gpx tracks onto a newer Garmin handheld, the advanced track navigation feature offers many of the advantages of routable trails. The one thing trailwise that TOPO US 24K has going for it is that the trails are routable.
gpx file from a trusted source, but another good option is Jim Bensman’s free MyTrails map (or NW Trails if you live in the Pacific Northwest).
Those screenshots above? The Appalachian Trail runs that ridge, but it’s missing from both Garmin mapsets! The surest way to get good trail coverage is to download a. But truth be known, both products are really bad. Indeed, you can see it in the images above. Many people have reported that there is less trail coverage in Garmin’s 24K maps than their 100K products, and I have found this to be the case in spot checks of various areas.
Still, with plenty of free topos at GPS File Depot, this just doesn’t rank as a reason to buy Garmin’s product. In this case, common in the eastern US, the 24K map shows 40’ contour intervals vs. In the images below, a 100K scale Garmin map is shown at top, with TOPO US 24K below it. The TOPO US 24K maps give you greater detail, with more closely spaced contours. Sure, you won’t hear audible directions, but you don’t have to transfer waypoints to a second device (like a nuvi) just to navigate to the trailhead. This means that if you have a waypoint for a trailhead, you can mount the GPS receiver on your dash and get turn-by-turn directions on compatible Garmin handhelds (as shown at right). The other is that these roads are routable. TOPO US 24K maps use the more accurate NAVTEQ road data however, just like Garmin nuvis. People look at their unit and think it’s a GPS accuracy issue, but it’s just that the road is misplaced on the map. Garmin’s 1:100,000 scale topo products utilize TIGER data for roads, which are almost invariably off from the road’s true location. Strangely enough for a topo product, this is one of the best reasons to buy TOPO US 24K. Includes topographic coverage of Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada.Let’s go over the different features, one by one: Accurate and routable roads
Includes BaseCamp? computer software for playing back routes and tracks, geotagging photos and more.Displays Bureau of Land Management township, range and section information and USGS quad locations.Displays national, state and local parks, forests, conservation areas and wilderness areas.Contains routable roads, trails and highways in metropolitan and rural areas so getting to your destination is easy by creating point-to-point routes on compatible devices.Provides elevation profile on compatible devices so you can estimate terrain difficulty.Includes searchable points of interests, such as parks, campgrounds, scenic lookouts and picnic sites.Contains detailed hydrographic features, including coastlines, lake and river shorelines, wetlands and perennial and seasonal streams.
DVD version covers a larger area than our preprogrammed microSD?/SD? cards.Provides detailed digital topographic maps, comparable to 1:24,000 scale USGS maps.They also display 3-D terrain shading on compatible devices. These highly detailed maps include terrain contours, topo elevations, summits, routable roads and trails, parks, coastlines, rivers, lakes and geographical points. Outdoor enthusiasts: your adventure is waiting - in vivid detail.