Has everything including the 'off-road' trails in the mountains. Did you know there are off-road trails in Orange County? I didn't know until I got this atlas.

Has everything including the 'off-road' trails in the mountains. Did you know there are off-road trails in Orange County? I didn't know until I got this atlas.

This is an excellent map book that makes the distinction between hard-pack secondary roads and paved secondary roads. I do a lot of California back roads on my motorcycle and found this to be the best of the map books.

I expected a little more backroad detail, info, & ease of use from (what I thought was) a Topo atlas. Amazon as usual had the best deal. Its a good CA map, but not the detailed topographical map like the ones you get from Ranger stations I had hoped for? I read on other 4x4 websites that this was a topo atlas, not so.

I expected a little more backroad detail, info, & ease of use from a Topo atlas.

I purchased this atlas for motorcycle touring in California, and as a map collector, this is by far the best small-road atlas of California I have ever seen. The relief is excellent, they show a multitude of small roads, and could spend years going through this atlas looking for day trips on the bike. This shows roads much better than a topo map, and relief much better than a road map. It is the best blend of what a traveler needs for unfamiliar roads in California. I have to keep an eye out for updates when this one gets old!

Benchmark Atlases are the benchmark from which all other road atlases are measured. My GPS nav system, as well as Google maps, will direct me to take dirt roads as part of a 'shortest route.' This is not an acceptable route on my Goldwing. These detailed maps clearly and precisely show the type of road from interstate to 4-wheel drive. It has helped me avoid bad routes numerous times. I also have one DeLorme Atlas (Nevada). The DeLorme has topography on the maps, but the lines are faint and tough to see and not detailed enough for real topo use. The Benchmark maps do not have topography, but they have a decent representation of elevation through coloring and shadowing. From cross-country travel to back-road use, I recommend Benchmark.

Great altas for navigating backroads or planning trips. Would have rated it 5 stars, but received the 4th edition instead of the 5th as advertised.

Benchmark are absolutely the best road atlases out there. I have the AZ, UT, OR, and CA maps that I have purchased for trips (I use my CA one all the time, but I live here) and find them invaluable. I can always find my way when lost, and they really do a great job of showing detail that you wouldn't expect, even in metro areas. They show the most random and remote Forest Service or BLM roads, and points of interest on those roads that you would otherwise need specialty maps to see. If there's a dirt road or otherwise going there, these maps show it. Highly recommended!

I bought this for a recent driving trip through California. I have a GPS, but it does a lousy job of giving a "big picture" view of things, while the Benchmark guide is much more useful. On the other hand, it doesn't really have enough detail for street-level navigation of major cities, but it's hard to fit street-level maps for all of California into a book that mere mortals can actually lift.

The atlas is fine, has lots of information, well-organized, nice labels, good coverage, good index, can't imagine any improvements. Except the proof-reading could have been much better. There are four errors on the two pages centered on San Luis Obispo alone. San Carpoforo is spelled San Carpoford. Prefumo is spelled Perfumo. Never seen such carelessness in a map before. It's a shame.

The atlas is fine, has lots of information, well-organized, nice labels, good coverage, good index, can't imagine any improvements. Except the proof-reading could have been much better. There are four errors on the two pages centered on San Luis Obispo alone. San Carpoforo is spelled San Carpoford. Prefumo is spelled Perfumo. Never seen such carelessness in a map before. It's a shame.

Works fine to locate recreation areas. As a road map it is difficult to distinguish the roadways on the color background or when they overlap other features, i.e. property boundry, streams, etc..

Even though pilots use detailed maps called sectionals, they just don't give you much detail about the mountains and landmarks you pass. Benchmark does a great job of labeling all the mountains, passes, and other major landmarks a pilot can use to navigate.

The shading on the mountians is so good I can even see where the good lift might be for soaring. Excellent job Benchmark.

While I love this map to pieces (literally my 2nd edition; 100+ road trip later, dirt, duct tape & all), I have art issues with the 3rd edition. While it is a well layed out atlas style book, the mountain ranges have too much contrast, which makes the smallest of dirt roads hard to read, esp. at 11pm -- with a dome light (or flashlight). Finding a good camp spot can be easier with the newest edition, which they may have corrected the landscape problem.

Just got into dirt biking around SoCal, and this atlas has good detail for forest service roads, jeep trails, railroad and utility rights of way, etc. A bit large to carry on the bike, but worth th effort.

The Benchmark state road atlases are in a class by themselves. No one else combines excellent road legibility with vivid shaded-relief imagery of the land forms.

The main competitor is DeLorme's series of state atlases. Here's how they compare: Benchmark is better for primary and secondary roads, better for labeling landmarks, far better on land forms. Benchmark also has a dedicated set of pages showing what government agencies own what lands. DeLorme is larger scale, with occasionally better detail on local features.

Neither is a definitive guide to back-country roads, although Benchmark does more to classify which roads are actually driveable vs. which are mere tracks.

Benchmark covers only the Western states, DeLorme all 50 states. For any state covered by both, I would want to have both atlases in the car, but if I had to chose just one it would be Benchmark.

If you love California roads and traveling off the beaten path this is your guide. If you are a tourists or just passing through there are better solutions.

As an avid off-roader this is the best for the entire state.

I tour CA on my motorcycle a lot - and find this book invaluable. I picked up a copy in Costco sometime ago. The best part is the second portion of the book, which contains every single goat trial in CA. As motorcyclists know, the more wiggles on a road equates to more giggles and this book is mighty useful when it comes to deciding which road less travelled to take next.

I highly recommend this book!

When visiting in California, a friend of mine showed me this Atlas. Wow, was I impressed. I was hoping that I could get my own copy for New Jersey, but unfortunately the series only covers the western states so far. The quality of these maps is beyond compare. I strongly recommend this atlas.

I ride motorcycles in the southwest and have done so for years. The Benchmark titles are the best there is! I have used them with confidence and recommend them to others who ride. "Nuff said.

This series of atlases is fantastic. The relief shading adds a tremendous amount of information and without cluttering or distracting from the road detail. Absolutely great for camping in remote areas, for example. With a GPS you can practically pinpoint your location on every page.

Printing and binding are excellent. My old edition went through hell and came out battered but alive.