Sierra Nevada Map (National Geographic Destination Map)

Getting the "big picture " for planning a vacation trip to the Sierra's can be cumbersome. Ordinary road maps don't usually provide enough detail of the secondary and tertiary roads, but the typical recreation maps published by National Geographic, Tom Harrison Cartography, etc. cover too restricted an area for detailed "big picture" trip planning. This map neatly bridges that gap, showing the entire Sierra Nevada like a California road map would, but with enough added detail to be able to route-plan and route-find once one is off of the main highways. I intend to keep this one the map pocket of my pickup, and expect to refer to it often during the camping season each year.

Great

This map has quite a lot going for it: it's printed on tear-resistant plastic, has the familiar National Geographic look and style, and it's reasonably detailed. But I'm not very happy with it, because it's trying to be both a map and a tourist guide. Some of this is OK -- but when I looked at the south end of the Sierra, to scout a trip down Jawbone Canyon (the back road from Lake Isabella to Red Rock Canyon) -- the road isn't *there*. All of the Sierra south of Isabella shows hardly any of the back roads. And up north, at Castle Crags (south of Dunsmuir) -- well, instead of a map of the area west of the Crags, there's a large generic photo of hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail, apparently somewhere in the desert! See the 2nd preview map, with cowboys at top left. Etc, etc.So there's a general lack of attention to detail here. The little printed notes on the attractions are usually OK, but these *big* photos obscuring the map, and often not even very *good* photos.... Listen up, NG, I'm buying a MAP, not a photo album.So, I can't really recommend this map/guide. I think you would be better off with one of the California outdoor-recreation atlases and the guidebook(s) of your choice. This wasn't obvious in the bookstore -- so now you can make a more informed choice than I did.Happy trails --Peter D. Tillman