Customer Reviews

Benchmark Arizona Road & Recreation Atlas. Fifth Edition

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

You cannot go wrong with this atlas. I keep it in my truck permanently. Need to know terrain? Where to camp? Where to boat?
Looking for that wilderness area not on most maps or that small lake to fish? Well this guide has it! Very well detailed. I really like the topography maps. You can tell the mountains and there are many elevations listed and all the small towns you don't see on a highway map. If you are going anywhere in Arizona, and you think you might like to drive a back road, or if you get on one by mistake.....you won't get lost with this book. EXCELLENT!
UPDATE: 17FEB09....Revised and updated version now available

If you are a hiker or camper or backroader or are looking for a place to get away from it all, this atlas can certainly help. All major and minor mountain ranges are identified, and many of the roads that access those ranges can be found. Keep this book in your Jeep!

Absolutely the ONLY book to have for exploring any state really. State specific of course. Enjoy my fellow explorers!!!

We used this and a topo map of AZ to locate property and find alternative drives through Arizona. Being Coloradoians, we don't always take the path that is the easiest! Thanks for the great book.

the product was fine. it got to me in approprate time. i hate being bugged by Amazon to write a review.

I bought this map for camping in the national forests. Since this is a recreation atlas, I thought that all the forest service roads would be on it. Unfortunately, many of the small service roads are not on this map. This is still a good map for those that don't plan on going far into the "back woods" but not what I was expecting.

As an avid off-roader, I look for remote, under-the-radar types of places. Fortunately, my home state is one of the best places for 4x4 wandering. Anybody can hook up with some Glamis types and rip-it-up at a local sand dune. For me, wilderness means getting far out of Phoenix, driving long distances on dusty back roads and eventually finding that perfectly lonely camp site. Enter the Benchmark Maps' "Arizona Road & Recreational Atlas." For browsing alone, it has been the impetus for multiple back country trips. When used with Google Earth and a guidebook, this tool has been perfect for triangulating locations and showing routes. The DeLorme Atlas is the obvious comparison. The DeLorme is also a good atlas, but I really appreciate the "readability" of the Benchmark. The colors are in harmony with desert esthetics while better expressing elevation. This atlas shows tons of back roads, GPS grids, a recreational guide for the newbies and legends that are clear to read. As an added plus, it shows additional maps for getting around in urban Tuscon and Phoenix. When exploring the desert or getting around in the city, Benchmarks Maps' "Arizona Road & Recreational Atlas" is about all anyone will need to get around in the Grand Canyon State.

Benchmark are bsolutely the best road atlases out there. I have the AZ, UT, OR, and CA maps that I have purchased for trips (I use my CA one all the time, but I live here) and find them invaluable. I can always find my way when lost, and they really do a great job of showing detail that you wouldn't expect, even in metro areas. They show the most random and remote Forest Service or BLM roads, and points of interest on those roads that you would otherwise need specialty maps to see. If there's a dirt road or otherwise going there, these maps show it. Highly recommended!

These Benchmark Atlas books are not any better then the Free Atlas you can get from your insurance companies. I bought and returned all of them for the western states.

I was hoping to get more detailed (back roads, etc) maps, also GPS coordinates etc. No in these, Not worth the cost of shipping.