Remember when paper maps were our only option for navigation? Then came big, bulky GPS devices, and now we have everything we need on our cell phones. Amazing, huh?
Still, there’s something satisfying about unfolding a good old-fashioned map. No batteries required, no signal needed—just you, your route, and the thrill of plotting your next adventure by hand.
For some RVers, paper maps aren’t just nostalgic—they’re reliable backups, especially in areas with spotty reception.
And let’s be honest: Sometimes, a map gives you the bigger picture in a way a screen just can’t. It’s easier to see nearby scenic byways, alternate routes, and hidden gems that your navigation app might not suggest.
For those who love to take the road less traveled, paper maps can feel like a treasure map, leading you to unexpected discoveries.
Some RVers even use them for trip planning—highlighting routes, circling campgrounds, and jotting notes in the margins. Others keep a collection of old maps as souvenirs from past trips, worn and creased like badges of honor.
When you travel with your RV, do you still carry paper maps with you? Do you still use them to navigate or explore the area around you?
After you vote, please leave a comment. Thank you!
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We use both a Good Sam’s RV atlas and a Trucker atlas. Both are helpful when planning unknown routes, particularly if we come up on an unexpected detour.
Not anymore! I use Google maps, and after I have decided on my trip, I take pictures of it and draw lines and make notes, just in case I were in an area with no cell reception. SO much easier than those bulky maps.
Carry the FRVA (FMCA) map book. Also, stop at State Welcome Centers and get map and local information. Still set the route on the GPS. But, need to have a feel for the route.
When we have a state map available. We make a point to stop at the welcome centers along the highway to collect maps of the states were visiting.
We usually rely on our Garmin RV GPS, our phone GPS, state maps and the atlas. We have been misled by GPS often enough that I double check with a paper map if off the beaten path. Every year or so go to AAA and get a current set of state maps we keep in the RV. Still free for members.
Yes, they are a few years out of date, but they give the big picture. Lately we have only been traveling in areas we are familiar with so even the GPS is only entertainment.
Always have paper maps. Android auto and Waze not fully reliable.
I guess I consider a road atlas to be a paper map…just happens to be bound into a book with others. We carry a truckers road atlas. Don’t use it a lot but sometimes it is nice to see a big area on something larger than a phone screen. It saved us last year when we missed a turn and ended up in a vast area of no cell service. Once we got to an intersection of two state highways the road atlas showed us our location and how to get back on track.
We carry a truckers atlas. It shows all routes safe for truck heights and weights.
We primarily use Google maps (satellite view) in the phone. You can download offline maps if you’re fearful you’ll be out of cell range. Have a Garmin along for the ride as well.
Those GPS programs are great. But I want to be able to sit down and look at a map. Not just a small section. The whole thing.
Nothing beats a good printed topographic grid map of the area you are going into..along with a good compass. Some folks don’t always have the means to own “smart” junk.
We carry a road atlas and some specialized paper maps, but seldom refer to them
I was tired of figuring out what to do with the individual state maps we collected at visitors’ centers. They never fold tight once used and they seem to have the same problems as empty hangers in a closet. They multiply on their own. We finally bought the Motor Carriers Road Atlas and a more manageable sized US road atlas. We are happy with these two maps when we need to look at a paper map.
Absolutely we do. We have an atlas for cross-country travel. The GPS is great for showing details within the several miles near you, but if something happens (and that never happens, right?) the paper is handy for selecting an alternate route longer than a few blocks.
My spouse handles the paper and while the GPS tells me time to destination, she wants to guesstimate time to a rest stop – where are we? She finds it on the map and does just that. Sometimes it is “too far, find a parking spot and unlock the trailer”. 🙂
No substitute for paper maps. Also, I find that the red, white, and blue ones are easiest to read- on a white background the red and blue routes and markings stand out the best. The poorest maps are usually some combination of tan, brown, yellow, and green.
Always. Got everything on there, and I’m a former Army trainer on map & compass.
We carry an Atlas and state maps for several select states as backup for our phones. Use the paper maps often.
We are full timers who live taking the road less traveled. Move Moho about every 3-4 months and pick a central location and take day trips. Maps are a must for picking alternative routes. Try not to take same road twice!
I use Google maps on the computer. I can look at a 500 mile radius or more if necessary or zoom in to a 2 or 3 mile radius to see what the residential and business district streets look like long before I have to drive through them. Can’t do that with paper maps.
We carry a standard road atlas, also DeLorme and/or Benchmark atlases on all but the most basic trip. We have Forest Service maps of our destinations, if available. My husband has topo maps for all his hiking. We do carry individual state maps, if we have them.
We travel in places where we have no cell service, so depending on it is not wise.
While we do use online mapping for information, we tend not to use it for on-road navigation.
For us, the more information, the better.
I had maps of every state and province, but recently threw them all out. I have an RV GPS and offline maps saved on our phones. Also have many maps of BLM land in my phone.
Haven’t really used the paper maps in years.
i will plan my trip using Google Maps, then I write down the trip directions, highway numbers, directions, turns etc. in longhand to carry with me as backup, and I always have paper AAA maps of everywhere I plan to visit.
We carry maps but most are grid map books for states that we use for exploring. other than that we use our Google Maps on the console.
I like paper maps. That is what I was taught since I was 6 years old. Paper maps give me a good overview of where I am heading. As one poster noted, AAA still gives the maps out for free to members.
I have also discovered Garmin has some quirks. 2 years ago, we were in South Dakota headed for Wind Cave NP and Garmin had us take one way to get there and another way for us to leave.
aaa
For the big overview I like the WalMart Atlas. It also gives the address of every WalMart I can drive to. We do carry individual state/provincial maps as the GPS gives me shortest or fastest routes and there are times I don’t want just those two choices. One on-line website I found very useful is http://www.furkot.com You put in your start and end points and you can drag those around to find the best route.
When we used only Google maps we ALWAYS got led astray, or would lose our connection. It got my husband really bent out of shape, so I have paper maps and always write out the directions before we hit the road so I can scream them into his deaf right ear.
My wife has never trusted the GPS from our first one over 25 years ago till today, so we’ve always had a road atlas. This became critical after we got the DP. We now have the Motor carriers (truckers) atlas that we use when going off the interstate highways. At 45 ft with a 20 ft trailer, 13’4″ height, and a CGRW of 74,000 lbs, I am not trusting a GPS alone.
I have been using paper maps since the 1990’s and GPS since 1995 (long before maps overlayed the system). The current systems (garmin, google) all use digitized paper maps. Then the digitized maps were improved with satellite imagery, not perfect since some dirt roads are interpreted as paved roads by fuzzy satellite images. So the google maps you are using are just paper maps digitized. Over the years I have sent notices that certain “roads” were not really paved road, (do a lot of 4 wheel driving since the 1990’s, even paper maps were not perfect which were poorly digitized into the current system).
continued…. GPS is not a mapping system, it is a satellite signal which gives position and it is up to the computer software (google, garmin..) to interpret the signal over the digital map. I have been doing GPS signal interpretation (for military systems) since the early 1990’s. even military paper maps were not perfect nor was the digitization of the military maps. so do not blame GPS for the errors, blame the organization’s who digitize the maps and supposedly modernized them (or send them updates when errors are found). I have have been on some doozy of roads (4 wheel when they should not have been, paper and computer)
Thank you for the information, Lawrence. Very interesting.👍 Have a good evening/night. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Though GPS is much more convenient, we’ve had it play too many tricks to not always keep paper maps with us.
We only use paper maps. Do have a GPS but only use for laughs.
My wife and navigator marks our whole route in different colored hi liter and the different colors she uses mean the year we made the trip. I often go back to see if we were at a certain location.
Thank you for the question, RV Travel! We have an atlas stowed in a pocket on the back of the driver’s seat. When traveling to/in Alaska we also have the latest Milepost and a few sets of printed directions that include bits of maps. In all cases we have our RV GPS. Have a great day and safe travels!