Trail Map Recommendations

Can anyone recommend a good map set for the area of the Adirondacks in and around Mt Marcy? I have the National Geographic map that came with the Adirondack Guide but it covers a pretty large area, is in full color and is so full of symbols for camping, shelters and other stuff you can barely make out the actual summits among all the lettering. Was looking for a more readable set of maps where the overall topography is easier to read, even if it involved multiple maps like the White Mountain guide has. I usually print a CalTopo map and put my doodle notes all over it for my actual hikes but I'd like to have an official map of the area that is more readable.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

TCD or Tony Goodwin should be able to tell you (us) if the ADK is still pitting out the old High Peaks map. If you go to the ADK High Peaks Forum, the question probably has been asked. (I need to see if I remember my sign-on over there as I am heading over there the next two weekends.

I have the ADK Mtn Club's Trail Map spread out in front of me at this very moment. It's the most accurate reference for hiking trails, lean-to's and designated campsites (more accurate than the NYS DEC's own maps). Another excellent product delivered under Tony Goodwin's guidance. I've owned successive editions of the Club's High Peaks map since the late 70's and they helped guide me through the High Peaks. The latest is the best (waterproof paper, trail distances, etc).

A word about Caltopo. I use it all the time. When it comes to bushwhacking, the published Trail Map's 1:62500 isn't right (for me) and I turn to Caltopo to print paper copies for map & compass navigation. It's an excellent resource.

If you turn on the Mapbuilder layer in Caltopo, you'll get a nice shaded topo map with trails. These trails were copied from OpenStreetMap. Accuracy varies from excellent to oops (i.e. trails are missing). When it comes to trails, the ADK Mtn Club's Trail Map beats Caltopo hands down and it also shows lean-to's and campsites. However, because of the map's scale, it cannot show their precise locations nor the many little spur trails leading to them.

FWIW, I've been updating trails, lean-to's, campsites, etc in OpenStreetMap so it becomes a better resource for hikers. I've documented my alterations on the ADKHighPeaks forum so that more knowledgeable folks can correct my mistakes and everyone can see the level of detail I've added. OpenStreetMap may not be as pretty as Caltopo (with Mapbuilder) but it allows the general public to provide a lot of detail right down to trail-registers, bridges, spur-trails, designated campsites, viewpoints, and even lowly outhouses.

https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=17/44.11898/-73.98620

Yes, Tony's done a great job on the ADK High Peaks map - highly recommended!

For an online topo map, I have been using ADK Topo Map browser:

http://adirondack-park.net/topo/

The trail info is outdated, but the topo is accurate, and you can zoom and print whatever you need.

HH1 said:

http://www.adk.org/product.php?pid=1926&pname=High Peaks Trails

Click to expand...

This is the guide and map I have now. Guide is excellent but the map covers too large of an area and is hard to read with the full color, symbols, etc. Was looking for a more zoomed in map.

The National Geographic maps are a lot more colorful and therefore easier to read than the ones in the back of the trail guide:
http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/...igh-peaks:-adirondack-park-trail-map?npd&npd&

(Edit: it seems I'm a few years out of date. The old pale brown paper maps in the back of the ADK guide are a thing of the past. For a while the ADK offered the NatGeo map with their trail guide, but now they have a new edition of the ADK map.)

The Nat Geo map is at 1:75,000 scale, which is great for planning a road trip but not really useful in the field.

(The ADK map is a slightly better 1:62,000. [edited: I'd misread Phil Brown's review where he described the various map scales - he seemed to be saying the old "brown maps" were 1:75,000])

The Nat Geo map is also missing some important details - like campsite locations. It's big and bulky and a lot of space is wasted on non-map stuff.

I recommend you get both the Nat Geo and ADK maps for planning purposes, and print out detailed topos from CalTopo (then draw in corrections by hand) to carry when you hike, as Trail Boss described above.

nartreb said:

The National Geographic maps are a lot more colorful and therefore easier to read than the ones in the back of the trail guide:
http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/...igh-peaks:-adirondack-park-trail-map?npd&npd&

(Edit: it seems I'm a few years out of date. The old pale brown paper maps in the back of the ADK guide are a thing of the past. For a while the ADK offered the NatGeo map with their trail guide, but now they have a new edition of the ADK map.)

The Nat Geo map is at 1:75,000 scale, which is great for planning a road trip but not really useful in the field.

(This is the same scale as the old ADK maps - the latest edition ADK map is a slightly better 1:62,000.)

The Nat Geo map is also missing some important details - like campsite locations. It's big and bulky and a lot of space is wasted on non-map stuff.

I recommend you get both the Nat Geo and ADK maps for planning purposes, and print out detailed topos from CalTopo (then draw in corrections by hand) to carry when you hike, as Trail Boss described above.

Click to expand...

Maps in the back? My guide did not come with maps. It was a companion set of the AMC High Peaks Trails by Tony Goodwin and David Thomas Train and a National Geographic Map - Adirondack Park #742 (Lake Placid/High Peaks). The map is indeed full color and very, very detailed but the font it uses to label actual mountains is so small you can barely find the mountains on it. Sounds like these Nat Geo maps are the best out there so I guess I'll have to make due with this and CalTopo.

EdiT: OK I just realized what you were saying in your edit. So you are saying the old maps formerly in the back of the guide are still available?

I'll make an attempt to clear this up:

The 13th edition of the High Peaks Trails guidebook was the last one to come with the ADK Mtn. Club's own paper map. This is the well-known "Trails of the Adirondack High Peaks" or "brown map" that accompanied every edition of the guidebook. When folded it stands about half the height of a standard paper road-map. When folded and unfolded many, many times, as one is wont to do, it would eventually fall apart like a house of cards. Alternately, you'd get it wet and transform it into something cloth-like and smudged. Good times!

The 14th edition of the guidebook replaced the "brown map" with the far more colorful National Geographic version. This is what they currently sell online and in stores:
http://www.adk.org/product.php?pid=1948&pname=High Peaks Trails and Map Pack

Not everyone liked the Nat Geo map. Old-timers like myself missed the familiar appearance and "handling characteristics" of the "brown map". Fortunately, the ADK Mtn. Club reincarnated it in a plasticized version that is available for purchase separately from the guidebook:
http://www.adk.org/product.php?pid=2294&pname=Trails of the Adirondack High Peaks Map

The new "brown map" is plasticized and indicates trail distances. The old versions of the map were coy about the so-called "trailless peaks". The new version faces facts and shows all of the "unmarked, limited-maintenance trails" that run up to the so-called "trailless peaks" (which haven't been trailless in decades).

Despite the added information, I don't find it any less difficult to read than previous versions. However, it is 1:62500 scale (like it's always been) so text can't be oversized without obscuring important features. Caltopo's Mapbuilder Topo may be what you want: http://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=44.12015,-73.90145&z=14&b=mbt
Just remember that Mapbuilder's trails come from OpenStreetMap and aren't as complete as the "brown map".

DayTrip said:

Maps in the back? My guide did not come with maps. It was a companion set of the AMC High Peaks Trails by Tony Goodwin and David Thomas Train and a National Geographic Map - Adirondack Park #742 (Lake Placid/High Peaks). The map is indeed full color and very, very detailed but the font it uses to label actual mountains is so small you can barely find the mountains on it. Sounds like these Nat Geo maps are the best out there so I guess I'll have to make due with this and CalTopo.

EdiT: OK I just realized what you were saying in your edit. So you are saying the old maps formerly in the back of the guide are still available?

Click to expand...

You could find a used copy of the old maps easily enough, but I was suggesting you try the new ADK map (as a supplement for those times when you want to know where the legal campsites are, etc):
http://www.adk.org/product.php?pid=2294&pname=Trails of the Adirondack High Peaks Map

It's a slightly better scale (than the Nat Geo map), so even though it's got more detail it may feel less crowded. I only have the old ADK map, I haven't seen the new one.

If all you want to know is where the major peaks are, try this:
http://www.summitpost.org/object_li..._1=1&sort_select_1=elevation&parent_id=170855

Peakbagger.com has something similar.

For hiking anything but the most straightforward trails, you'll also want the USGS topos (e.g., via CalTopo) for terrain details.

When you are up there, stop at the HPIC or The Mountaineer & pick up a copy of the brown map. I'll use the Nat Geo map for preliminary planning but I bring a copy of the brown map when I need one (Getting by on Moxham, Goodenow, Hurricane, Phelps, Wrights, Algonquin just fine without) & there is a brown map in the center console of the car just in case I leave one at home. I think I've bought the 12th, the 13th and for some reason two versions of the 14th. I left the 2nd copy at the house I usually stay at in Minerva.

Thanks all for the info.