Hunting Maps Colorado
Where can I purchase a REALLY good topographical map of the Flat Tops Wilderness Area in Colorado?
My husband hunts and camps there every summer and the group has never been able to find a good map of the area. They use their GPS systems and their heads to navigate the difficult terrain. I’d like to get him one on the internet, but I’m not sure where to start…please help!
I think my first choice would be the Trails Illustrated maps from National Geographic. They are good quality topographic maps, and their trail information is relatively current.
Here’s their web site for Colorado maps:
http://www.natgeomaps.com/ti_colorado
Unfortunately, you need four different maps (#122, 123, 124, and 125) to cover the entire Flat Tops Wilderness.
You can buy the maps directly from this web site, or from other stores with outdoor supplies.
The best (but not necessarily current) topographic maps are from the United States Geological Survey; but with their scale of 1:24000 or 1:25000, you’d need a lot of maps to cover the entire wilderness area.
http://topomaps.usgs.gov/ordering_maps.html
If you want to view the USGS maps from your computer, you can order the TOPO! software for Colorado:
http://www.natgeomaps.com/topo_colorado
This is useful for exploring by map before or after the trip, but it’s not very practical to print out a lot of these maps from your home computer.
A previous answer mentioned the DeLorme maps. These are excellent for exploring an area (including back roads) by car, but they are not adequate for hiking.
http://shop.delorme.com/OA_HTML/DELibeCCtdItemDetail.jsp?beginIndex=0&item=108§ion=10096
Curious_45′s recommendation to contact the Forest Service is also good. The Flat Tops are split between two units — Medicine Bow & Routt National Forest, and White River National Forest. Here are their web sites for maps:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/mbr/maps/
http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/whiteriver/maps/
Maps made by the Forest Service aren’t as detailed as the USGS or Trails Illustrated maps, but might have the most current information on facilities such as roads and campgrounds. (Also, Forest Service maps are usually *not* topographic maps, unlike the other maps mentioned above.)
Elk Camp Colorado, Part 2 – “Getting Started”