Heading outdoors with a map doesn’t just help to keep you safe – it can help you discover natural features you might otherwise have overlooked or choose the best route to a summit according to your ability level. These days, we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to online maps, with navigation apps like AllTrails, OS Maps and Komoot leading the way, and now the US Geological Survey has got in on the action.
The USGS is a scientific agency that studies the landscape of the US, so they’ve been amassing data useful to hikers and backcountry explorers for nearly 150 years. With the launch of its new digital 25K Recreational Topos – so-called because they have a 1:25,000 scale – you can access highly detailed maps of any area in the US you want to explore with a user-friendly design that the agency says is built for recreational users.
