atlases and maps

Jack Purcell is pretty thorough in his review. As for the nitpickers, if they really want to get names and numbers of backroads, they can contact the forest service and BLM, as well as the park service, who publishes maps of logging roads, and other limited use roadways. At 1:250,000, who could expect a name or number tag anyway of off-the-beaten trail access roads anyway?
What's nice about the new edition is De Lorme has added graphics to note relief, rather than topo lines found on previous editions (Perhaps due to competition from Benchmark Maps). I like the DeLorme Maps because they tend to be more detailed using a smaller resolution overall than other book maps (1:150,000 up to 1:250,000), and if one needs the detail offered in a 7.5 minute map, they have only to visit TopoZone.com to get really close, after locating the general area conditions on a DeLorme Map.
A great overall set to obtain, at the very least, get your state and every state that surrounds your own, and exploit it for true getaways and area studies!

I have several of these of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. Duplicates of each... one in the house for planning and study, one in the truck. Occasionally I rotate them so they don't wear out too quickly. I've given the Delormes top billing in my Desert Emergency Survival Manual, but you don't need desert and you don't need an emergency to need the Delorme Atlas for whereever you are going in a rural area.

If you spend a lot of time in the back country these maps are the best alternative, from my point of view. It's true the maps don't have labels on the back country cow trails another reviewer complained of. The fact is, neither do the roads. But it's often helpful when you come to the fork in a dirt two-track and they both wander off a few degrees off North, to be able to crack open the Delorme and discover the one on the left plays out just over that hill over there at a windmill. There's no excuse for needing labels these days. A compass and Delorme will allow you to locate yourself in most instances.

However, even the back woods purist ought to own a GPS. I've been wandering around the back woods longer than most readers of this have been alive. I rarely get lost, but I frequently don't know exactly where I am. Occasionally my old TrailBlazer saved me a lot of walking to get back to the truck. Once it saved my life in a snowstorm, I imagine.

For motor traveling you'll cover too much ground to allow the 7.5 minute maps to help much. You pass from one map to the next too quickly. When you are afoot a couple of them become useful. Meanwhile, I use Delorme as one of the ways to keep track of my wanderings. I recommend them wherever you are. And a GPS, as well.

I have used the Arizona book for planning of hiking trips as well as car camping in the Mogollon Rim country. Easy to use, good quality, perfect to toss in the back seat of the car and go.