Customer Reviews

Colorado Road & Recreation Atlas

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Since moving to Colorado from the UK in 06 I've been looking for a detailed enough map of Colorado - and I think I've found it. I've worked with maps and GIS back in the UK and have always appreciated the level of detail provided by the Ordnance Suvey, but struggled to find a comparable line of products for the US.

I do a great deal of hiking, mountain biking, 4 wheeling and general exploring of the State, and wanted a comprehensive map which would show me trails, roads and interesting features/places.

The atlas is separated into 5 sections.

Section 1 shows regional maps: Entire US (1:9600000), western mountains (1:4500000) from Dallas in the SE to Bend (Oregon) in the NW, and Colorado (1:650000).
Section 2 shows recreational maps and separates the whole of Colorado into 13 areas. Each one goes into great detail about the recreational facilities of each area, lists climate info and gives addresses and phone numbers for all kinds of services, camp grounds etc. Scale is 1:500000, except for the eastern plains area which is at 1:1350000. The final map shows locations of all the 14ers, major ski areas and 22 popular off road trails.
Section 3 shows landscape maps at 1:200000. These are fantastic and show all the trails I've ever hiked, biked or wheeled.
Section 4 shows the metro areas of Denver, Colorado Springs and the Boulder area at 1:125000.
Section 5 has a comprehensive index.

Overall this is an invaluable resource and miles better than any other Atlas I've looked at (and I've looked at them all!). A great all in one buy and a bargain at the moment on Amazon.

Other products to consider: Latitude 40 produce some great, detailed maps at a smaller scale, but they cover selected areas and some sections are about 15 years out of date. National Geographic maps are best for hiking in the wilderness, but are only available for limited areas.

This is another in the single state map book series and it's just as good as the previous books. For those travelling the highways and byways just because they like to do so, this is an invaluable tool with large scale maps showing most of the interesting features plus some that were once interesting but have now disappeared! Not just a map for getting from one town to another, but a book of topographical information for those that want to know what the terrain is really like before they arrive. I have most of the available series and cart them between the UK and the USA everytime we visit on our fly-drive vacations. Well recommended!

We ride motorcycles, and like to explore the backcountry. Although we're set up for gravel and dirt roads, we like to know what we're getting into before we get there. Unfortunately, finding a map that shows exactly what is dirt, what is gravel, and what is paved is nearly impossible. AAA maps do show some gravel or unimproved roads, GPS systems like Tom Tom and Garmin try their best, but mark some gravel roads as paved and some paved roads as "unimproved".

I thought we'd always end up guessing and asking the locals, until someone told me about Benchmark. We are heading to Colorado on a motorcycle vacation, so I thought I'd give it a try.

I am completely amazed! The detail in these maps is astonishing, and still so simple to read. Roads show transitions from pavement to gravel to 4 wheel-drive. Not only that, the recreation section lists all the Parks, Historical spots, Natural areas of note, Campgrounds, and other highlights of that particular grid on the map. You could plan an entire vacation just by reading the concise descriptions of the tourist destinations listed here.

The layout is incredibly easy to work with, flip to the grid overview and find what section you want, then go to the page number. Want to follow a road to the next grid section? The page number is listed at whatever edge you're looking at, just flip to that page and continue on.

My only complaint is the size, at 15" x 11", it's nothing I'll be stuffing in a tank bag. I would happily pay twice the price for a book half the height and width and including more pages, especially if the pages were made of waterproof tyvek or similar material. Because of the way motorcyclists use maps, I have a feeling we'll be disassembling the book and folding individual pages into the map holder on a tank bag. Regular map paper doesn't survive very long in these conditions, so something made of stronger stuff would be most welcome.

But the maps themselves are absolutely amazing. I swear they read my mind and made the map book of my dreams.

Excellent source of info. Great details. Only thing better is the Trail Maps that are available for additional detail. This Atlas is a musy have for traveling and camping Colorado.

We bought this map to use on our Colorado vacation and it was very helpful. It allowed us to take some more roundabout (and scenic) routes and provided enough details to assist in our vacation planning. It fits into a backpack and is definitely worth purchasing if you're going to be traveling extensively around the state.

Great atlas. Very detailed maps. On my last trip I discovered a couple of cool out of the way campsites by following some of the roads in these maps that aren't shown in a larger more general atlas.

Forget paying for a road atlas if you are an outdoor enthusiast. This is a must have if you hike, camp, or follow the road less traveled. I have one for Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico--they are a great map to get you started finding new routes, camping destinations, and hiking trails,etc.

I had never heard of Benchmark Maps before but I thought I'd give their Colorado Atlas a try. After a three week hiking adventure in Colorado, I was very impressed with Benchmark. Their maps do a great job in depicting the campgrounds, trailheads, trails, elevations, and ,of course, the roads in the mountains of Colorado. The Benchmark Atlas was far superior to the competition. On my next hiking trip, probably to New Mexico, I will definitely buy another Benchmark Atlas.

There is a newer, 2011 edition available. See Benchmark Colorado Road and Recreation Atlas 3rd edition (Benchmark Maps: Colorado)

These maps are extremely detailed but still very legible. I have the benchmark map for idaho and colorado and use them both frequently to located trails, canyons, public land, etc.