Streetwise Portland, Map Review

Streetwise maps are popular in most bookstores, they're laminated, folded and compact, so really appealing to travelers like us. HOWEVER....this is an inaccurate rendition of Portland streets: Streetwise Portland includes some street routes that don't exist and fails to show others that do exist. The map area is also very limited. My recommendation: go with the big clumsy fold out map for a more accurate trip about the city.

Streetwise Portland map--just say no.

Adventure Road Map

From my own experiences a good road map is the ultimate road trip travel gear item. I haven't tried a GPS system yet and I'm not sure I will -- I have always had a fascination with paper maps. I love spreading them out (those big folding kind that never re-fold quite right) and looking at the big in between, point A to Z, imagining the different roads and highways that are possible travel routes, names of towns and major cities, where I might stop and what I'd like to see. So not sure a GPS is right for me.

I've also learned that the bookstore shelf is ripe for picking dozens of different flavors of road maps and road atlases. Here's one for the road tripping adventurer:

National Geographic's ADVENTURE EDITION Road Atlas.

Because this is National Geographic you've got to trust that this guide really does what it says: not only provides current detailed maps by state, but also emphasizes outdoor park and recreation areas and highlights the top adventure spots across the U.S. Road trip and adventure travel your way across the country.

Buy a Road Map that Works

In the beginning there were no maps. Explorers set out to survey, sketch, and otherwise render their world. But we no longer have to set out with compass and survey equipment and pack animals. I criss-crossed the U.S. by car in 2007 with a travel nurse and a cat. Our most critical travel item was our road map. It is not one of those dinky ones, no abridged version. It features big pages full of state maps and accompanying pages with blow-ups of major metro areas (a critical feature). It also highlights national and state parks and makes a pretty accurate attempt to even show the actual exit numbers on the major highways.

For a road map with all that plus- you should shop for the ones that offer abbreviated state guides, trivia, and especially interesting the lists of must-see sites and places to eat in each state.