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Maps


v8bertha

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Well, this is a first for me, popping in on the USA forum to see what you guys are up to... and ask your advice :rolleyes:

Over here in Blighty we have the Ordnance Survey that produces maps of the UK to various scales. The ones us off-roaders use are the Landranger and Exlorer maps which are 1:25000 and 1:50000 and show all the different types of byways we are allowed to drive.

What would be the equivalent in the USA?

Where can I buy them from?

Is there a computerised version, such as Memory Map?

What are the rules about off road driving... do you have to stick to designated routes or can you bugger off into the wild blue yonder and make your own tracks?

Any help would be hugely appreciated.

Ta

Dan :i-m_so_happy:

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Well, this is a first for me, popping in on the USA forum to see what you guys are up to... and ask your advice :rolleyes:

Over here in Blighty we have the Ordnance Survey that produces maps of the UK to various scales. The ones us off-roaders use are the Landranger and Exlorer maps which are 1:25000 and 1:50000 and show all the different types of byways we are allowed to drive.

What would be the equivalent in the USA?

Where can I buy them from?

Is there a computerised version, such as Memory Map?

What are the rules about off road driving... do you have to stick to designated routes or can you bugger off into the wild blue yonder and make your own tracks?

Any help would be hugely appreciated.

Ta

Dan :i-m_so_happy:

The US equivalent of the OS maps in the UK are the USGS (United States Geological Survey) 1:25000 scale topographical maps. They are available for purchase on-line from the USGS USGS These USGS maps also serve as the basis for a Garmin Mapsource US Topographical GPS Map set. In addition, Earth Google provides various degrees of resolution satellite imagery of the US, and satellite and aerial survey data in hard copy or electronic format are available for most of the US. These maps generally do not delineate which "roads" are legal to drive or not. The rule of thumb is that if it is or was a public right of way (and has not been "privatised") it can be driven. There are over a thousand miles of such roads/trails in Vermont, for example.

The rules for offroad driving vary across the country. In the Northeast, the situation does not differ substantially from England. There are the US equivalent of "greenlanes" which are unmaintained or otherwise neglected public ways. There are subatantially more "grey area" trails, but the extent to which they are truly grey is also variable. Otherwise it's private land or offroad parks. NY, CT, RI, MA, and VT do not provide any OHV access to State or Federal land. I am unsure of the status in NH or ME. Points farther south and west seem to offer greater vehicular access to motorized vehicles and there is a current administrative process that may or may not result in greater clarification of the rules governing OHV access to Federally managed land. Out west - think Utah, Colorado, Nevada, California and Arizona - there seems to be substantially greater OHV access (and feedom to bugger off and make your own track) but I could not give you exact guidance. There are quite a few 4WD organizations online in the US that can provide greater detail on such info.

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. Otherwise it's private land or offroad parks. NY, CT, RI, MA, and VT do not provide any OHV access to State or Federal land. I am unsure of the status in NH or ME.

In Maine there is a huge land area known as the North Maine Woods. This a tract of land owned by Logging companies and private owners under a joint management agreement. It is open to public access on payment of a daily fee. There are camping areas and many many miles of roads and tracks to drive. Its a truely beautiful place to visit but bring everything, there are NO facilities.

John

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  • 1 month later...

Out West, there are a lot of trails, but with VERY FEW exceptions, one must stick to the established trails that are open

to travel. If you were to come out this way, your best bet would be to contact the Forest Service for any area you might

want to visit. They might even have maps with all open trails. Also clubs in any area you might visit would be a great

resource. National Geographic sells CDs with maps that can be linked to GPS recievers to show you your exact location

at any time.

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When I did some serious road travel I went with my Dutch AA card to the AAA in California. Got all the maps I needed, and for FREE... Mind you, these are not to OS specs. Mostly roads, some trails (Like death valley and yosemite)

I am pretty sure they would do the same if you flash your AA or RAC card at them. And it only works when you are already in the States, as they will not send you any maps beforehand.

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