Inflatable Kayak Blog

It’s pretty easy to go to the computer, pull up a map web site and find a new waterway where you can plan a paddling adventure. It’s a great resource. But many of the people I’ve talked to also recommend the Delorme’s series of Atlas and Gazeteer Map Books. The Delorme books are considered some of the most detailed maps available, in some cases they even include unused old roads that aren’t much more than hiking paths anymore. That’s what you call “detailed”.

The DeLorme company was founded in the mid 1970′s by David DeLorme who became so frustrated by the only available maps of an area in Maine that he decided to create one that lived up to his expectations. According to Wikipedia, DeLorme combined state highway, county, and town maps as well as federal surveys to produce ‘The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer’ which was printed in a large format book with an initial printing of 10,000 and marketed out of his car. The Gazetter listed bicycle trails, canoeing and kayaking trips, museum and historic sites and proved successful enough to expand into other states. The Delorme’s Atlas and Gazeteers Series now offers Maps for almost every state in the United States.

So, if you are one of those kayakers who likes to combine your paddling with discovery, you might want to check into the DeLorme’s series of map books.