United States Topo 24k National Parks

[+JohnAengus]

Does anyone have any experience with the United States Topo 24K National Parks software? I can't seem to find anything on the forums about it. I am getting a Vista Cx soon. Does the shading shown on the Garmin website show up on the Vista Cx?

 

Thanks!

John

South Dakota

[+Redwoods Mtn Biker]

Does anyone have any experience with the United States Topo 24K National Parks software? I can't seem to find anything on the forums about it.

 

John,

 

Here is a US Topo 24K review I posted. Perhaps that will help some. Much of the decision has to do with where your travels take you and how much money you have to spend. If you are visiting the areas covered, and can afford it, it's nice having the detailed maps on your screen.

 

Rich Owings

www.MakeYourOwnMaps.com

www.GPStracklog.com

 

“We were desert mystics, my friends and I, poring over our maps as others do their holy books.” – Edward Abbey

[+Cache Heads]

It definitely depends on where you are (or where you are going to be), as Redwoods Mtn Biker said. I decided to buy the west coast version because it covers the Santa Monica National Recreation Area, which I do almost all of my hiking in. The coverage has been really good and the ability to route on trails (some aren't there, but many are) has helped me get from geocache to geocache more efficiently than routes I may have chosen without the 24k maps. The coverage also expands well beyond SMNRA, so it is able to route me on streets in my local area. But, again, I happen to be in an area that is really well covered (and isn't technically a National Park, so geocaching is allowed). You might want to check out the maps with Garmin's map veiwer (upper right corner of the page, best with Internet Explorer) and make sure that the areas covered are useful to you. If you think you'll be spending a lot of time in the areas covered, then I'd recommend the 24k maps.

 

Happy hiking !

 

EDIT: BTW-- the shading does not show up on my CSx the way it shows it on the Garmin site. It doesn't look bad on the unit, but it is a little different. There seems to be more contour lines but less shading:

 

 

(I don't know why xImage always makes the background yellow-- it's more of a tan on the unit.)

Edited March 12, 2006 by Cache Heads

[+JohnAengus]

I live in Spearfish, SD in the Northern Black Hills. Although most of the Black Hills is not a National Park, we have the National Forest. It appears that the Black Hills are all in the map. This is were I do any hiking or geocaching. So, I guess my whole backard is in the 24K Topo!!

 

Thanks.

John