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Hello, I was wondering if there is anywhere I can send out to for free maps. I am planning an extensive loop of the United States that will cover around 10 000km and 18 states. I know this will require a large amount of planning and lots of money, (lots for me since im a university student right now) so the plan is to do it in the summer of 2009. So if anyone knows of any places I can get free maps it would be greatly appreciated.
Most of the USA state and Canadian province offices provides free maps -- and, of course, travel clubs like AAA, provide free maps to their members. Welcome to the Great American RoadTrip Forum! But I recommend that you use the online planning programs -- all of those maps are free! Here are some of them that we have reviewed -- there are several more -- but we haven't gotten around to them yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by pfunk
Mark
I was actually thinking about putting a 56" x 40" map of the states on my wall and then planning my route from there. Since the goal is further away than I would really like I want to keep it fresh in my mind the whole time. Do you know if you can get access to hardcopies of the maps from the governments online site? I have checked briefly but have come up lacking. Thank you for your help once again.
One option is to download these student editions and then print out what you need.
Mark
Update July 2024 (RTA):The downloads are no longer available.
Thank you so much, it is greatly appreciated. I'm very certain we will talk again, this forum is very informative and friendly and I will definitely be on here regularly from now on.
But nothing beats a paper map while you're on the road.
Since you have time, I strongly suggest that you google
"tourism ___state/province___" and you should find the official state or province tourism office for that state. All of them offer not only free maps but planning guides and various other free items that are quite helpful for travel planning.
It looks like Judy beat me to the punch, but I also was going to suggest that you write to the department of tourism of each state you are going to travel. Usually they are more than happy to mail you a free map and lots of other good information about the state.
Many Dept. of Transportation offices also will send you their free state map. I know Washington does this, I get a new one from them every other year at least. They make the best WA state map!Quote:
Originally Posted by Judy
-Brad
Thanks so much guys, I'm visiting the sites for all the states as we speak, though some of them are not so helpful as they only ship the guides within America (im Canadian). The dept. of transportation is a great idea thanks for the info Brad.
Hello pfunk-
Although I am impressed with the utility and convenience of using various navigation systems, I have a saying which speaks to the continued coexistence of hardcopy maps and navigation systems:
The technical term for one who relies solely on navigation systems is: LOST
And before I'm flamed for offering that slightly tongue-in-cheek adage, read it carefully and note the presence of the word "solely". My son just navigated from Ventura, CA to Park City, UT with his new instrument, Tom-Tom. He overlooked my emailed street map and written directions to his destination, the home of our host. For some reason, most navigation systems depict the street name as existing some 3 miles away from where it actually is, and in another subdivision entirely. Tom-Tom took him to the exact address he'd punched in, the wrong one. LOST, as it were.
I also value greatly the "big picture" aspect of hardcopy maps for overall planning. I'd much rather have the wall map before me than either a reduced scale computer screen image or flipping back and forth between larger scale images. Having become adept at map reading during a college and professional career as a field geologist in the days long before GPS, I still very much prefer maps to nav systems.
Old School? Absolutely. Lost? NEVER.
Foy
Thanks for that Foy, I was actually thinking around the same thing. Has anyone actually used a Tom- Tom before? Any thoughts on them? Are they cost effective, or should I just stick to maps by themselves?
Ive ordered tourist maps from around 20 states, these should be coming in the mail within the month. Hopefully with these and the US wall map that I have I can plan my trip accordingly.
Here are a couple of field reports filed by members.Quote:
Originally Posted by pfunk
Mark
I should emphasize except for some localized glitches, common to all nav systems which must be updated for new construction and general corrections to the original databases, my son absolutely loves his Tom-Tom. He's new to the Southern California area and has made much use of his unit, purchased for around $150 at the on-base Naval Exchange, as he finds his way round Sou Cal's labyrinth of highways and streets. He does, however, keep his two CA map books (DeLorme and Benchmark) and his large-format Rand McNally, on board the truck.
On the recent road trip, he programmed in the normal fuel window distance and other waypoints into his TomTom so was able to have a full report, at his fingertips, of how far to fuel, to what high-elevation pass, and his final destination. The only "futz" was the Park City street address, and that is apparently in a common database, as another guest headed for the same place took the same "detour" in a rental SUV equipped with a different nav system.
The instrument would have been very nice to have when he and I drove the truck from NC to CA in late October. The truck has a small fuel tank and we had to stay on our toes in terms of where to stop for fuel in western OK, TX, NM and AZ. We really pushed it once and got 24.6 gallons in the 25 gallon tank.
"These boots were made for walking"
Foy
The tightwad in me says that you should only invest in something like this if you think you're actually going to get good long-term use out of it. If you were flying here from another continent, I would say stick to paper maps and that the expense isn't worth it. But, since you live in Canada, I would guess you'll come to the States more often and that Tom-Tom also has Canadian roads on it. So it might be worth it, in that case.
I don't have one and don't yearn for one either. But I can see where it could be handy. For awhile, my cellphone carrier offered something called VZ Navigator on your cellphone. You could pay $1.99 to use it for one day (or $10/month). There were a few times where I paid the daily fee when I found myself trying to find a specific place in Seattle that I hadn't already printed out a google-map from home to locate. It worked well and was very handy. Except for the fact that the screen is smaller, it worked just like a Tom-Tom unit.
It took me right to my location easily. And I liked how you can plug in for assist in finding nearby locations in categories like ATMs, auto repair, gas stations, hotels, restaurants, movie theaters, etc. I did play with it a bit the days I subscribed to see where it could take me and, yeah, lots of cool stuff. I would think Tom-Tom is similar.
But the bummer is that they cancelled the daily option and now you can only subscribe for the $10/month. I've not done that because I might go 2-3 months without needing it at all so, why bother? However, if I was going on a long road-trip to unknown areas, I might subscribe that month to use during my trip and then cancel. You might check your cellphone carrier to see if something like that is available to you. At least that way you can check out the concept and see if you like it before laying out the big bucks for a Tom-Tom.
I stick with mainly paper maps, but, I do have Google Maps and Live Search on my PDA phone, and I love it! I can look at traffic, sat images, search, etc. all without any extra hardware.
A good road atlas in conjunction with a USA wall map is helpful with initial planning. You can also get a membership with the CAA (Canada's version of AAA) for access to free, detailed regional, state and local maps and travel books. I have found that the "official" road maps published by each state's transportation or tourist agency offer fantastic detail, but some states may indeed balk at mailing to Canada. Most states, however, offer these maps at welcome centers located near the state line on major highways.
Yes I did have trouble getting maps sent to Canada from around 5 of the 20 states that I inquired, but 75% isn't all that bad. My parents have CAA and im planning on getting it before I begin this trip, I wonder if their coverage will cover me also? Thanks for everyones input, this is becoming very informative.
It won't cover you. AAA/CAA is a membership, not insurance, so it follows the person, not the car. Unless you want to drag them along too, you'll have to get your own.
Well as much as I love my parents, they aren't coming with me on this one. I might use their membership with CAA to get myself some maps though...
We have our two adult children on our AAA membership. We can add them for less money than an individual membership for them would be. They are still attending college so maybe that makes them eligible and, possibly, an independent adult would not be? But I think it's worth a shot to look into.
On my recent trip from Dallas to Toronto, I had planned to use my Microsoft Streets and Trips along with USB based GPS (thingy I purchased online). However, when I got to Dallas I was surprised with a Tom Tom GPS from my family for my trip back home. So I had the good fortune to try them both on my way back home.
What I liked about Streets and Trips was that it was able to give me a big pictures whereas Tom Tom didn't. Maybe it could but not as good. Having the large state/city map would also help.
What I like about Tom Tom was that it was small and easy to operate. Streets Trips required too much stuff (laptop, inverter, etc).
Tom Tom was very handy while in downtown Dallas looking for something specific and missed the exit as I thought I new where I was headed. Immediately started my GPS and was able to re-route in the right directions.
In addition, Tom Tom works great in Canada without any modification and it shows all points of interest (even more points of interest then Streets & Trips) as it does in the US.
So, I would say 'YES' to TOM TOM in the city, but when you are on interested and ready to travel long distance, you need that big picture and need either paper map or something like the Streets & Trips.
This surprises me. And it's a big point in Tom-Tom's favor.Quote:
it shows all points of interest (even more points of interest then Streets & Trips) as it does in the US.
How is it for hotel, restaurant recommendations? And for more natural things like parks, beaches, and even the national/state/county parks, etc.?
Interesting that you should mention Streets & Trips and Dallas in the same sentence. It was Dallas where I very nearly ended up throwing my laptop out of the car window when Streets & Trips repeatedly crashed leaving me without a clue as to where I was heading. Read my views here. I really like my TomTom so much better, I have to say. Fantastic piece of kit.
My personal experience with Tom Tom has been great for hotels, restaurants, and other touristy and non-touristy points of interest. I have not tested it for national parks. It can not only find the national chains for hotels, restaurants, and shops (as well) but also the mom & pop shops here in Toronto, which I haven't had much luck with MS S & T.Quote:
Originally Posted by Judy
I have had so much luck with Tom Tom that my next visit to Dallas (over Christmas, after my drive from Dallas to Toronto), I gave my USB GPS away to my brother (from Seattle) who has a laptop and MS Streets and Trips, but no GPS thingy. I felt that I really was good with Tom Tom.
I did notice that Tom Tom seems to lose it's battery charge more often when left it in the car. But then again, it is -21C outside right now, so it could have some effect as well.
UKCraig: I feel your pain of driving with Laptop around.
Yes, it is a little worrying.
I should add to the above - S&T is a great tool for planning trips at home. But, on the road, I'd sooner take my chances with a rough sketch and directions from locals.
Craig,
Just to throw something into the mix. I bought a Tom Tom 910 (I think) anyway the top of the range a couple of years ago. Used it in Switzerland and it was abysmal. Kept crashing, turned me into at least 2 one way streets the wrong way so gave up and used good old paper maps. Exchanged when we returned and it did exactly the same. So ditched it. Apparently is or was a major software glitch in the programming which was known by TOM TOM at the time. Recently used a Garmin travelling from Toronto into the States down to Outer Banks etc 6,000 miles and it was faultless. Always make sure I obtain State maps before we go. In my view they are indispensible. Just my thoughts.
Mike
My husband and I are planning a trip in the US and Canada this summer (we're from Israel) and most states I ordered guides and maps from (the free stuff) didn't mind sending it out to us. A few of the Southern states (NC and SC, if I remember correctly) would only send to the US, Canada and possibly Mexico. Then again, we only looked at the Eastern states/provinces, so there may be many more that wouldn't send to us.
Just a thought about the navigational system-
1. The maps we've been getting from each state/province are very detailed and very good. We also have the AAA guide books and they provide maps as well.
2. Printing out mapquest (or other sites like it) directions probably isn't a bad idea.
3. The idea of a navigational system came up when discussing our trip, but my personal opinion is that it's more fun to be "lost" sometimes. Having good, detailed maps is one thing, but a beeping device in your car that thinks they're smarter than you are.... to me a road trip is also about getting lost sometimes, interacting with locals to ask where we are and how to get to the places we want to go. I rented a car with a friend for a week in Greece (no gps device, just lonely planet and some maps) and, granted, we never made it to Delphi to see the Oracle (we still maintain that she moved. After so many years in one location, who wouldn't?!) but we traveled up the most beautiful mountain road, asked directions from a tractor filled with locals making their way up the mountain, stopped at some lovely mountain streams and saw sites that we wouldn't have seen if the gps had beeped our way to Delphi. Of course we could have persevered and found Delphi later, but we were in a rush and it was getting dark.
Obviously it depends on the type of road trip you're planning. If you need to get to your destination by a certain time or day, the gps will certainly do that for you. But if you want to see the sites, mingle with the locals and have some fun, I don't think that getting a little lost once in a while is all that bad!
Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!
Thanks, Hayah, for your take on your experiences with both paper maps and digital systems. For further reading, may I suggest this oldie but goodie discussion of their relative merits.
AZBuck