Google Earth, USGS Store - Map Locator Downloader and Google Maps are sites that make my life easier. I encourage you to use and support these companies. I use their free tools on nearly every forest I am visiting or working in.
1. Google Earth
Google Earth offers a free upload of a very powerful program. It will let you look, via aerial photos, at nearly any spot on planet Earth. These satellite photos are frequently updated and the quality is tolerable (rural) to extremely good (urban).I would never have believed I could get access to this kind of imagery for free even ten years ago. The Internet and Google.com makes it happen by tapping into publicly owned sources of images and maps and distributing them as images. You need Google Earth if you work or play in the forest.
2. USGS Store - Topographic Map Locator & Downloader
The United States Geological Survey makes their 7.5, 15 and 30 minute topographic map series available for free download as an Adobe Reader PDF file. All you do is search for a place name or USGS map name and the topo map will appear in the locator's left-hand display.Select the spot you want to map, "Mark Point", click on the mark point icon and you have the available maps. Select the map you want to download and it will create a zip file of the map. Unzip the file and you have a working, printable color topo map of your area in PDF format. You need the WinZip and Adobe PDF software.
