Customer Reviews

Rand McNally 2010 the Road Atlas: United States / Canada / Mexico (Rand Mcnally Road Atlas: United States, Canada, Mexico)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Rand McNally's atlas is always good. I have collected the atlas for years, and was kind of dissappointed with the lack of updates in the 2010 version. The more I got to thinking about it, however, I realized it wasn't Rand McNally's fault! Fewer and fewer roads are being built.

With that said, the atlas is great. Every traveller should get this atlas if they do not have a recent version. Even with all of our fancy GPS equipment, it never hurts to have a trusty paper atlas available. You never know when your electronic device is going to malfunction, but your paper atlas will still be there for you.

Each year, I buy one of these atlases. First, I want to have a Rand McNally Atlas in my car as a ready reference source. Second, I want to stay as current as I can, since roadways change over time. Third, the new features (online and GPS) add a solid component to the whole package. Fourth, I want my son to have an up-to-date atlas when he takes one of his long trips (I get the hand me down atlases, so I do update each year as I inherit his old atlases!).

This atlas has maps of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. I like the feature in which maps show especially scenic routes. This atlas has a "Best of the Road" feature, indicating routes that are scenic but that also feature good places to eat and so on. Through the web site, one can determine what roads are under construction.

But the thing I most enjoy about such atlases is the firing of one's imagination. Even when I was a kid, I would trace cross-country trips, to encompass places I really wanted to see. It was an adjunct to my geography classes! And I still enjoy looking at states (or provinces) and imagining how I might get from one place to another, while maximizing the cool places that I could visit in the process.

In short, this is a terrific product, to my mind, and I am happy to make the acquaintance of the 2010 addition to the series--before it goes into my son's hands!

Rand McNally Road Atlases are a product with consistent quality and I have been relying on Rand McNally to guide me from place to place for more than twenty years. This road atlas has always come through for me, providing complete and clear maps indicating the different highways, cities large and small, and various points of interest to be found as you travel across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Rand McNally includes maps for each of the U.S. states. Some of the more heavily populated states have multiple pages, due to their large number of roads, cities, etc. But even with the less populous states, Rand McNally's Road Atlas includes loads of information. The guide shows much more than roads- it also indicates counties, parks, historic sites, etc., along with other useful information to make travel more efficient. Mileage charts, a quick state summary that indicates the state's nickname, land area, population, largest city, a "Best of the Road" red ribbon to indicate roadways that offer great scenery, dining, and shopping, and small, close- up maps of the state's major cities and national parks are among the extras that you get with this road atlas.

What I like best about Rand McNally's road atlas is its use of contrasting colors and words to indicate the different places on the map. Considering all of the information contained on these maps, one would assume that they are cluttered to the point where they would be unreadable. But this isn't the case at all and the reason is because of Rand McNally's use of contrast. Each item, whether it's an interstate highway, national park, county name, or something else, is labeled in its own unique way so that it becomes distinguished from everything else on the page. For example, the county names are printed in orange and the county lines are indicated with a dashed orange line. If you focus on these, you will distinctly notice them and have no trouble finding the. Now, take you focus off the counties and focus instead on the roads. It is almost as if the county lines and county names are no longer there. This method of contrasting works beautifully. It allows thousands of pieces of data to be presented on the same page without everything blending together.

I use my Rand McNally Road Atlas for many purposes. Besides looking for different travel routes, one fun thing to do with the family is to pull out the road atlas and look for a new place to visit. It is often surprising to find points of interest right in your local area- places like a nearby National Wildlife Refuge, state historic site, or other point of interest that receives little or no publicity. There is no worry about getting lost. The maps contain so many pieces of information- from number of highway lanes, to rest areas, to mileage distances between cities- that you need not worry in any way.

I have used other road atlases and found them acceptable, but I always come back to Rand McNally in the end. The overload of travel information and the excellent contrast make Rand McNally the best in its class.

We have always kept a copy of the Rand McNally Road Atlas in our vehicles; we find them to be invaluable when traveling on the road for basic directional help but also for find alternate scenic routes, etc. Yes, one would think having a GPS would negate the need to have this item. However, GPS units are not perfect and we have to use the atlas on occasion to get an accurate route. Recently, the charger on our GPS shorted out unexpectedly during one trip. No problem, since we had our road atlas in the car.

I do highly recommend getting the vinyl covered edition to help prevent the atlas from getting torn and beaten up. We had the 2008 and 2009 versions and both held up very well and neither are torn, frayed, or otherwise messed up any longer by general use with one minor exception.

I did learn a little lesson about the stapled binding and the vinyl cover as noted by reviewers of previous versions. This is caused by the thin paper and stapled binding along with the cover being tucked into the vinyl pockets on both sides. The cover can be separated partially or completey due to this and one day, a haphazard toss of the atlas caused it become partially separated from the cover. However, I found that by placing a rubberband around the center of the binding holds it all together perfectly. When we purchased the latest edition, we put a rubberband around it to help reinforce the stapled binding from the start.

One other note about the atlas, we really enjoy reading the general information about each state and the recommended tourist sites. This is a great stocking stuffer and valuable to have in your own vehicle, even if you travel infrequently.

I purchased this atlas for my parents as they're retired and travel frequently. They swear by it as do I. It's extremely detailed and informative and very easy to navigate as well as read - especially for two seniors. It also is stores wonderfully in the pockets behind the front seat so is easily retrieved. An absolutely great value and I wouldn't go any other way than Rand McNally.

The only road maps that are better are the Thomas Guides. We use this to get anywhere. The roads are all here with the distances between points and the proper names, and in some cases, the elevations. It is large enough to see without my reading glasses (for most of it). It is great for planning routes on trips because the big size allows you to see a grand scale of your route. You still need closer maps for individual cities, but this is a great Macro view of the US and Canada. We buy a new one every few years. It's great!

I searched all over all over time for this size Atlas. Not one bookstore or big box store carried it; they had all gone to the compact size. Sorry, but I wanted the Atlas with all of the cities, towns, and wide spots in the road. This is perfect!

I found this atlas to be very well done with good detail and great graphics. It is a very good value

I take my family on two road trips a year and I wouldn't be without this book. This is a must have if you drive outside your state or county.

Very informative and will go on the next family road trip with us. Easy to read, so the kids can follow along with where we are at any time.