Most of my hiking is done in Arkansas, and that is the basis of my question. I know it would not be to practical, but how large of an area would I need for a 7.5 minute topo map of arkansas? I am not real good at navigation, but I can find where I am on a map. And I can map (with a little confidence) the trail route. Anyway, I just thought it would be cool to be able to decorate a wall of the house (size permiting)with a topo of Arkansas with all the trails I've done drawn on them. Again, thank you folks, who are smart enough to do this, for saving me the time!

Two inches of paper to one mile of land.
Do the math.

Edited by greg23 on 10/09/2009 15:25:23 MDT.

As far as I know it is roughly 2.5 inches per mile on a 7.5 minute map.

So I dug out a 15' map and it scaled 1:1, so I figure that a 7.5' map would scale at 2:1, which just goes to show...

Prompted by Andrew, I dug deeper and came up with a 7.5' map, and low and behold it scales to 2.625" to a mile.

So the wallpapering project will take a little less space than I thought.

Have you considered the TOPO State Series software from National Geographic. $100 I think. Print what you need.

Edited by greg23 on 10/09/2009 16:17:00 MDT.

If i've done the math right, you would need a rather big room. At about 926 quads at about 4 sqft per quad that's 3700 sqft. Covering an 8ft wall would take about 450 feet of wall...
Arkansas maps from DRGmaps

Thanks you guys. Doesn't sound like I (or anyone) have a wall that size. May just have to keep up with it on the computer.

I am a map freak and have done exactly what you are wanting to do several times. The only way I have found to do it is with 1:100,000 scale rather than the 1:24,000 of a 7.5. When I lived in SW MO I believe I got the maps from either the BLM or the Forest Service. Most gov't maps are 1:100,000. Depending on your location if you have a University with a Gov't Document section they replace maps every so often and the old ones are discarded. I did this at SMSU for years and got some very good maps. Don't give up, it is very cool to sit back and see the scope and magnitude of your wandering.

billy

Edited by lilorphanbilly on 10/12/2009 12:02:05 MDT.

Printing from a software package could be pretty pricey. The idea of using larger scale maps is probably the way to go. If you can get library or academic discards, so much the better.

If not http://store.usgs.gov has all the maps you might want. You can download pdf's of the maps for free, and then order the ones you need. You need to go to the above link, scroll down to the map locator, and then click on the map locator.

They generally carry the following scales:
1:24,000 7.5' x 7.5'
1:100,000 60' (longitude) x 30' (latitude)
1:250,000 1 degree (longitude) by 2 degrees (latitude)

I forget what the size of the paper is, but even on 1:250,000 it's going to take a lot of room to cover the whole state.

The larger maps often don't show trails.

In most areas 1:500,000 or 1:1,000,000 scale maps may be available.

HJ

EDIT:
I copied the following table from the USGS website. It shows all the map scales that they carry.

* Abandoned map series, but still available for ordering as black-and-white photographic
reproductions.

Edited by hikin_jim on 10/13/2009 18:59:36 MDT.

I have NOT done this but I've heard you can do something like this relatively easily with Google Earth. I suspect you could adjust the scale to accommodate the size map you desire. Does it need to be 7.5? Then have it printed at kinkos.

I don't have the time or energy to look at this now, but check out…

http://earth.google.com/outreach/tutorial_mymaps.html

Edited by backpackerchick on 10/13/2009 19:06:47 MDT.

I have cyclist friends who have done something very similar. They've had Arkansas painted on a wall and paint which Arkansas roads they've hammered with different colors depending on year. The painting is very nice and highlights the parks and forests.

Nerdy and passionate - these folks have rode to Fayetteville from Little Rock.

Jack