail in mind it helps to know where it starts/ends or maybe some landmarks that it goes by. If you can't find the trail by just scrolling around, there is also a search feature that has had varying degrees of success for me. It works with anything that's named on the map like a lake or a peak name. For example, if I know the trail I want runs by Merced Lake I'd type "Merced lake" into the search bar and see where it zooms me in to. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. Sometimes it helps to put the state abbr after it like an address. Once you find your trail(s)/routes just connect the dots. On caltopo you can also save a map of an area you want as a PDF. If you click the print option it'll pop up. Takes some playing around with to see all the tools it has to offer.

[likes hikes]

Jerry, I am looking for maps that I can print out if needed.

Kiel, thank you for the info. That clears it up quite a bit, I was able to find my trail with the landmarks.

[Ian]

There are a few features about Caltopo that I didn't find until I tried to print the map.

1. You can save your map as a PDF. You will find this option when you go to print the map.
2. You have the option to save the map to 24k but if you want to zoom in/out, you can print the map with a scale.
3. You'll have the option to choose between UTM or lat/long
4. You'll also have the option to choose between WGS84 and NAD27

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