Anyone use topographic map software?

[Ab Diver]

Hi all. I've been looking for a topographic map of Salt Lake City, UT to map out a marathon I'm training for this summer. I've heard the first half of the race has "some serious hills" along with a general downward trend, but can't find out exactly what this means. I know the race course starts at Big Mountain and runs down East Canyon and Emigration Canyon, then down into SLC and ends at Liberty Park. It would really help me to train properly if I knew the height and distance of any uphill parts of the race, since I could try to duplicate them near my home.
 
All of the web sites I've located require you to purchase a membership or buy software to download map information. Do any of you folks have some experience with these companies? Any recommendations on a CD to purchase or software to buy so I could download maps and zoom in for specific details?
 
Obligatory camping related content: I'll also use this software to help choose likely campgrounds in the future, and plan on taking the pop-up when we go to Utah for the race.
 
BTW: Here's the race web site with a link to the race course map in a pdf file. You can see it only gives a very general map of the race.
 
http://deseretnews.com/run/therace.htm

[tlhdoc]

I have "Map Send Topo" that came with my Magellan GPS.  I use it to down load into my GPS unit so that I can "see" what a new area is like.  I can't compare it to other topo software as it is the only program I have used.  I like it.

[deniski]

Have you looked at this site yet?  They have online topo maps of some areas in UT (looks like they are free to me) that you can look at with ArcExplorer (free map reader from //www.esri.com).  ArcExplorer is a program used in the GIS world, although most of us GIS users use the other regular purchased ESRI products.

anyway, hopefully some of the maps you are interested in are listed in the "Downloadable, Digital USGS Topo Map" section.  The is also a link in there (if you click on a particular quad map) that lets you download ArcExplorer.  Although I don't use it at work, I have set it up for everybody else at work that doesn't have access to more specialized mapping software.  It's really easy to use.  


http://maps.utah.gov/mapindex.htm

[chasd60]

Frre to view here as well
http://mapping.usgs.gov/partners/viewonline.html

[garym053]

I use Topo USA software. I also beleive that Topo.com is available free on the net!
I use it to plot paddling 'adventures" !

Opps! It's topozone.com!

[Ab Diver]

Thanks fellow pop-upers! The better half of the Ab Diver's went out and bought the National Geographic Back Roads Explorer using Topo Maps (only thing she could find within an hours drive). Our cable system has been losing it's net connection more often lately, and after thinking about it, I didn't want to get halfway through and lose it all. In fact, it's taken me over an hour to repost this due to Adelphia going down *again*. And thanks to cavman I have some help plotting out the starting point of the race (Thanks again, Larry). Now all I gotta do is figure out which of the MANY hills the course will be taking me over, cuz some of those slopes look almost straight up and down judging by how close the elevation lines are.:yikes: