Amazon.com Product Description

SkyMap 2000/GPS is a GPS-guided, voice-activated mapping system, and comes with an ear/mic accessory for use on the road. SkyMap turns your notebook into a travel tool with over 1 million points of interest, a user-created Address Book for contacts and locations, over 6.5 million miles of roads that cover all 50 states, and drawing tools to customize your printed maps and driving directions.

SkyMap 2000/GPS tracks your progress by marking your current position on a digital map display. An earth-orbiting satellite network--built by the U.S. defense department--transmits real-time positioning to SkyMap's 12-channel GPS receiver. Although only four satellite signals are required to establish a GPS location, the SkyMap 2000/GPS receiver can receive up to 12 satellite signals at any given time to increase accuracy and reduce response time. The receiver dash mounts for safety and uses your PCMCIA slot.

SkyMap 2000/GPS will plan a route from start to destination, and include all of your stops. Your route is displayed on a digital map that you can print out along with driving directions. You also can let SkyMap 2000/GPS track you and call out audible driving directions to you as you drive. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Awesome
This is one fun computer program to mess around with.If you are by yourself in the car it is pretty much useless unless you want to pull over and read it but if with someone else it can direct you where to go with little or no trouble at all.It has some cool features such as it shows your current speed, altitude, and heading.The coolest thing is three CD's give you maps of the U.S. and they will show your location on any street no matter the size.The set up is very easy and it is very self explanatory.If you want something that will navigate you to your destination this is what you need.It beats any maps and is much cheaper and more detailed then any handheld gps reciever, but since it is not handheld it can be a pain not being able to use it while you are driving.

A Great Frontseat Navigator
This was my first experience with GPS.In short, I liked it and found itextremely fun and useful to use.

Just prior to taking a lengthy cartrip with my family, I had just purchased another, non-GPS, trip planningsoftware package.While it was great for planning, it would not do muchfor finding me when I managed to get lost.On a lark, I purchased Skymap2000 GPS 1.0.

I am sure that the several hours we lost wandering inWashington DC. would not have occurred if we were using the Skymap 2000 GPS1.0 at the time.Time was also lost when the kids decided to navigatewithout the parents' assistance or the help of Skymap 2000 GPS 1.0.I satin the back with my wife watching the GPS locator trailing us around andaround until the kids finally, reluctantly, asked us for help.

Later,with the traffic extremely heavy, we opted to take an alternate routethrough an area totally unknown to us.We made it though, without the useof our paper maps, and without the slightlest problem.

Cons: 1)I foundthat there were points of interest for which I had no address and could notfind in Skymap 2000 GPS 1.0.In these cases, I used the other mappingsoftware to obtain an address and using cut and paste, I was able tocontinue.

3)The receiver had problems locking onto the satelite signalsin some areas and, as a consequence, had to wait for us to get out of thedead spots.We also found the GPS tracking well off of any highway.Thedocumentation said that there would be times that "availability"would force inaccurate readings.We adapted, but this was stillannoying.

2)The wires leading to the back seat were always getting inthe way.A spilled lunch was a testimony to this problem.An extra footlonger receiver cord might be very helpful.

Overall, I give this verypositive marks. ... Read more

Features

• The accurate route planning features
• Be prepared for any situation with a full list of diplomatic contacts, guides to cuisine, common phrases and conversion charts
• Vivid color world maps let you view any part of the globe in accurate detail
• Pan and zoom across maps and identify points of interest
• A comprehensive database of information for over 200 countries, as well as shots from space -- you can even identify routes & distance between cities across the world

Reviews (2)

Yuch!
Better than nothing and may be a good product if it was 10 years ago but in this day and age of advanced software it stinks! Detail is sketchy, print outs come out nothing like what you see on the screen. The printed directions are ok but the maps are close to worthless and you would much rather use your hard copy map even if they are a pain to refold!

Hey Rand McNally! Improve it will ya!

Trip Maker 1999 is a keeper
I love to go on road trips. One of the highlights of my going on vacation is the planning stage. The Trip Maker 1999 made the process a whole lot simpler. From the ease of use of the software to the amount of information it supplies, the Tripmaker is a perfect planning tool. I had my 2 week trip mapped and printed out in less than 2 hours. It shows you the fastest route, or the more scenic drive, rest stops and hotels that will fit your budget, and area attractions along the way. It will even calculate a budget for you! How can you go wrong with it? The only way to improve the Tripmaker would be to teach it to drive the car! ... Read more

Features

• Comprehensive, GPS-enabled trip planning and mapping software
• Accurate destination routing; customizable trip planning
• All inclusive real-time navigation system; road construction updates
• Maps, driving directions, route options, and points of interest
• For laptop PC and Pocket PC users; GPS hardware device included

Amazon.com Product Description

National Geographic's Topo! CD-ROM set for California contains every topographic map you could possibly need for the state. The set includes 10 CD-ROMs with 2,700 scanned USGS maps enhanced with digital 3-D shading. Maps feature 1:24,000 USGS 7.5-foot scale with seamless statewide coverage. You'll be able to interact with the maps in more ways than you would think possible.

Select the exact area you want to print and create a custom map. Personalize your maps with your own colorful text, symbols, and routes. Print trip-ready maps with custom elevation profiles, UTM or latitude/longitude grids, scale bars and north arrows.

It's an excellent planning tool for backcountry adventures or road trips. Draw freehand routes and upload to a GPS, then reference thousands of preloaded GPS waypoints.

National Geographic's TOPO CD-ROMs are compatible with Microsoft Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, and NT and work with all printers supported by Windows. You can transfer maps with most popular handheld GPS receivers manufactured by Garmin, Magellan, Eagle, and Lowrance. Magellan products include Magellan 315, 320, and Meridian XL. Garmin products include Garmin eMap, eTrex series, GPS 12 series, StreetPilot series, II GPS series, and III GPS seris. The eTrex Venture and Legend function when TOPO's GPS settings are specified as the eTrex. For the eTrex Vista receiver, specify TOPO's GPS settings as the eTrex Summit. Direct link requires input/output capabilities and a PC cable (sold separately). ... Read more

Features

• Excellent planning tool for backcountry adventures or road trips
• Features 1:24,000 USGS 7.5-foot scale with seamless statewide coverage
• Personalize your maps with your own colorful text, symbols, and routes
• Transfer maps with most popular handheld GPS receivers manufactured by Garmin, Magellan, Eagle, and Lowrance
• Compatible with Microsoft Windows 95, 98, Me, 2000, and NT and with all printers supported by Windows

Reviews (10)

Simple, but effective backcountry tool
Love the backcountry? For those of us who love the backcountry in Utah, this is an outstanding tool for the modern wilderness traveller. Combine this with a GPS and a large-format printer, and you've got the sweet system for customizing, then printing out maps you can use in the field. This has saved me SO MUCH MOOLA over buying (and wrecking) 2 or 3 quads for each weekend's adventures.

It's pretty simple. You can trace routes and add text annotations, measure the length of routes and construct an altitude profile; define a printer area and print it out. It works much better to drop the print output (Tiff) into Photoshop and adjust it for your printer. Printing on 8-1/2 x 11 paper doesn't get you much, but printing on 11 x 17 or 13 x 19 makes really nice maps. The Topo "Scan" is not as fine as it would be "really nice" to have, but is about the information you can see (unaided) on a standard Topo map.

Working with the Etrex GPS unit is easy. Mark waypoints on the computer, upload them to the handheld unit.

Overall, it works really well and is easy to learn and use. It requires a bit of an investment up front, but for the serious off-trail traveller, it is money well spent....

Not what I expected
I wanted to use TOPO to map the trails in the parks around South Eastern VA. by importing the GPS tracks obtained from walking/riding the trails. TOPO would almost do what I wanted, but its disappointing lack of editing and viewing tools made it impossible to accurately draw or display the routs.

If I import the tracks as individual waypoints, the waypoints are displayed as HUGE diamonds on the map that overlap and make it impossible to follow the track. The max zoom is insufficient to clearly display the tracks, but the magnify option zooms in nicely. The only problem is the magnify option also magnifies the waypoint icons, so they still overlap. For the Mid-Atlantic map, these waypoint diamonds are about 200 feet corner to corner.

If I bring the tracks in as complete routs, there is no way to make small changes to fit the track to the minor inconsistencies in the elevation map. For example, when the GPS shows me walking a mostly flat section and TOPO has me descending into a ravine; if I remember navigating around the edge of the ravine, it's obvious the track in that area needs to be tweaked to miss the ravine. I might be able to draw a new track if the lines of the existing track were a little thinner, but as with the waypoints, at max magnify the lines are very thick and obscure the topo lines. When I try to start a new track, the draw tool functions as a track selector over the existing (too thick) track, so I can't correct what is already there. The only option is to delete small sections of the map and try to redraw them from memory or a print out. This process might work, but I think I could do it a lot faster in a paint program.

There doesn't seem to be any way to turn off a waypoint or track display completely, since all the waypoints are ultimately displayed in the "All Waypoints" master list which won't turn off. Strangely, if I delete a waypoint in a custom rout, the waypoint is also deleted from the master list, so once a waypoint is added to a rout it can't be removed without also removing it from the entire map.

Overall it's a nice program and probably works fine for mapping out long, straight paths. It's useless for my purposes, though. They need to add some better editing and viewing features, such as interactive rout editing with drag handles on the waypoints, and some control over how and when the waypoints are displayed.

Georgia version is terrible
The Georgia version of this set is Terrible. I already own National Park version which is great. I was planning on staying on Cumberland Island and doing some hiking and that National Park isn't on the National Park cd set, so I bought the Georgia set. Well, Cumberland Island is on the set but it only shows some of the trails. Parts of the Map are crooked. Some of it doesn't line up with other parts. It looks like it was scanned it from a bunch of seperate pieces of paper by a 8 yr old.

If you can only afford one, buy national geographic's topos
I live in Idaho, and actually, really, go into the wilderness. The level of detail provided by garmin's u.s. topo offering is honestly not sufficient for accurately setting waypoints. National Geographic's state series is indeed sufficient (in fact it's the best for Idaho). Not to be cruel, but being able to download inadequately detailed map source is not nearly as important as being able to download truly accurate waypoints. Buying both packages would obviously be the best solution, but really you can set up all the detail you need (for getting in & out) using just national geographic (whereas you can't with garmin's u.s. topo stuff).

Critical note: I strongly recommend not carrying *just* electronic maps if you really, truly, go into wilderness. Electronic toys aren't foolproof - they break through no fault of your own, they get dropped, can get destroyed if you fall, etc. Paper maps should *also* be carried - ideally ones printed out just for your current trip.

The garmin hardware itself is truly impressive. Their mapsource topo offerings, on the other hand, need a lot of work. It's as if the people who did them never visited the U.S., and/or never really went into many of the U.S.'s real wilderness areas.

National Geographic TOPO Colorado, Thumbs Down
The Colorado Map series does not display the same detail as a real 1/24000 official USGS map. I wonder which Colorado maps that National Geographic scanned? Hopefully I might be able to use the GPS and way points with my Garmin GPS 72, however the software setup does not list the Garmin GPS 72. I must have received last years version. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

National Geographic's Topo! CD-ROM set for Colorado contains every topographic map you could possibly need for the state. The set includes 7 CD-ROMs with 1,900 scanned USGS maps enhanced with digital 3-D shading. Maps feature 1:24,000 USGS 7.5-foot scale with seamless statewide coverage. You'll be able to interact with the maps in more ways than you would think possible.

Select the exact area you want to print and create a custom map. Personalize your maps with your own colorful text, symbols, and routes. Print trip-ready maps with custom elevation profiles, UTM or latitude/longitude grids, scale bars and north arrows.

It's an excellent planning tool for backcountry adventures or road trips. Draw freehand routes and upload to a GPS, then reference thousands of preloaded GPS waypoints.

National Geographic's TOPO CD-ROMs are compatible with Microsoft Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, and NT and work with all printers supported by Windows. You can transfer maps with most popular handheld GPS receivers manufactured by Garmin, Magellan, Eagle, and Lowrance. Magellan products include Magellan 315, 320, and Meridian XL. Garmin products include Garmin eMap, eTrex series, GPS 12 series, StreetPilot series, II GPS series, and III GPS seris. The eTrex Venture and Legend function when TOPO's GPS settings are specified as the eTrex. For the eTrex Vista receiver, specify TOPO's GPS settings as the eTrex Summit. Direct link requires input-output capabilities and a PC cable (sold separately). ... Read more

Features

• Excellent planning tool for backcountry adventures or road trips
• Features 1:24,000 USGS 7.5-foot scale with seamless statewide coverage
• Personalize your maps with your own colorful text, symbols, and routes
• Transfer maps with most popular handheld GPS receivers manufactured by Garmin, Magellan, Eagle, and Lowrance
• Compatible with Microsoft Windows 95, 98, Me, 2000, and NT and with all printers supported by Windows

Reviews (10)

Simple, but effective backcountry tool
Love the backcountry? For those of us who love the backcountry in Utah, this is an outstanding tool for the modern wilderness traveller. Combine this with a GPS and a large-format printer, and you've got the sweet system for customizing, then printing out maps you can use in the field. This has saved me SO MUCH MOOLA over buying (and wrecking) 2 or 3 quads for each weekend's adventures.

It's pretty simple. You can trace routes and add text annotations, measure the length of routes and construct an altitude profile; define a printer area and print it out. It works much better to drop the print output (Tiff) into Photoshop and adjust it for your printer. Printing on 8-1/2 x 11 paper doesn't get you much, but printing on 11 x 17 or 13 x 19 makes really nice maps. The Topo "Scan" is not as fine as it would be "really nice" to have, but is about the information you can see (unaided) on a standard Topo map.

Working with the Etrex GPS unit is easy. Mark waypoints on the computer, upload them to the handheld unit.

Overall, it works really well and is easy to learn and use. It requires a bit of an investment up front, but for the serious off-trail traveller, it is money well spent....

Not what I expected
I wanted to use TOPO to map the trails in the parks around South Eastern VA. by importing the GPS tracks obtained from walking/riding the trails. TOPO would almost do what I wanted, but its disappointing lack of editing and viewing tools made it impossible to accurately draw or display the routs.

If I import the tracks as individual waypoints, the waypoints are displayed as HUGE diamonds on the map that overlap and make it impossible to follow the track. The max zoom is insufficient to clearly display the tracks, but the magnify option zooms in nicely. The only problem is the magnify option also magnifies the waypoint icons, so they still overlap. For the Mid-Atlantic map, these waypoint diamonds are about 200 feet corner to corner.

If I bring the tracks in as complete routs, there is no way to make small changes to fit the track to the minor inconsistencies in the elevation map. For example, when the GPS shows me walking a mostly flat section and TOPO has me descending into a ravine; if I remember navigating around the edge of the ravine, it's obvious the track in that area needs to be tweaked to miss the ravine. I might be able to draw a new track if the lines of the existing track were a little thinner, but as with the waypoints, at max magnify the lines are very thick and obscure the topo lines. When I try to start a new track, the draw tool functions as a track selector over the existing (too thick) track, so I can't correct what is already there. The only option is to delete small sections of the map and try to redraw them from memory or a print out. This process might work, but I think I could do it a lot faster in a paint program.

There doesn't seem to be any way to turn off a waypoint or track display completely, since all the waypoints are ultimately displayed in the "All Waypoints" master list which won't turn off. Strangely, if I delete a waypoint in a custom rout, the waypoint is also deleted from the master list, so once a waypoint is added to a rout it can't be removed without also removing it from the entire map.

Overall it's a nice program and probably works fine for mapping out long, straight paths. It's useless for my purposes, though. They need to add some better editing and viewing features, such as interactive rout editing with drag handles on the waypoints, and some control over how and when the waypoints are displayed.

Georgia version is terrible
The Georgia version of this set is Terrible. I already own National Park version which is great. I was planning on staying on Cumberland Island and doing some hiking and that National Park isn't on the National Park cd set, so I bought the Georgia set. Well, Cumberland Island is on the set but it only shows some of the trails. Parts of the Map are crooked. Some of it doesn't line up with other parts. It looks like it was scanned it from a bunch of seperate pieces of paper by a 8 yr old.

If you can only afford one, buy national geographic's topos
I live in Idaho, and actually, really, go into the wilderness. The level of detail provided by garmin's u.s. topo offering is honestly not sufficient for accurately setting waypoints. National Geographic's state series is indeed sufficient (in fact it's the best for Idaho). Not to be cruel, but being able to download inadequately detailed map source is not nearly as important as being able to download truly accurate waypoints. Buying both packages would obviously be the best solution, but really you can set up all the detail you need (for getting in & out) using just national geographic (whereas you can't with garmin's u.s. topo stuff).

Critical note: I strongly recommend not carrying *just* electronic maps if you really, truly, go into wilderness. Electronic toys aren't foolproof - they break through no fault of your own, they get dropped, can get destroyed if you fall, etc. Paper maps should *also* be carried - ideally ones printed out just for your current trip.

The garmin hardware itself is truly impressive. Their mapsource topo offerings, on the other hand, need a lot of work. It's as if the people who did them never visited the U.S., and/or never really went into many of the U.S.'s real wilderness areas.

National Geographic TOPO Colorado, Thumbs Down
The Colorado Map series does not display the same detail as a real 1/24000 official USGS map. I wonder which Colorado maps that National Geographic scanned? Hopefully I might be able to use the GPS and way points with my Garmin GPS 72, however the software setup does not list the Garmin GPS 72. I must have received last years version. ... Read more

Features

• Mid-level USGS topographic maps
• Exportable to your Pocket PC or Palm Device
• GPS Ready - Load your GPS with personal routes and waypoints
• Customizable -Print with photo quality

Reviews (3)

Be Careful
This product has many wonderful maps to use with a COMPUTER but BEWARE you can't load the maps onto a GPS so unless you want to carry a laptop on your next hike - skip it. The product information is misleading by stating the program has the the ability to load maps to a "device" apparently this does not include a GPS so I ask what's the point? What a disappointment.

Too many CDs!
Which would you prefer? 17 different CDs to keep track of and constantly switch in and out of your computer, or 1 or 2 DVDs? This product may be good, but I made a mistake by not waiting until it came out on DVD.

Excellent Topo
I bought this for desert and mountain 'off road' exploration and camping. In that capacity, I am completely satisfied with its seemless scrolling, map labelling and GPS downloading features. I can plan my routes, mark and print the highly detailed maps, and have it ready to go. Upon return, I can add small non-descript roads, trails, mine locations, etc that I find in the field via my GPS. I used to spend 20 to 30 dollars for paper topo's for outback trips. Now, I'll literally save hundreds with this software. And because this software doesn't require mega 3D computer capabilities, I actually installed this software in an old Pentium 1, with a 130 meg processer, and it works flawlessly! Now, I have put my old, and (formerly) no longer used computer to work in the garage for my trip planning. Something I couldn't do with the Regional State Series because of it's computer system requirements. The only potential drawback to this software is the lack of level 5 mapping. This software actually goes to 1:25,000 scale, but the only difference I can ascertain from pure 'level 5' is the missing gridlines and details. This system includes elevation cross section detail, and for my purposes, that makes up for any missing level 5 details. Comparatively, Delormes Atlas's are 1:150,000 scale, this software is full level 4 or 1:100,000 scale... and 1;25,000 as well, it's awesome. And if you really need to get closer, you can zoom the area you want. Overall, if you must have the level 5, which is 1:25,000 scale with level 5 detail, get the regional or state series sofware. But for the price, with 50 states of seemless 1:100,000 topo, and the system requirements, this software is exceptional. Tred Lightly! ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

With the TOPO! map of Oregon, National Geographic has taken the interactive topographic map experience to a new level. By combining its own standard-setting maps with the high-quality scanned versions of the actual paper USGS topographical maps, the National Geographic TOPO! State Series offers five levels of map detail that is unprecedented in its accuracy. Professional and weekend hikers alike will be amazed at how indispensable TOPO! will quickly become in the back country.

Simply load TOPO! onto your PC, and you'll immediately begin to see the benefits of this award-winning software. With TOPO! you can customize any of the hundreds of state maps available with your proposed routes, notes and even photos. You can also create and view elevation profiles that will help you visualize your planned trek. By connecting to any standard color or black-and-white desktop printer, TOPO! allows you to select the exact area that you want to print, even if it is larger than the screen or covers multiple quad maps. TOPO! makes it a breeze to add map border information to printouts, including UTM or latitude/longitude grids, scale bars, north arrows, and magnetic declination. With Adventure Paper (sold separately) you can print out waterproof trail maps -- along with all your marks and annotations -- that will survive any rainstorm the wilderness can throw at you.

TOPO! is also GPS ready, with no extensions or upgrades required. Transferring waypoints and routes between your GPS and TOPO! couldn't be easier. And with Pocket TOPO! (sold separately), you can take full advantage of your PDA the next time the wilderness calls. Simply download your maps and notes to your device, and off you go. When your trip is complete, you can upload the field notes you took with your PDA back onto your PC, and you'll have created a detailed record of your hike for future reference. No more worries about not being able to read your notes or misplacing your notebooks. Everything you need for your next hike will be saved exactly where it should be--with your map!

The many advanced features that make the National Geographic TOPO! mapping software the ultimate topographic map experience for all your back country adventures include:

• TOPO! USA Place Finder: Use TOPO!'s advanced search functions to find trails, camps, lakes, parks, towns, and much more in a matter of seconds.
• Export Features: With TOPO! you can export customized maps in a number of different raster file formats (.gif, .jpg, etc.) for use in other applications.
• Import Features: Import GPS and vector data from a variety of sources, including GPS receivers, spreadsheets, and the web, to overlay on your maps.
• National Geographic mapXchange: Download custom map overlays and swap files with other TOPO! users on the National Geographic mapXchange Website.

What's in the Box
Set of CD-ROMs with topographical maps covering the entire state. ... Read more

Features

• Create, view and print elevation profiles
• Includes hundreds of printable National Geographic and USGS topographical maps of Oregon
• Annotate your maps with trail routes, notes, web links and photos
• Export maps as .gif or .jpg formats of use in other applications
• Easily transfer waypoints and routes with your GPS

Reviews (16)

Go with a different vendor
This information is all available from the US Govt. The trick is to have software that will display it easily and with no hassles. First some background before I get started. I became a programmer in 1970. My first computer was an Epson QX10, an 8 bit CP/M machine from the early 80's. The reason for giving you a peek at my background is what I have to say about this software. It is, without a doubt, the worst example of
programming I have encountered since owning my first PC. I could list the problems and their lack of attention to detail and their seemingly complete unconcern for bringing to market a product with all the loose ends tied and that has the primary purpose of making the program that is easy to set up and use but I have neither the time nor desire to present you with a multi-page review that would waste your time reading the details of bad programming practice. My advice is this; consider this your last choice when shopping for GPS compatible software. Let the buyer beware. Note: I was going to give it one star but decided to give it 2 since it does work. We have to save one star things that absolutely do not work.

A Good Thing
This is a 'must have' software if you hike, bike and recreate outdoors.The software interface takes a bit of getting use to, but once mastered it provides simple navigation and a lot of information.I do a lot of mountain biking in Northern California and this software lets you 'preview' a trail by mapping it (you draw a line on the trail) and the software then calculates distance travelled and the cumulative vertical ascent.This is very helpful in determining how long a ride will take, and how much physical exertion will be required.It also helps you to track your condition level - as you get in better shape you will be able to do more vertical in less time ...

Once you have created a route you can send it (via e-mail) to friends, or post it on the Topo website to share with others.Other neat features are a 3 dimensional viewing package (sold separately fo $20) and the ablity to send waypoints to handheld GPS units.

There really aren't any 'cons' to the software.Some things you should be aware of though are that Garmin (maker of many handheld GPS units) promotes its own topographical software.This is a pain because Garmin only allows you to send waypoints form the 'Topo' software and you can't upload the detailed maps into the handheld GPS unit.I own an Extrex Vista and the inability to load maps without buying the Garmin software is an irratant.The only other comment is that some of the maps in the software are dated so they don't always show the latest information in terms of roads and buildings.This you just get used to.Similar to other posts - When hiking or biking in remote areas don't rely on a handheld GPS exclusively, bring a printed map, and have some familiarity with a compass and know generally the area into which you are going - also let other people know where you are going (send an e-mail of your route ...).This is common sense that will save a lot of headache.

Overall this software is 'a good thing' and I highly recommend it to people who enjoy spending time outside, and it is particularly good for the mountain biking community.

Pretty Good.Must have realistic expectations
If Topo maps still cost $2.50, I never would have purchased this product.Now that they cost upwards of $8, this product pays for itself fairly quickly.

I like setting the waypoints on the map and then uploading to my Garmin eTRex (serial) GPS.I do not go the other way from GPS to map.The quality of the map printouts is good, and scaling is good although I wish you could set the variable manually instead of using the preset values.

The paper is expensive but very durable.Best to make test prints on regular paper until ready to print for real.The paper size is a limitation (unless one has a large-format printer).

If you want to just use this to browse topos, it's not a great tool.It's much better to have a larger format topo, say 1:25000 to get a rough idea of your route, and then use Topo to scan a small area.The screen real estate of a computer monitor is tiny, and really does not lend itself well to casual map browsing, especially at 1:24000 scale where it takes 8 screens to pan a map, whereas a real map can be panned by the naked eye.

Anyway, I'm happy with the tool as long as the limitations are understood.This is for the PC version on W2K for Topo California.I just bought a Mac (yes!) and I hope the conversion utility works!

Great product if your expectations are realistic
National Geographic topo maps are great if your understand their strengths and limitations.First, don't expect to import the actual maps into a GPS receiver.These maps are raster-scanned directly from USGS 7.5' topos; GPS receivers use vector-graphic maps that are only available from your receiver's manufacturer (and they are much less detailed than NG maps).But you should never expect your GPS receiver's display to completely replace a paper map anyway.It's too small to show much detail, and if your receiver fails, you'd be out of luck.

Since these are based on USGS maps, they have the same high quality including tons of detail, but since many USGS maps are more than 10 years old, you won't necessarily get up-to-date information.Since topographic features don't ordinarily change as frequently as man-made features, you're usually OK, but keep this in mind.

These maps allow you do a lot of other things with your GPS.You can create waypoints on the computer, either by placing a marker on the map or by entering in the latitudes and longitudes of your points, then transfer them to the GPS.This is much easier than manually entering the info through your GPS user interface.You can also download tracks from your GPS receiver onto the map to see where you've been.And you can draw intended journeys directly on the map screen, then measure the distance and elevation profile of the route.The elevation profile is a bit noisy, but you get a pretty good idea of how much elevation change you'll experience on a hike.The tool you use to draw the route on the screen could benefit from an improved user interface, but with a little practice you can get pretty good at it.If you make a mistake, hold down the right mouse button to erase the error.One thing I like is that you can print out a custom paper map, and if you print using your inkjet on NG's waterproof paper, you can get a custom color map that really is waterproof.

The major limitation at this point is that the software is not fully compatible with some of the newest GPS receivers.I can't use the USB cable with my Garmin GPSMap 60CS, but it works pretty well with the Serial cable, other than garbling waypoint names.Hopefully this will be fixed soon.

Disappointed with GPS Compatability
If you look on the cover of the box of the TOPO California you will see a picture of a Garmin etrex GPS handheld reciever.One would think with a picture of the exact same GPS handheld that one owns that it would work. It does not. The latest Garmin etrex uses an USB port to upload / download data to the PC which is not compatable with the TOPO software that uses the com1, com2 etc. ports. I wrote an email to TOPO asking how to correct this problem and they indicated that I could buy the expansion pack for the State series for about $20 and then it would work with my GPS reciever.So I went to their website to buy the expansion pack and it was priced at 24.95, and it is not availabe at this time.So it looks like I will be using Garmin's Mapsource product for all of my uploads to the PC. The problem with Mapsource is the level of detail. Its scale is 1:100000 vs. TOPO's 1:24000... But at least it works. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

National Geographic's Topo! CD-ROM set for Florida contains every topographic map you could possibly need for the state. The set includes scanned USGS maps enhanced with digital 3-D shading. Maps feature 1:24,000 USGS 7.5-foot scale with seamless statewide coverage. Select the exact area you want to print and create a custom map. Personalize your maps with your own colorful text, symbols, and routes. Print trip-ready maps with custom elevation profiles, UTM or latitude/longitude grids, scale bars and north arrows. You can even upload your maps to a GPS. The maps are compatible with Microsoft Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, and NT and work with all printers supported by Windows. You can transfer maps with most popular handheld GPS receivers manufactured by Garmin, Magellan, Eagle, and Lowrance. Magellan products include Magellan 315, 320, and Meridian XL. Garmin products include Garmin eMap, eTrex series, GPS 12 series, StreetPilot series, II GPS series, and III GPS seris. The eTrex Venture and Legend function when TOPO's GPS settings are specified as the eTrex. For the eTrex Vista receiver, specify TOPO's GPS settings as the eTrex Summit. Direct link requires input/output capabilities and a PC cable (sold separately).

What's in the Box
Map Kit. ... Read more

Features

• Planning tool for adventures of many kinds
• 1:24,000 USGS 7.5 foot scale
• Seamless statewide coverage
• Map personalizing options
• Transfer maps to GPS receivers

Amazon.com Product Description

National Geographic's TOPO! CD-ROM set for Wyoming contains every topographic map you could possibly need for the state. The set includes six CD-ROMs with 1900 scanned USGS maps enhanced with digital 3-D shading. Maps feature 1:24,000 USGS 7.5-foot scale with seamless statewide coverage. You'll be able to interact with the maps in more ways than you would think possible.

Select the exact area you want to print and create a custom map. Personalize your maps with your own colorful text, symbols, and routes. Print trip-ready maps with custom elevation profiles, UTM or latitude-longitude grids, scale bars, and north arrows.

It's an excellent planning tool for backcountry adventures or road trips. Draw freehand routes and upload to a GPS, then reference thousands of preloaded GPS waypoints.

National Geographic's TOPO! CD-ROMs are compatible with Microsoft Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, and NT and work with all printers supported by Windows. You can transfer maps with most popular handheld GPS receivers manufactured by Garmin, Magellan, Eagle, and Lowrance. Magellan products include Magellan 315, 320, and Meridian XL. Garmin products include Garmin eMap, eTrex series, GPS 12 series, StreetPilot series, II GPS series, and III GPS series. The eTrex Venture and Legend function when TOPO's GPS settings are specified as the eTrex. For the eTrex Vista receiver, specify TOPO's GPS settings as the eTrex Summit. Direct link requires input-output capabilities and a PC cable (sold separately). ... Read more

Features

• Excellent planning tool for backcountry adventures or road trips
• Features 1:24,000 USGS 7.5-foot scale with seamless statewide coverage
• Personalize your maps with your own colorful text, symbols, and routes
• Transfer maps with most popular handheld GPS receivers manufactured by Garmin, Magellan, Eagle, and Lowrance
• Compatible with Microsoft Windows 95, 98, Me, 2000, and NT and with all printers supported by Windows

Reviews (10)

Simple, but effective backcountry tool
Love the backcountry? For those of us who love the backcountry in Utah, this is an outstanding tool for the modern wilderness traveller. Combine this with a GPS and a large-format printer, and you've got the sweet system for customizing, then printing out maps you can use in the field. This has saved me SO MUCH MOOLA over buying (and wrecking) 2 or 3 quads for each weekend's adventures.

It's pretty simple. You can trace routes and add text annotations, measure the length of routes and construct an altitude profile; define a printer area and print it out. It works much better to drop the print output (Tiff) into Photoshop and adjust it for your printer. Printing on 8-1/2 x 11 paper doesn't get you much, but printing on 11 x 17 or 13 x 19 makes really nice maps. The Topo "Scan" is not as fine as it would be "really nice" to have, but is about the information you can see (unaided) on a standard Topo map.

Working with the Etrex GPS unit is easy. Mark waypoints on the computer, upload them to the handheld unit.

Overall, it works really well and is easy to learn and use. It requires a bit of an investment up front, but for the serious off-trail traveller, it is money well spent....

Not what I expected
I wanted to use TOPO to map the trails in the parks around South Eastern VA. by importing the GPS tracks obtained from walking/riding the trails. TOPO would almost do what I wanted, but its disappointing lack of editing and viewing tools made it impossible to accurately draw or display the routs.

If I import the tracks as individual waypoints, the waypoints are displayed as HUGE diamonds on the map that overlap and make it impossible to follow the track. The max zoom is insufficient to clearly display the tracks, but the magnify option zooms in nicely. The only problem is the magnify option also magnifies the waypoint icons, so they still overlap. For the Mid-Atlantic map, these waypoint diamonds are about 200 feet corner to corner.

If I bring the tracks in as complete routs, there is no way to make small changes to fit the track to the minor inconsistencies in the elevation map. For example, when the GPS shows me walking a mostly flat section and TOPO has me descending into a ravine; if I remember navigating around the edge of the ravine, it's obvious the track in that area needs to be tweaked to miss the ravine. I might be able to draw a new track if the lines of the existing track were a little thinner, but as with the waypoints, at max magnify the lines are very thick and obscure the topo lines. When I try to start a new track, the draw tool functions as a track selector over the existing (too thick) track, so I can't correct what is already there. The only option is to delete small sections of the map and try to redraw them from memory or a print out. This process might work, but I think I could do it a lot faster in a paint program.

There doesn't seem to be any way to turn off a waypoint or track display completely, since all the waypoints are ultimately displayed in the "All Waypoints" master list which won't turn off. Strangely, if I delete a waypoint in a custom rout, the waypoint is also deleted from the master list, so once a waypoint is added to a rout it can't be removed without also removing it from the entire map.

Overall it's a nice program and probably works fine for mapping out long, straight paths. It's useless for my purposes, though. They need to add some better editing and viewing features, such as interactive rout editing with drag handles on the waypoints, and some control over how and when the waypoints are displayed.

Georgia version is terrible
The Georgia version of this set is Terrible. I already own National Park version which is great. I was planning on staying on Cumberland Island and doing some hiking and that National Park isn't on the National Park cd set, so I bought the Georgia set. Well, Cumberland Island is on the set but it only shows some of the trails. Parts of the Map are crooked. Some of it doesn't line up with other parts. It looks like it was scanned it from a bunch of seperate pieces of paper by a 8 yr old.

If you can only afford one, buy national geographic's topos
I live in Idaho, and actually, really, go into the wilderness. The level of detail provided by garmin's u.s. topo offering is honestly not sufficient for accurately setting waypoints. National Geographic's state series is indeed sufficient (in fact it's the best for Idaho). Not to be cruel, but being able to download inadequately detailed map source is not nearly as important as being able to download truly accurate waypoints. Buying both packages would obviously be the best solution, but really you can set up all the detail you need (for getting in & out) using just national geographic (whereas you can't with garmin's u.s. topo stuff).

Critical note: I strongly recommend not carrying *just* electronic maps if you really, truly, go into wilderness. Electronic toys aren't foolproof - they break through no fault of your own, they get dropped, can get destroyed if you fall, etc. Paper maps should *also* be carried - ideally ones printed out just for your current trip.

The garmin hardware itself is truly impressive. Their mapsource topo offerings, on the other hand, need a lot of work. It's as if the people who did them never visited the U.S., and/or never really went into many of the U.S.'s real wilderness areas.

National Geographic TOPO Colorado, Thumbs Down
The Colorado Map series does not display the same detail as a real 1/24000 official USGS map. I wonder which Colorado maps that National Geographic scanned? Hopefully I might be able to use the GPS and way points with my Garmin GPS 72, however the software setup does not list the Garmin GPS 72. I must have received last years version. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

National Geographic's Topo! CD-ROM set for the Mid-Atlantic contains every topographic map you could possibly need for the region. The set includes six CD-ROMs with 1,400 scanned USGS maps enhanced with digital 3-D shading. Maps feature 1:24,000 USGS 7.5-foot scale with seamless regionwide coverage. You'll be able to interact with the maps in more ways than you would think possible.

Select the exact area you want to print and create a custom map. Personalize your maps with your own colorful text, symbols, and routes. Print trip-ready maps with custom elevation profiles, UTM or latitude-longitude grids, scale bars, and north arrows.

It's an excellent planning tool for backcountry adventures or road trips. Draw freehand routes and upload to a GPS, then reference thousands of preloaded GPS waypoints.

National Geographic's TOPO CD-ROMs are compatible with Microsoft Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, and NT and work with all printers supported by Windows. You can transfer maps with most popular handheld GPS receivers manufactured by Garmin, Magellan, Eagle, and Lowrance. Magellan products include Magellan 315, 320, and Meridian XL. Garmin products include Garmin eMap, eTrex series, GPS 12 series, StreetPilot series, II GPS series, and III GPS series. The eTrex Venture and Legend function when TOPO's GPS settings are specified as the eTrex. For the eTrex Vista receiver, specify TOPO's GPS settings as the eTrex Summit. Direct link requires input-output capabilities and a PC cable (sold separately). ... Read more

Features

• Excellent planning tool for backcountry adventures or road trips
• Features 1:24,000 USGS 7.5-foot scale with seamless statewide coverage
• Personalize your maps with your own colorful text, symbols, and routes
• Transfer maps with most popular handheld GPS receivers manufactured by Garmin, Magellan, Eagle, and Lowrance
• Compatible with Microsoft Windows 95, 98, Me, 2000, and NT and with all printers supported by Windows

Reviews (10)

Simple, but effective backcountry tool
Love the backcountry? For those of us who love the backcountry in Utah, this is an outstanding tool for the modern wilderness traveller. Combine this with a GPS and a large-format printer, and you've got the sweet system for customizing, then printing out maps you can use in the field. This has saved me SO MUCH MOOLA over buying (and wrecking) 2 or 3 quads for each weekend's adventures.

It's pretty simple. You can trace routes and add text annotations, measure the length of routes and construct an altitude profile; define a printer area and print it out. It works much better to drop the print output (Tiff) into Photoshop and adjust it for your printer. Printing on 8-1/2 x 11 paper doesn't get you much, but printing on 11 x 17 or 13 x 19 makes really nice maps. The Topo "Scan" is not as fine as it would be "really nice" to have, but is about the information you can see (unaided) on a standard Topo map.

Working with the Etrex GPS unit is easy. Mark waypoints on the computer, upload them to the handheld unit.

Overall, it works really well and is easy to learn and use. It requires a bit of an investment up front, but for the serious off-trail traveller, it is money well spent....

Not what I expected
I wanted to use TOPO to map the trails in the parks around South Eastern VA. by importing the GPS tracks obtained from walking/riding the trails. TOPO would almost do what I wanted, but its disappointing lack of editing and viewing tools made it impossible to accurately draw or display the routs.

If I import the tracks as individual waypoints, the waypoints are displayed as HUGE diamonds on the map that overlap and make it impossible to follow the track. The max zoom is insufficient to clearly display the tracks, but the magnify option zooms in nicely. The only problem is the magnify option also magnifies the waypoint icons, so they still overlap. For the Mid-Atlantic map, these waypoint diamonds are about 200 feet corner to corner.

If I bring the tracks in as complete routs, there is no way to make small changes to fit the track to the minor inconsistencies in the elevation map. For example, when the GPS shows me walking a mostly flat section and TOPO has me descending into a ravine; if I remember navigating around the edge of the ravine, it's obvious the track in that area needs to be tweaked to miss the ravine. I might be able to draw a new track if the lines of the existing track were a little thinner, but as with the waypoints, at max magnify the lines are very thick and obscure the topo lines. When I try to start a new track, the draw tool functions as a track selector over the existing (too thick) track, so I can't correct what is already there. The only option is to delete small sections of the map and try to redraw them from memory or a print out. This process might work, but I think I could do it a lot faster in a paint program.

There doesn't seem to be any way to turn off a waypoint or track display completely, since all the waypoints are ultimately displayed in the "All Waypoints" master list which won't turn off. Strangely, if I delete a waypoint in a custom rout, the waypoint is also deleted from the master list, so once a waypoint is added to a rout it can't be removed without also removing it from the entire map.

Overall it's a nice program and probably works fine for mapping out long, straight paths. It's useless for my purposes, though. They need to add some better editing and viewing features, such as interactive rout editing with drag handles on the waypoints, and some control over how and when the waypoints are displayed.

Georgia version is terrible
The Georgia version of this set is Terrible. I already own National Park version which is great. I was planning on staying on Cumberland Island and doing some hiking and that National Park isn't on the National Park cd set, so I bought the Georgia set. Well, Cumberland Island is on the set but it only shows some of the trails. Parts of the Map are crooked. Some of it doesn't line up with other parts. It looks like it was scanned it from a bunch of seperate pieces of paper by a 8 yr old.

If you can only afford one, buy national geographic's topos
I live in Idaho, and actually, really, go into the wilderness. The level of detail provided by garmin's u.s. topo offering is honestly not sufficient for accurately setting waypoints. National Geographic's state series is indeed sufficient (in fact it's the best for Idaho). Not to be cruel, but being able to download inadequately detailed map source is not nearly as important as being able to download truly accurate waypoints. Buying both packages would obviously be the best solution, but really you can set up all the detail you need (for getting in & out) using just national geographic (whereas you can't with garmin's u.s. topo stuff).

Critical note: I strongly recommend not carrying *just* electronic maps if you really, truly, go into wilderness. Electronic toys aren't foolproof - they break through no fault of your own, they get dropped, can get destroyed if you fall, etc. Paper maps should *also* be carried - ideally ones printed out just for your current trip.

The garmin hardware itself is truly impressive. Their mapsource topo offerings, on the other hand, need a lot of work. It's as if the people who did them never visited the U.S., and/or never really went into many of the U.S.'s real wilderness areas.

National Geographic TOPO Colorado, Thumbs Down
The Colorado Map series does not display the same detail as a real 1/24000 official USGS map. I wonder which Colorado maps that National Geographic scanned? Hopefully I might be able to use the GPS and way points with my Garmin GPS 72, however the software setup does not list the Garmin GPS 72. I must have received last years version. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

National Geographic's TOPO! CD-ROM set for Washington contains every topographic map you could possibly need for the state. The set includes seven CD-ROMs with 1,400 scanned USGS maps enhanced with digital 3-D shading. Maps feature 1:24,000 USGS 7.5-foot scale with seamless statewide coverage. You'll be able to interact with the maps in more ways than you would think possible.

Select the exact area you want to print and create a custom map. Personalize your maps with your own colorful text, symbols, and routes. Print trip-ready maps with custom elevation profiles, UTM or latitude-longitude grids, scale bars, and north arrows.

It's an excellent planning tool for backcountry adventures or road trips. Draw freehand routes and upload to a GPS, then reference thousands of preloaded GPS waypoints.

National Geographic's TOPO CD-ROMs are compatible with Microsoft Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, and NT and work with all printers supported by Windows. You can transfer maps with most popular handheld GPS receivers manufactured by Garmin, Magellan, Eagle, and Lowrance. Magellan products include Magellan 315, 320, and Meridian XL. Garmin products include Garmin eMap, eTrex series, GPS 12 series, StreetPilot series, II GPS series, and III GPS series. The eTrex Venture and Legend function when TOPO's GPS settings are specified as the eTrex. For the eTrex Vista receiver, specify TOPO's GPS settings as the eTrex Summit. Direct link requires input-output capabilities and a PC cable (sold separately). ... Read more

Features

• Excellent planning tool for backcountry adventures or road trips
• Features 1:24,000 USGS 7.5-foot scale with seamless statewide coverage
• Personalize your maps with your own colorful text, symbols, and routes
• Transfer maps with most popular handheld GPS receivers manufactured by Garmin, Magellan, Eagle, and Lowrance
• Compatible with Microsoft Windows 95, 98, Me, 2000, and NT and with all printers supported by Windows

Reviews (10)

Simple, but effective backcountry tool
Love the backcountry? For those of us who love the backcountry in Utah, this is an outstanding tool for the modern wilderness traveller. Combine this with a GPS and a large-format printer, and you've got the sweet system for customizing, then printing out maps you can use in the field. This has saved me SO MUCH MOOLA over buying (and wrecking) 2 or 3 quads for each weekend's adventures.

It's pretty simple. You can trace routes and add text annotations, measure the length of routes and construct an altitude profile; define a printer area and print it out. It works much better to drop the print output (Tiff) into Photoshop and adjust it for your printer. Printing on 8-1/2 x 11 paper doesn't get you much, but printing on 11 x 17 or 13 x 19 makes really nice maps. The Topo "Scan" is not as fine as it would be "really nice" to have, but is about the information you can see (unaided) on a standard Topo map.

Working with the Etrex GPS unit is easy. Mark waypoints on the computer, upload them to the handheld unit.

Overall, it works really well and is easy to learn and use. It requires a bit of an investment up front, but for the serious off-trail traveller, it is money well spent....

Not what I expected
I wanted to use TOPO to map the trails in the parks around South Eastern VA. by importing the GPS tracks obtained from walking/riding the trails. TOPO would almost do what I wanted, but its disappointing lack of editing and viewing tools made it impossible to accurately draw or display the routs.

If I import the tracks as individual waypoints, the waypoints are displayed as HUGE diamonds on the map that overlap and make it impossible to follow the track. The max zoom is insufficient to clearly display the tracks, but the magnify option zooms in nicely. The only problem is the magnify option also magnifies the waypoint icons, so they still overlap. For the Mid-Atlantic map, these waypoint diamonds are about 200 feet corner to corner.

If I bring the tracks in as complete routs, there is no way to make small changes to fit the track to the minor inconsistencies in the elevation map. For example, when the GPS shows me walking a mostly flat section and TOPO has me descending into a ravine; if I remember navigating around the edge of the ravine, it's obvious the track in that area needs to be tweaked to miss the ravine. I might be able to draw a new track if the lines of the existing track were a little thinner, but as with the waypoints, at max magnify the lines are very thick and obscure the topo lines. When I try to start a new track, the draw tool functions as a track selector over the existing (too thick) track, so I can't correct what is already there. The only option is to delete small sections of the map and try to redraw them from memory or a print out. This process might work, but I think I could do it a lot faster in a paint program.

There doesn't seem to be any way to turn off a waypoint or track display completely, since all the waypoints are ultimately displayed in the "All Waypoints" master list which won't turn off. Strangely, if I delete a waypoint in a custom rout, the waypoint is also deleted from the master list, so once a waypoint is added to a rout it can't be removed without also removing it from the entire map.

Overall it's a nice program and probably works fine for mapping out long, straight paths. It's useless for my purposes, though. They need to add some better editing and viewing features, such as interactive rout editing with drag handles on the waypoints, and some control over how and when the waypoints are displayed.

Georgia version is terrible
The Georgia version of this set is Terrible. I already own National Park version which is great. I was planning on staying on Cumberland Island and doing some hiking and that National Park isn't on the National Park cd set, so I bought the Georgia set. Well, Cumberland Island is on the set but it only shows some of the trails. Parts of the Map are crooked. Some of it doesn't line up with other parts. It looks like it was scanned it from a bunch of seperate pieces of paper by a 8 yr old.

If you can only afford one, buy national geographic's topos
I live in Idaho, and actually, really, go into the wilderness. The level of detail provided by garmin's u.s. topo offering is honestly not sufficient for accurately setting waypoints. National Geographic's state series is indeed sufficient (in fact it's the best for Idaho). Not to be cruel, but being able to download inadequately detailed map source is not nearly as important as being able to download truly accurate waypoints. Buying both packages would obviously be the best solution, but really you can set up all the detail you need (for getting in & out) using just national geographic (whereas you can't with garmin's u.s. topo stuff).

Critical note: I strongly recommend not carrying *just* electronic maps if you really, truly, go into wilderness. Electronic toys aren't foolproof - they break through no fault of your own, they get dropped, can get destroyed if you fall, etc. Paper maps should *also* be carried - ideally ones printed out just for your current trip.

The garmin hardware itself is truly impressive. Their mapsource topo offerings, on the other hand, need a lot of work. It's as if the people who did them never visited the U.S., and/or never really went into many of the U.S.'s real wilderness areas.

National Geographic TOPO Colorado, Thumbs Down
The Colorado Map series does not display the same detail as a real 1/24000 official USGS map. I wonder which Colorado maps that National Geographic scanned? Hopefully I might be able to use the GPS and way points with my Garmin GPS 72, however the software setup does not list the Garmin GPS 72. I must have received last years version. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

National Geographic's TOPO! CD-ROM set for Utah contains every topographic map you could possibly need for the state. The set includes eight CD-ROMs with 4,400 scanned USGS maps enhanced with digital 3-D shading. Maps feature 1:24,000 USGS 7.5-foot scale with seamless statewide coverage. You'll be able to interact with the maps in more ways than you would think possible.

Select the exact area you want to print and create a custom map. Personalize your maps with your own colorful text, symbols, and routes. Print trip-ready maps with custom elevation profiles, UTM or latitude-longitude grids, scale bars, and north arrows.

It's an excellent planning tool for backcountry adventures or road trips. Draw freehand routes and upload to a GPS, then reference thousands of preloaded GPS waypoints.

National Geographic's TOPO! CD-ROMs are compatible with Microsoft Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, and NT and work with all printers supported by Windows. You can transfer maps with most popular handheld GPS receivers manufactured by Garmin, Magellan, Eagle, and Lowrance. Magellan products include Magellan 315, 320, and Meridian XL. Garmin products include Garmin eMap, eTrex series, GPS 12 series, StreetPilot series, II GPS series, and III GPS series. The eTrex Venture and Legend function when TOPO's GPS settings are specified as the eTrex. For the eTrex Vista receiver, specify TOPO's GPS settings as the eTrex Summit. Direct link requires input-output capabilities and a PC cable (sold separately). ... Read more

Features

• Excellent planning tool for backcountry adventures or road trips
• Features 1:24,000 USGS 7.5-foot scale with seamless statewide coverage
• Personalize your maps with your own colorful text, symbols, and routes
• Transfer maps with most popular handheld GPS receivers manufactured by Garmin, Magellan, Eagle, and Lowrance
• Compatible with Microsoft Windows 95, 98, Me, 2000, and NT and with all printers supported by Windows

Reviews (10)

Simple, but effective backcountry tool
Love the backcountry? For those of us who love the backcountry in Utah, this is an outstanding tool for the modern wilderness traveller. Combine this with a GPS and a large-format printer, and you've got the sweet system for customizing, then printing out maps you can use in the field. This has saved me SO MUCH MOOLA over buying (and wrecking) 2 or 3 quads for each weekend's adventures.

It's pretty simple. You can trace routes and add text annotations, measure the length of routes and construct an altitude profile; define a printer area and print it out. It works much better to drop the print output (Tiff) into Photoshop and adjust it for your printer. Printing on 8-1/2 x 11 paper doesn't get you much, but printing on 11 x 17 or 13 x 19 makes really nice maps. The Topo "Scan" is not as fine as it would be "really nice" to have, but is about the information you can see (unaided) on a standard Topo map.

Working with the Etrex GPS unit is easy. Mark waypoints on the computer, upload them to the handheld unit.

Overall, it works really well and is easy to learn and use. It requires a bit of an investment up front, but for the serious off-trail traveller, it is money well spent....

Not what I expected
I wanted to use TOPO to map the trails in the parks around South Eastern VA. by importing the GPS tracks obtained from walking/riding the trails. TOPO would almost do what I wanted, but its disappointing lack of editing and viewing tools made it impossible to accurately draw or display the routs.

If I import the tracks as individual waypoints, the waypoints are displayed as HUGE diamonds on the map that overlap and make it impossible to follow the track. The max zoom is insufficient to clearly display the tracks, but the magnify option zooms in nicely. The only problem is the magnify option also magnifies the waypoint icons, so they still overlap. For the Mid-Atlantic map, these waypoint diamonds are about 200 feet corner to corner.

If I bring the tracks in as complete routs, there is no way to make small changes to fit the track to the minor inconsistencies in the elevation map. For example, when the GPS shows me walking a mostly flat section and TOPO has me descending into a ravine; if I remember navigating around the edge of the ravine, it's obvious the track in that area needs to be tweaked to miss the ravine. I might be able to draw a new track if the lines of the existing track were a little thinner, but as with the waypoints, at max magnify the lines are very thick and obscure the topo lines. When I try to start a new track, the draw tool functions as a track selector over the existing (too thick) track, so I can't correct what is already there. The only option is to delete small sections of the map and try to redraw them from memory or a print out. This process might work, but I think I could do it a lot faster in a paint program.

There doesn't seem to be any way to turn off a waypoint or track display completely, since all the waypoints are ultimately displayed in the "All Waypoints" master list which won't turn off. Strangely, if I delete a waypoint in a custom rout, the waypoint is also deleted from the master list, so once a waypoint is added to a rout it can't be removed without also removing it from the entire map.

Overall it's a nice program and probably works fine for mapping out long, straight paths. It's useless for my purposes, though. They need to add some better editing and viewing features, such as interactive rout editing with drag handles on the waypoints, and some control over how and when the waypoints are displayed.

Georgia version is terrible
The Georgia version of this set is Terrible. I already own National Park version which is great. I was planning on staying on Cumberland Island and doing some hiking and that National Park isn't on the National Park cd set, so I bought the Georgia set. Well, Cumberland Island is on the set but it only shows some of the trails. Parts of the Map are crooked. Some of it doesn't line up with other parts. It looks like it was scanned it from a bunch of seperate pieces of paper by a 8 yr old.

If you can only afford one, buy national geographic's topos
I live in Idaho, and actually, really, go into the wilderness. The level of detail provided by garmin's u.s. topo offering is honestly not sufficient for accurately setting waypoints. National Geographic's state series is indeed sufficient (in fact it's the best for Idaho). Not to be cruel, but being able to download inadequately detailed map source is not nearly as important as being able to download truly accurate waypoints. Buying both packages would obviously be the best solution, but really you can set up all the detail you need (for getting in & out) using just national geographic (whereas you can't with garmin's u.s. topo stuff).

Critical note: I strongly recommend not carrying *just* electronic maps if you really, truly, go into wilderness. Electronic toys aren't foolproof - they break through no fault of your own, they get dropped, can get destroyed if you fall, etc. Paper maps should *also* be carried - ideally ones printed out just for your current trip.

The garmin hardware itself is truly impressive. Their mapsource topo offerings, on the other hand, need a lot of work. It's as if the people who did them never visited the U.S., and/or never really went into many of the U.S.'s real wilderness areas.

National Geographic TOPO Colorado, Thumbs Down
The Colorado Map series does not display the same detail as a real 1/24000 official USGS map. I wonder which Colorado maps that National Geographic scanned? Hopefully I might be able to use the GPS and way points with my Garmin GPS 72, however the software setup does not list the Garmin GPS 72. I must have received last years version. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

National Geographic's TOPO! CD-ROM set for the Northeastern U.S.A. contains every topographic map you could possibly need for the region. The set includes 10 CD-ROMs with 2,400 scanned USGS maps enhanced with digital 3-D shading. Maps feature 1:24,000 USGS 7.5-foot scale with seamless regionwide coverage. You'll be able to interact with the maps in more ways than you would think possible.

Select the exact area you want to print and create a custom map. Personalize your maps with your own colorful text, symbols, and routes. Print trip-ready maps with custom elevation profiles, UTM or latitude-longitude grids, scale bars, and north arrows.

It's an excellent planning tool for backcountry adventures or road trips. Draw freehand routes and upload to a GPS, then reference thousands of preloaded GPS waypoints.

National Geographic's TOPO! CD-ROMs are compatible with Microsoft Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, and NT and work with all printers supported by Windows. You can transfer maps with most popular handheld GPS receivers manufactured by Garmin, Magellan, Eagle, and Lowrance. Magellan products include Magellan 315, 320, and Meridian XL. Garmin products include Garmin eMap, eTrex series, GPS 12 series, StreetPilot series, II GPS series, and III GPS series. The eTrex Venture and Legend function when TOPO's GPS settings are specified as the eTrex. For the eTrex Vista receiver, specify TOPO's GPS settings as the eTrex Summit. Direct link requires input-output capabilities and a PC cable (sold separately). ... Read more

Features

• Excellent planning tool for backcountry adventures or road trips
• Features 1:24,000 USGS 7.5-foot scale with seamless statewide coverage
• Personalize your maps with your own colorful text, symbols, and routes
• Transfer maps with most popular handheld GPS receivers manufactured by Garmin, Magellan, Eagle, and Lowrance
• Compatible with Microsoft Windows 95, 98, Me, 2000, and NT and with all printers supported by Windows

Reviews (10)

Simple, but effective backcountry tool
Love the backcountry? For those of us who love the backcountry in Utah, this is an outstanding tool for the modern wilderness traveller. Combine this with a GPS and a large-format printer, and you've got the sweet system for customizing, then printing out maps you can use in the field. This has saved me SO MUCH MOOLA over buying (and wrecking) 2 or 3 quads for each weekend's adventures.

It's pretty simple. You can trace routes and add text annotations, measure the length of routes and construct an altitude profile; define a printer area and print it out. It works much better to drop the print output (Tiff) into Photoshop and adjust it for your printer. Printing on 8-1/2 x 11 paper doesn't get you much, but printing on 11 x 17 or 13 x 19 makes really nice maps. The Topo "Scan" is not as fine as it would be "really nice" to have, but is about the information you can see (unaided) on a standard Topo map.

Working with the Etrex GPS unit is easy. Mark waypoints on the computer, upload them to the handheld unit.

Overall, it works really well and is easy to learn and use. It requires a bit of an investment up front, but for the serious off-trail traveller, it is money well spent....

Not what I expected
I wanted to use TOPO to map the trails in the parks around South Eastern VA. by importing the GPS tracks obtained from walking/riding the trails. TOPO would almost do what I wanted, but its disappointing lack of editing and viewing tools made it impossible to accurately draw or display the routs.

If I import the tracks as individual waypoints, the waypoints are displayed as HUGE diamonds on the map that overlap and make it impossible to follow the track. The max zoom is insufficient to clearly display the tracks, but the magnify option zooms in nicely. The only problem is the magnify option also magnifies the waypoint icons, so they still overlap. For the Mid-Atlantic map, these waypoint diamonds are about 200 feet corner to corner.

If I bring the tracks in as complete routs, there is no way to make small changes to fit the track to the minor inconsistencies in the elevation map. For example, when the GPS shows me walking a mostly flat section and TOPO has me descending into a ravine; if I remember navigating around the edge of the ravine, it's obvious the track in that area needs to be tweaked to miss the ravine. I might be able to draw a new track if the lines of the existing track were a little thinner, but as with the waypoints, at max magnify the lines are very thick and obscure the topo lines. When I try to start a new track, the draw tool functions as a track selector over the existing (too thick) track, so I can't correct what is already there. The only option is to delete small sections of the map and try to redraw them from memory or a print out. This process might work, but I think I could do it a lot faster in a paint program.

There doesn't seem to be any way to turn off a waypoint or track display completely, since all the waypoints are ultimately displayed in the "All Waypoints" master list which won't turn off. Strangely, if I delete a waypoint in a custom rout, the waypoint is also deleted from the master list, so once a waypoint is added to a rout it can't be removed without also removing it from the entire map.

Overall it's a nice program and probably works fine for mapping out long, straight paths. It's useless for my purposes, though. They need to add some better editing and viewing features, such as interactive rout editing with drag handles on the waypoints, and some control over how and when the waypoints are displayed.

Georgia version is terrible
The Georgia version of this set is Terrible. I already own National Park version which is great. I was planning on staying on Cumberland Island and doing some hiking and that National Park isn't on the National Park cd set, so I bought the Georgia set. Well, Cumberland Island is on the set but it only shows some of the trails. Parts of the Map are crooked. Some of it doesn't line up with other parts. It looks like it was scanned it from a bunch of seperate pieces of paper by a 8 yr old.

If you can only afford one, buy national geographic's topos
I live in Idaho, and actually, really, go into the wilderness. The level of detail provided by garmin's u.s. topo offering is honestly not sufficient for accurately setting waypoints. National Geographic's state series is indeed sufficient (in fact it's the best for Idaho). Not to be cruel, but being able to download inadequately detailed map source is not nearly as important as being able to download truly accurate waypoints. Buying both packages would obviously be the best solution, but really you can set up all the detail you need (for getting in & out) using just national geographic (whereas you can't with garmin's u.s. topo stuff).

Critical note: I strongly recommend not carrying *just* electronic maps if you really, truly, go into wilderness. Electronic toys aren't foolproof - they break through no fault of your own, they get dropped, can get destroyed if you fall, etc. Paper maps should *also* be carried - ideally ones printed out just for your current trip.

The garmin hardware itself is truly impressive. Their mapsource topo offerings, on the other hand, need a lot of work. It's as if the people who did them never visited the U.S., and/or never really went into many of the U.S.'s real wilderness areas.

National Geographic TOPO Colorado, Thumbs Down
The Colorado Map series does not display the same detail as a real 1/24000 official USGS map. I wonder which Colorado maps that National Geographic scanned? Hopefully I might be able to use the GPS and way points with my Garmin GPS 72, however the software setup does not list the Garmin GPS 72. I must have received last years version. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Perfect Complement to Your GPS
As a proud owner of a Garmin Legend, I searched for the perfect complementary mapping software. I wanted/needed a product to help plan personal backpacking trips as well as assist me with work and school research projects which have me wandering about the Alaskan backcountry. I spent weeks reviewing many products and eventually narrowed them all down to two: National Geographic's TOPO! Alaska (NGTA!) and Garmin's MapSource Topo USA. Finally, thanks in large part to Amazon.com's customers' review of MapSource TOPO USA, I decided to buy NGTA! and have been thrilled with the product ever since. Some of my highlights are listed below:

Installation is a breeze and learning to use the basic functions is fairly intuitive. Plotting waypoints and routes is straightforward. The ability to construct an elevation profile of any route you design is a wonderful feature and helps immensely with planning trips. Downloading waypoints and routes from my laptop to my Garmin was surprisingly easy (this coming from a slowly recovering technophobe). Uploading waypoints and routes that I had created while in the field to the software allows me to see, on a much larger scale, where I had traveled.

Some of the more advanced features, however, may require a quick search of the Adobe PDF Instruction manual. For example, with NGT!, you can attach digital pictures and notes to your map which is a phenominal feature if you like to share your outing with friends/family/club members. Speaking of sharing your trips, National Geographic also has a website dedicated to the TOPO! Series products. On this website you can upload trips you have taken, and these will be posted on the site for others to download. You can of course download posted trips from other donors- complete with waypoints and routes. It really is a cool way to obtain "ready-to-go" trips for your GPS. As a matter of fact, the last time I checked, some ambitious soul had waypointed and routed most of the Northern California section of the PCT. Wow.

The software also allows you to print out maps at various scales. The maps themselves are sharp and clear. And since the NGT! maps are digital and seamless, you no longer have to carry multiple paper maps when your destination just happens to be located on the edge of the traditional USGS paper maps. NGT! allows you to select the size, scale and location of the print area which means you can put your destination or area of interest smack dab in the middle of your print out and be good to go.

At the time of this writing, Amazon.com had not listed or described the features of this particular product. However, it shares the same features as the other TOPO state products. But keep in mind, that Amazon's features listing is extremely concise. For a more complete list of features, check out NG's website.

In general, this product has exceeded my expectations in many ways and because of its versatility and ease of use I continue to find new and fun ways to use it. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

National Geographic's Topo! CD-ROM set for Montana contains every topographic map you could possibly need for the state. The set includes 10 CD-ROMs with 3,000 scanned USGS maps enhanced with digital 3-D shading. Maps feature 1:24,000 USGS 7.5-foot scale with seamless statewide coverage. You'll be able to interact with the maps in more ways than you would think possible.

Select the exact area you want to print and create a custom map. Personalize your maps with your own colorful text, symbols, and routes. Print trip-ready maps with custom elevation profiles, UTM or latitude-longitude grids, scale bars, and north arrows.

It's an excellent planning tool for backcountry adventures or road trips. Draw freehand routes and upload to a GPS, then reference thousands of preloaded GPS waypoints.

National Geographic's TOPO CD-ROMs are compatible with Microsoft Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, and NT and work with all printers supported by Windows. You can transfer maps with most popular handheld GPS receivers manufactured by Garmin, Magellan, Eagle, and Lowrance. Magellan products include Magellan 315, 320, and Meridian XL. Garmin products include Garmin eMap, eTrex series, GPS 12 series, StreetPilot series, II GPS series, and III GPS series. The eTrex Venture and Legend function when TOPO's GPS settings are specified as the eTrex. For the eTrex Vista receiver, specify TOPO's GPS settings as the eTrex Summit. Direct link requires input-output capabilities and a PC cable (sold separately). ... Read more

Features

• Excellent planning tool for backcountry adventures or road trips
• Features 1:24,000 USGS 7.5-foot scale with seamless statewide coverage
• Personalize your maps with your own colorful text, symbols, and routes
• Transfer maps with most popular handheld GPS receivers manufactured by Garmin, Magellan, Eagle, and Lowrance
• Compatible with Microsoft Windows 95, 98, Me, 2000, and NT and with all printers supported by Windows

Reviews (10)

Simple, but effective backcountry tool
Love the backcountry? For those of us who love the backcountry in Utah, this is an outstanding tool for the modern wilderness traveller. Combine this with a GPS and a large-format printer, and you've got the sweet system for customizing, then printing out maps you can use in the field. This has saved me SO MUCH MOOLA over buying (and wrecking) 2 or 3 quads for each weekend's adventures.

It's pretty simple. You can trace routes and add text annotations, measure the length of routes and construct an altitude profile; define a printer area and print it out. It works much better to drop the print output (Tiff) into Photoshop and adjust it for your printer. Printing on 8-1/2 x 11 paper doesn't get you much, but printing on 11 x 17 or 13 x 19 makes really nice maps. The Topo "Scan" is not as fine as it would be "really nice" to have, but is about the information you can see (unaided) on a standard Topo map.

Working with the Etrex GPS unit is easy. Mark waypoints on the computer, upload them to the handheld unit.

Overall, it works really well and is easy to learn and use. It requires a bit of an investment up front, but for the serious off-trail traveller, it is money well spent....

Not what I expected
I wanted to use TOPO to map the trails in the parks around South Eastern VA. by importing the GPS tracks obtained from walking/riding the trails. TOPO would almost do what I wanted, but its disappointing lack of editing and viewing tools made it impossible to accurately draw or display the routs.

If I import the tracks as individual waypoints, the waypoints are displayed as HUGE diamonds on the map that overlap and make it impossible to follow the track. The max zoom is insufficient to clearly display the tracks, but the magnify option zooms in nicely. The only problem is the magnify option also magnifies the waypoint icons, so they still overlap. For the Mid-Atlantic map, these waypoint diamonds are about 200 feet corner to corner.

If I bring the tracks in as complete routs, there is no way to make small changes to fit the track to the minor inconsistencies in the elevation map. For example, when the GPS shows me walking a mostly flat section and TOPO has me descending into a ravine; if I remember navigating around the edge of the ravine, it's obvious the track in that area needs to be tweaked to miss the ravine. I might be able to draw a new track if the lines of the existing track were a little thinner, but as with the waypoints, at max magnify the lines are very thick and obscure the topo lines. When I try to start a new track, the draw tool functions as a track selector over the existing (too thick) track, so I can't correct what is already there. The only option is to delete small sections of the map and try to redraw them from memory or a print out. This process might work, but I think I could do it a lot faster in a paint program.

There doesn't seem to be any way to turn off a waypoint or track display completely, since all the waypoints are ultimately displayed in the "All Waypoints" master list which won't turn off. Strangely, if I delete a waypoint in a custom rout, the waypoint is also deleted from the master list, so once a waypoint is added to a rout it can't be removed without also removing it from the entire map.

Overall it's a nice program and probably works fine for mapping out long, straight paths. It's useless for my purposes, though. They need to add some better editing and viewing features, such as interactive rout editing with drag handles on the waypoints, and some control over how and when the waypoints are displayed.

Georgia version is terrible
The Georgia version of this set is Terrible. I already own National Park version which is great. I was planning on staying on Cumberland Island and doing some hiking and that National Park isn't on the National Park cd set, so I bought the Georgia set. Well, Cumberland Island is on the set but it only shows some of the trails. Parts of the Map are crooked. Some of it doesn't line up with other parts. It looks like it was scanned it from a bunch of seperate pieces of paper by a 8 yr old.

If you can only afford one, buy national geographic's topos
I live in Idaho, and actually, really, go into the wilderness. The level of detail provided by garmin's u.s. topo offering is honestly not sufficient for accurately setting waypoints. National Geographic's state series is indeed sufficient (in fact it's the best for Idaho). Not to be cruel, but being able to download inadequately detailed map source is not nearly as important as being able to download truly accurate waypoints. Buying both packages would obviously be the best solution, but really you can set up all the detail you need (for getting in & out) using just national geographic (whereas you can't with garmin's u.s. topo stuff).

Critical note: I strongly recommend not carrying *just* electronic maps if you really, truly, go into wilderness. Electronic toys aren't foolproof - they break through no fault of your own, they get dropped, can get destroyed if you fall, etc. Paper maps should *also* be carried - ideally ones printed out just for your current trip.

The garmin hardware itself is truly impressive. Their mapsource topo offerings, on the other hand, need a lot of work. It's as if the people who did them never visited the U.S., and/or never really went into many of the U.S.'s real wilderness areas.

National Geographic TOPO Colorado, Thumbs Down
The Colorado Map series does not display the same detail as a real 1/24000 official USGS map. I wonder which Colorado maps that National Geographic scanned? Hopefully I might be able to use the GPS and way points with my Garmin GPS 72, however the software setup does not list the Garmin GPS 72. I must have received last years version. ... Read more