Nat Geo Road Atlas

[nayr]

My old road atlas was beatup and falling apart so I decided to do a bit of research this time before buying whatever the local big box store had on the shelf..

This time around I got a Nat Geo Adventure Edition Road Atlas and started comparing it to the previous Rand McNally its got alot more camp sites and back roads listed on it, at least in the places we frequent and I know well.. Some of our favorite back country camping areas are shown on the Nat Geo and none of the roads to em are even on the Rand.

I feel like an idiot now for not trying to get a better Atlas sooner, we've probably missed out on some very nice roads and camping areas over the years.. The internet is not a good place to find hidden places heh, if the internet knows about it then expect everyone else will.. just got to get adventurous and find em on your own.

Anyone else got any map recommendations? I grab a Nat Geo hiking/trails map every time we visit a national park.. Got quite the collection of them now but my Wife's not as into backpacking as I am so Ive been retired until my boys come of age..

GPS is great for those whom like to travel in herds on the interstates, but until it comes out with a route randomizer function it wont really suit our road trip style

 

[DerekG]

I need a new atlas as well. Thanks for the info. I like to highlight all the roads I've driven to either avoid a route I've already done in order to find new roads or to re-drive fun roads.

The only GPS I like is my Garmin eTrex 20x. I use it mainly just so I don't get lost, but also to find Geocaches. Set a home point....go exploring.....turn on GPS to find my way back lol


Here's a link to that Nat Geo Atlas for anyone else wanting one. I think I'll pick one up.

https://www.amazon.com/National-Geographic-Road-Atlas-Adventure/dp/0792289897

 

[nayr]

here's a comparison shot of the front range here.. so many more tent markers its just awesome.

Nat Geo vs Rand

 

[DerekG]

That's awesome!

 

[hskrdu]

nayr- Anything else that you prefer in the NatGeo?

When I look at the 2 example above, I prefer the appearance of the RM- but that may be due to years of familiarity.

 

[nayr]

The RM was a large print model, it had Colorado on 4 pages instead of two that the Nat Geo had.. but its just a larger print and not actually more detailed.. I perfer to have 2 pages as it means less flipping about and less ripping pages and I can also see the entire state if not folded in half, not just half or a quater of it.

The Nat Geo came with a hard plastic pages to protect the front and back covers, it also lists alot more Geographical details, like mountains/ranges/rivers.. the paper stock also seems to be thicker but thats not really fair comparison with a brand new one vs old beatup one.. could just be my head.. Also seems the nat geo makes more of a distinction between a dirt road and a forest trail.. In that image above Rampheart Range Road is clearly labeled on NatGeo and its just a thin grey line in the Rand with no labels to be found anywhere near by.

 

[DerekG]

That's good to hear. The atlas I want to replace is the large print one and I really dislike having to go through 4 pages just for one state. I wouldn't have purchased it had I realized that, but at the time I just grabbed it and checked out lol

 

[hskrdu]

The RM was a large print model, it had Colorado on 4 pages instead of two that the Nat Geo had.. but its just a larger print and not actually more detailed.. I perfer to have 2 pages as it means less flipping about and less ripping pages and I can also see the entire state if not folded in half, not just half or a quater of it.

The Nat Geo came with a hard plastic pages to protect the front and back covers, it also lists alot more Geographical details, like mountains/ranges/rivers.. the paper stock also seems to be thicker but thats not really fair comparison with a brand new one vs old beatup one.. could just be my head.. Also seems the nat geo makes more of a distinction between a dirt road and a forest trail.. In that image above Rampheart Range Road is clearly labeled on NatGeo and its just a thin grey line in the Rand with no labels to be found anywhere near by.

Good info. Thx.

 

[meerschm]

my wife had fun perusing AAA guidebooks on our trip. came up with a few interesting places to stop.

we also found great little places to eat on Trip Advisor.

(we did have a couple PB&J sandwitches in the front seat in high winds in middle of nowhere Wyoming, and dead heavy rain in Indiana.)

 

[CarlosF]

We chose the TDI wagon for road tripping so the Nat Geo Adventure atlas (that I just received from Amazon on nayr's recommendation... thanks nayr) is going to get plenty of use. I can finally toss my old falling apart RM trucker atlas (falling apart because it isn't spiral bound with sturdy paper like the NatGeo).
With this atlas and the info that I am gleaning from blogs like:
https://cabinfeverchronicles.com/2011/05/ (which I found one day while web surfing for VW Wagons).
and http://tinyyellowteardrop.blogspot.ca (which I found when looking for a teardrop to pull behind our wagon), there will some epic road trips in our future.

 

[Ton]

Anyone bought a road atlas recently? I know I am placing myself in the dark ages with this thread but I enjoy looking for new places to hike and do outdoor stuff.

 

[hskrdu]

I buy a RM atlas every few years to keep in the house as a reference resource. Digital maps have advantages, but hard copy maps do also.

For hiking, the paper copy is (IMO) less useful than targeted internet resources (hiking project .com) etc.

 

[Ton]

I buy a RM atlas every few years to keep in the house as a reference resource. Digital maps have advantages, but hard copy maps do also.

For hiking, the paper copy is (IMO) less useful than targeted internet resources (hiking project .com) etc.

Thank you.