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Benchmark atlases or ???? Hiking trails on something else?

dcason
Explorer
Explorer
Someone told us that another brand of atlas also had hiking trails on them? We currently use benchmark atlas to pick out boondock spots (among other things)...but is there an atlas type thing that has hiking trails on them as well?
15 REPLIES 15

2g_s
Explorer
Explorer
Benchmark is so much better than Delorme. It's super easy to read details and shows public lands good. We love them. Nothing can compare if you're an explorer.

https://www.benchmarkmaps.com/atlas

For hiking you need a hiking map.

https://www.natgeomaps.com/trail-maps/trails-illustrated-maps

agesilaus
Explorer II
Explorer II
If you want to stick to paper then the best for hiking trails are the National Geographic maps. Pricey, run around $16 ea and a limited area covered.
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dcason
Explorer
Explorer
THANKS on the delorme... I will stick with benchmark.

DrewE
Explorer
Explorer
Maybe the person was referring to DeLorme atlases, which are in many ways similar to the Benchmark ones. DeLorme has atlases that cover all the states, unlike Benchmark, but IMHO their maps are a little harder to read and so not quite so handy to use. Both have similar scales and show similar sets of features.

Lwiddis
Explorer
Explorer
My go to for forest roads and trails is Forest Maps app. Company uses USFS maps.
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azdryheat
Explorer
Explorer
I do a lot of off-roading and GAIA and ONX are great. Gaia is free and ONX is $29/year. Bottom line is GAIA and ONX work without being connected to a network. I've been way out in the boonies and still the maps still worked. I've never been lost with them.
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profdant139
Explorer II
Explorer II
We really like iHikegps, which is an app for your phone. It works without cell coverage, as long as you have pre-loaded the USGS topo maps when you do have coverage.

We use it primarily for hiking and for forest road navigation. When we are driving on pavement, we usually use Google Maps, because there is usually cell coverage.

The iHike app is very easy to install and use. And the maps are very easy to read, much better than on our earlier Garmin devices.
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agesilaus
Explorer II
Explorer II
cptqueeg wrote:
Gaia looks good. I use On X for hunting because it has property ownership, but it's $100/yr for more than 1 state.


LOL I got it on sale for $10, have not used any of them yet since our night out.
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NamMedevac_70
Explorer II
Explorer II
I have had good luck with trails.com and of course Google Search. Type in name of trail or trail head and there it is. Also when I zoom in close on Google Maps to a particular trail head such as Mount Rose then click on the name then many photos are displayed and the website for that trail head is posted and the website usually has a detailed topo map of the trail/s in that immediate area plus other info such as Galena Park near Reno that has detailed maps of Thomas Creek, Galena creek and Whites creek trails in the Humboldt National forest.

Google and Bing search are always my friends. I also use Benchmark maps for many outdoor activities and they are my favorite atlas.

FWC
Explorer
Explorer
Gaia has property ownership as well.

I would also agree that alltrails is marginal for navigation, but can be useful for finding a trail description ahead of time.

cptqueeg
Explorer II
Explorer II
Gaia looks good. I use On X for hunting because it has property ownership, but it's $100/yr for more than 1 state.
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agesilaus
Explorer II
Explorer II
Alltrails, which we have used has one big flaw. In my opinion. It does not put an arrow or other direction marker on the map to show your direction of travel. This can be a real problem when you are out on the trail. I've been told by many taht Gaia GPS is better than Alltrails. Take a look at this article for other suggestions:
REI article

What ever you get download the map of the trail you are planning to take BEFORE you leave. You may well be out of cell phone signal range once you get out on the trail. Especially in National Parks. We spent a night in a cave at Bryce Canyon in 30 deg temps and Alltrails was useless since I did not d/l the map before we left.
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FWC
Explorer
Explorer
What sort of hiking trails are you looking for?

Benchmarks do mark some of the larger trails, however there is insufficient detail on the map at scale of 1:200,000 to actually use them to hike.

National Geographic Trails illustrated maps are a better resource for hiking. They are also available through the GaiaGPS app, which is probably the best digital resource for backcountry travel.

dcason
Explorer
Explorer
Hubby used to use all trails ap...thanks. I am thinking the guy didn't know what he was talking about.
donna

Cat_Lady
Explorer
Explorer
Sorry, I donโ€™t know about the Benchmark info but you can check out the All Trails app. Good luck.
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