50 State Atlas Map

[huck55]

Noobie here......Do people use paper maps anymore?

I'm not a big fan of the emaps on the ipads/computers. I'm looking for a 50 state (or at least a multiple state paper map) map so I can open it up, write on it and plan trips over multiple states.

I looked on line a bit and only saw individual states atlas maps. Do they make large paper maps of the USA anymore?

[Piggy Bank]

https://www.amazon.com/Rand-McNally-...s%2C166&sr=8-4
Atlas-spiral is nice so it can lay flat.

also there are Gazetteers
https://www.amazon.com/DeLorme®-Wyom...s%2C167&sr=8-6

There are also several regional US maps which are very good. We got the Alberta one last year and found it very helpful in Canada.https://www.amazon.com/dp/156695715X...dDbGljaz10cnVl

And as you see from the prices, they are not free with a tank of gas anymore.

[OTRA15]

Bingo!

Great links and recommendations, Piggy Bank.

[Ol Bob]

I get my big state maps free at Welcome Centers coming into the state.
No..my wide does. I'm just the chauffeur towing a Airstream.
Most states will mail them to you if you get on the state tourism website and ask.

[SailorSam205]

X2 on the Rand McNally. It comes in a few formats. I stopped at a bookstore and looked to decide which one I wanted.


I will also hit the state visitor centers for the official state map. I like to geocache and these are often easier to determine county boundaries. I'm on a mission to keep uping my counties cached in count, currently at 14% of all US counties.

[StreaminGeo]

I get a new Rand McNally whenever the California pages finally fall out, about every year or so.

[Rich W]

AAA has maps and will create TripTiks for members. I always carry a Rand McNally in my car and I have the last available version of Microsoft Streets and Trips (2013) which doesn't need an Internet connection to work. It can be used to plan and create a road trip, something like a TripTik, including overnight stops, warnings to fill up with gas, etc. I have found it to be very helpful but yes, it does have some quirks. There are some on eBay. Search for
Streets and Trips 2013

[turk123]

Here is what you are looking for! This is a big map. Four foot on a side!

[OTRA15]

Just be sure to have a fairly up-to-date map or atlas. I have always kept an old atlas in the van, as back-up for trips all over. Imagine my surprise in Boston, when the "Pre-Big-Dig" map was all wrong for the entire SE area near the tunnel and I-93.

"All wrong" . . . ?

Like a different city altogether -- as in "you can't get there from here!"

[drbrick]

We use the Rand McNally "Motor Carriers" Road Atlas (i.e., Truckers Maps) this shows roads with low bridges, difficult for semis etc. Things to know when you're 50' Long and 10' high We use this for planning our route then use the trucks GPS setup for travel.

[WhereStream]

Rand McNally ... a must-have road atlas.

Get the ring-bound, if you can.

Easier to use and holds up a bit longer.

I looked at the Motor Carriers version, but it was information overload.

[Hittenstiehl]

X8 on the Rand McNally spiral bound. Very inexpensive at Walmart get one every couple of years. Also have Gazateers for the states that we visit frequently, go off-road etcetera. Will pick up a state map here and there.

Yes we also use phone maps, tablet maps, Google maps, GPS etc. There's good reasons to know a combination of sources.

Something to be said for the night before looking at a full page or double page fold of where you're going.

What I cannot understand is when the driver has to be the one looking at the maps (while driving). Understandably everybody's map reading skills are different. But it's a big picture. Find the city and know that East and West are left and right and figure things out. Nobody's asking you to read a topographic map, find the declination diagram, figure out the elevation etc is just give me some general decent directions. Passengers don't flake out and drivers don't let them use the I don't know how excuse.

If we are driving alone we will also sometimes make ourselves some cryptic crib notes to stick on the dash so that we will know when particular exits and things like that are coming up.

[WhereStream]

Originally Posted by Hittenstiehl

If we are driving alone we will also sometimes make ourselves some cryptic crib notes to stick on the dash so that we will know when particular exits and things like that are coming up.

Hey, that’s a great idea!

Thanks for the tip.

[greenflag]

I got my Rand Mcnally truckers spiral bound atlas at a Flying J Truck Stop.
I also like looking at a hand held map. Better perspective on the big picture IMHO.

[Sport 16 STL]

Any one have a link for a small USA map that has the stickers for each state as you visit.

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by greenflag

I got my Rand Mcnally truckers spiral bound atlas at a Flying J Truck Stop.
I also like looking at a hand held map. Better perspective on the big picture IMHO.

I totally agree. GPS is great thing but more often than not you find yourself turning down some side street and not knowing why. Monday I was coming home from a trip and Google Maps told me to get off at an exit 5 miles before mine that would have put me on surface streets at rush hour. Zooming out doesn't help because it goes too far or not far enough and then it changes its orientation, Garmin does anyway.

When I travel I use my Garmin on the windshield and my phone with (Google Maps or Waze) in the cup holder. If they agree, great. If not, order of precedence is Waze, Garmin, Google Maps. That has worked quite well since 2016. For long trips I use MS Streets and Trips to plan a route, print it off and put it on a small clipboard I have on the console.

[Bompagene]

Rand McNally has a plastic coated version of the motor carrier atlas that you can mark up and erase to use again!
30 years of trucking I bought a new one every other year. Backed up by GPS (Grampa Positioning System) and maybe some electronics!

[57Wanderer]

If you plan to be traveling in the western states, I would pick up the Benchmark maps for the particular states you may be visiting. Worth the money. Everything is in there: fishing, hunting, state and national parks, historical sites, lists of campgrounds, average monthly temps, mileage, etc. Have fun out there!

[OTRA15]

Great recent recommendations, thanks.

[nswhite]

We use the Rand McNally map. I always reference it to see where I'm going.


Also, on the full US map portion I've drawn a circle from our home to 400 miles. About one tank of gas. An easy way of finding weekend trips within range.