Aerial View Maps - question about topographic maps?

question about topographic maps?

Hey all, I was in the military a while back and we always used to get the topo maps to navigate from. I want to refresh my skills and get back into orienteering. I feel like an idiot, but I cant find an easy way to find maps. I live close to lake Tahoe and i just want to hike. Not on a specific trail or anything. I just want to find a cool spot on the map and get there. how do i find these maps?

Public Comments

U.S.G.S. United States Geological Survey. They have a website. Go there and click on maps.
You can get topo maps, large scale, at the BLM office in Carson City, Reno, Sacramento....take your pick. They run about $10 each. If you want more detail and better idea of the terrain, go to University of Nevada Reno for the detailed stuff OR you can do what I did and get the entire state of Nevada on CD at most good sporting goods stores. I got mine a Sportsmans Warehouse in Reno. You can also find them at Cabelas in Verdi. I use my CD versions all the time when I go exploring for my outdoor blog material
Takes some tricky navigateing, but NOAA,USCG, DOI and others have free Topo maps and Nautical Maps for download. NASA does also. I use the WorldWind program alot. It is a free NASA widget that has maps, sattelite and other views that are nifty. You paid for WorldWind every time you paid taxes, so they are yours to use as you like.
The USGS generally provides the most detailed topo maps available for backpacking in the US. You can download them to print; order them by mail; or purchase at many outdoor gear stores. Forest service maps are generally of lower quality. Actually, the most detailed maps I've seen around Lake Tahoe were specially produced by the Bay Area Orienteering Club, for places like Fallen Leaf Lake where they hold competitions. It's a pretty good way to learn navigation, and they should be having some Ski-Orienteering competitions up there pretty soon.