gpsfiledepot and switchbacks.com

Just to clarify the current Garmin topo maps:

Their 1:24,000 map series, introduced in 2011, has 40 foot contour lines.

If you buy the download version of the maps, it is installed on the portable GPS unit and you can only use the maps on the computer (BaseCamp software) when the portable device is connected to a USB port (the maps reside on the portable).

If you buy the DVD version of the maps, it is installed on the portable GPS and can be installed on the computer so that you can use them in BaseCamp even when the portable is not connected to the computer. The DVD does not have to be in the computer. The maps are installed on the hard drive.

The West region DVD covers all of Washington, Oregon, California, and Nevada. You can buy it for $89.95. The key feature differentiation, aside from coverage in areas where finding freebies may be tougher, is that these 24K topo maps are "routable" just like a car GPS. Tell it where you want to go and it will determine and navigate a hiking (or driving, or biking) route.

The usefulness of the routing depends on how complete and accurate the trail coverage is in a particular area. I found it really useful in planning hikes in Acadia National Park. Instead of trying to piece together mileage from a guidebook, I just routed a hike by clicking trails in Basecamp and got an approximate mileage and ascent/descent for the loop. You could then navigate that route while hiking with directions just like a car GPS.

The key feature differentiation, aside from coverage in areas where finding freebies may be tougher, is that these 24K topo maps are "routable" just like a car GPS. Tell it where you want to go and it will "determine and navigate a hiking (or driving, or biking) route."

Useless for off trail hikes.

And yes, you get a ton of maps, but it is quantity; not quality.
for $10.00 you can get the entire US USGS quality topos… BackCountry Navigator app for use on an Android device… Higher quality and lower price…

Billy

switchbacks and gpsfiledepot are free

my gps has a route finding capability but I've never found any desire to figure out how to use it

I accidentally press some button occasionally, and it starts route finding to somewhere, but it's easy to then turn this off : )

I have a car with gps route finding and that's really cool – enter the address of where I want to go and it tells me pretty good how to get there. The other day it told me to take a road that hadn't been built yet, but I just went somewhere in the right direction, and then it started telling me a good route.

Makes no sense for hiking. I usually know where I want to go. Sometimes a little cross country but I don't think a computer would be good at figuring out a good route – depends on data that isn't in the topo map

>> BackCountry Navigator app for use on an Android device…

I don't want topo maps on an Android device. I want topo maps on my desktop computer with high def wide screen that will display large areas big enough to actually see with instant zooming and dragging (so I can plan where I want to hike without going blind). And, then I want it all transfered to my Garmin GPS handheld. So, Backcountry Navigator doesn't do bupkis for me. :)

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I agree that the trail routing is of limited use during an actual hike, but — as I mentioned — I found it quite handy planning a couple of days of hiking in Acadia, where there are hundreds and hundreds of trails. I think the loop I did one day involved parts of eight different trails. It was very handy to be able to "what if" several different loops and get an instant estimate. What if I add this loop to the route?

I suspect the navigation feature IS very handy for mountain bikers and/or trail runners who are moving at a pretty good pace and need to quickly see major junctions on the route.

For trip planning in the United States you can get pretty much every 7.5 minute (1:24k) from the USGS for free as a PDF. Zoom and explore to your heart's content. http://store.usgs.gov

For the GPS/smartphone add an sd card with the maps for your region already on it and you are good to walk out the door.

USGS maps don't download to my Garmin GPS

The SD cards cost money

switchbacks.com has the trails pretty accurately placed based on people taking a GPS track, not the old USGS survey data

The downloadable USGS PDF quads don't show hiking trails. Nice maps, but not terribly useful for planning hikes.

Jerry,

Not including vehicle navigation units, my experience with mapping GPS is limited to Gaia GPS.

My assumption is that I'll need to choose a base map for the area and then cherry pick different layers that I want to add.

For example of the base maps, I can't tell if there's a difference between Washington 24k Topo and another one named Washington Topo 2011. Do you know if one is better than the other?

Washington Wilderness appears to be a layer so my assumption is that will work in conjunction with one of the above.

Thanks for sharing this. Very useful information.

I don't know Ian, maybe someone else does. I'm a pretty basic user.