# Worst Trail Maps



## BeefyBoy50 (May 21, 2015)

I love looking at trail maps in my spare time. Some of them (almost always drawn by James Niehues) are fantastic- they really replicate the actual look and feel of the mountains. These trail maps are almost artwork in how beautifully they are drawn.

Other trail maps are painful to look at and provide little clue as to how the mountain is actually laid out. I'm thinking in particular of the Breckenridge and (even worse) Copper Mountain trail maps. I wish we could tell these mountains to commission some artist to design a real map for them.

What do you guys think are the worst-looking maps?


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## ironhippy (May 21, 2015)

Poley Mountain in Southern New Brunswick.







Here's the link to their PDF http://www.poleymountain.com/mounta...nload/5_fda9d6d0ad8bfe9ea847978b73b9a5e5.html


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## ss20 (May 21, 2015)

Woodbury here in CT


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## Domeskier (May 21, 2015)

I like this one from 1969 because they rate the relative difficulty of the base lodge and the skating rink - and the base lodge wins:


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## freeski (May 21, 2015)

I like the old maps with topo lines. I'd like to see more non-Niehues maps. His are nice, but all the same. He does capture the layout of the mountain pretty well though (not easy to do).


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## skiNEwhere (May 21, 2015)

There is some trail map I saw a while back that literally looked like someone drew it freehand on an 8.5 and 11 and uploaded it. Can't remember where though.

Small ski areas get a free pass in my book though to have bad trail maps. There's no need to spend the time and money when the majority of skiers are locals. As far as big ski areas, I always thought this one, from 1986, was kind of confusing. Not really the map itself, but the mountain layout just appears really random.


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## ss20 (May 21, 2015)

Those old Killington topo maps from the 80s give me headaches!


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## VTKilarney (May 22, 2015)

I just took at look at James Niehues' gallery on his website.  You are correct.  They all look the same.  Great work, but if you've seen one you've seen them all.


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## x10003q (May 22, 2015)

Domeskier said:


> I like this one from 1969 because they rate the relative difficulty of the base lodge and the skating rink - and the base lodge wins:



This map is awesome and has completely mislabeled the trail ratings.


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## dlague (May 22, 2015)

skiNEwhere said:


> There is some trail map I saw a while back that literally looked like someone drew it freehand on an 8.5 and 11 and uploaded it. Can't remember where though.
> 
> Small ski areas get a free pass in my book though to have bad trail maps. There's no need to spend the time and money when the majority of skiers are locals. As far as big ski areas, I always thought this one, from 1986, was kind of confusing. Not really the map itself, but the mountain layout just appears really random.



Looks like a rats nest in the middle!


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## skiMEbike (May 22, 2015)

I have to say I don't particularly like the map from my home mountain of Sugarloaf....Fortunately, I hardly ever look at the thing, but I imagine its has to be a bit cumbersome for someone who does not know the mountain.  My gripe with the map is the amount of "space" on the map devoted to Bracket Basin & West Mountain.   Looking at the page layout, you have about 2/3 of the map devoted to those sections &  the rest (& most important part of the mountain) crammed into about 1/3 of the map.

http://www.sugarloaf.com/Documents/Sugarloaf/SUG_1415_TrailMap_R2b.pdf


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## deadheadskier (May 22, 2015)

agreed

wish they'd use a Vico map for their online version as well


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## xwhaler (May 22, 2015)

Middlebury Snow Bowl:
-Map blurry and hard to read
-Makes the place seem really small. There are a ton of off map glades that have the ski area ski much bigger than its vertical would suggest.
Trail map doing Middlebury no favors in attracting 1st timers IMHO


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## xwhaler (May 22, 2015)

*Black Mtn of ME*
Lots of Angry Beaver glades that have trail signs that haven;t yet made it onto the official map. I don't think they are "secret stashes" as much as BMOM just hasn't highlighted them yet. 
Place is a gem for low/mid angle tree skiing at a great price and some freshinng to the trail map would help.


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## ceo (May 22, 2015)

The problem with Sugarloaf's is that the labels make it really hard to see how the trails connect with each other. A lot of Niehues's maps have this problem; Sugarloaf in particular is a really trail-dense resort and would probably benefit from a more schematic trail map format.


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## skiNEwhere (May 22, 2015)

Am I the only one who used to draw trail maps as a kid? If so, I'll nominate mine as the worst.


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## Not Sure (May 22, 2015)

skiNEwhere said:


> Am I the only one who used to draw trail maps as a kid? If so, I'll nominate mine as the worst.



I did too ....mine were'nt that bad though .


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## skiNEwhere (May 22, 2015)

Siliconebobsquarepants said:


> I did too ....mine were'nt that bad though .



Well look at Mr. Niehues over here. 

Mind were drawn in pencil. That was when there was an "expansion" I could just erase and create a new trail. Crude, but got the "job" done


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## Not Sure (May 22, 2015)

skiNEwhere said:


> Well look at Mr. Niehues over here.
> 
> Mind were drawn in pencil. That was when there was an "expansion" I could just erase and create a new trail. Crude, but got the "job" done



LOL....Always used a Pen .....Killington edition , did'nt save any trail maps


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## BenedictGomez (May 23, 2015)

Mad River Glen

Tried to use this incomprehensible thing the first time I visited this year, and I basically gave up and just "went skiing" so to speak.


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## thetrailboss (May 24, 2015)

xwhaler said:


> Middlebury Snow Bowl:
> -Map blurry and hard to read
> -Makes the place seem really small. There are a ton of off map glades that have the ski area ski much bigger than its vertical would suggest.
> Trail map doing Middlebury no favors in attracting 1st timers IMHO



Got to agree. I say have the Geography Department at Bi Hall draw them a new one.


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## thetrailboss (May 24, 2015)

xwhaler said:


> *Black Mtn of ME*
> Lots of Angry Beaver glades that have trail signs that haven;t yet made it onto the official map. I don't think they are "secret stashes" as much as BMOM just hasn't highlighted them yet.
> Place is a gem for low/mid angle tree skiing at a great price and some freshinng to the trail map would help.



That's their current map? Ugh.


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## thetrailboss (May 24, 2015)

skiNEwhere said:


> Am I the only one who used to draw trail maps as a kid? If so, I'll nominate mine as the worst.



:lol: no shit you did too? 


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## thetrailboss (May 24, 2015)

BenedictGomez said:


> Mad River Glen
> 
> Tried to use this incomprehensible thing the first time I visited this year, and I basically gave up and just "went skiing" so to speak.



That's old school


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## prsboogie (May 24, 2015)

Can't believe this didn't make it up here yet


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## ironhippy (May 24, 2015)

prsboogie said:


> Can't believe this didn't make it up here yet


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## spiderpig (May 24, 2015)

ironhippy said:


>



It's not the most visually pleasing, but the layout is represented quite well.


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## rtjcbrown (May 24, 2015)

https://skimap.org/data/339/7/1209789823.jpg


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## thetrailboss (May 24, 2015)

ironhippy said:


>



I don't really have an issue with that.  I think it looks pretty good actually.


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## thetrailboss (May 24, 2015)

rtjcbrown said:


> https://skimap.org/data/339/7/1209789823.jpg



I think that a company named Sitour made these kind of maps.  Burke used to have one:  






Gunstock too:






The only thing about the Great Gorge Village is that it has a weird layout.


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## marcski (May 26, 2015)

thetrailboss said:


> The only thing about the Great Gorge Village is that it has a weird layout.



Well, it is in Jersey, too!


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## ceo (May 26, 2015)

The trail maps I've had the hardest time figuring out are MRG and Burke. In both cases that's less an issue with the map than with the area's confusing trail layout.


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## BenedictGomez (May 26, 2015)

thetrailboss said:


> That's old school



It's horrible design school.



spiderpig said:


> It's not the most visually pleasing, but *the layout is represented quite well*.



Yeah, I have zero issues with that map, I thought it was better than most actually.


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## steamboat1 (May 27, 2015)

BenedictGomez said:


> Mad River Glen
> 
> Tried to use this incomprehensible thing the first time I visited this year, and I basically gave up and just "went skiing" so to speak.


Pretty accurate trail map I think.


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## Domeskier (May 27, 2015)

At some point accuracy starts to interfere with usability.


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## sugarbushskier (May 27, 2015)

If you know the mountain, picture the fall lines and ski it that way.  Map is very detailed, (almost too much I agree), but very representative of the terrain.  The detail adds to the intrigue and options MRG has to offer.


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## DoublePlanker (May 27, 2015)

I think the MRG trail map is great.  Its one of the best imo.


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## ss20 (May 27, 2015)

The best trail map is a powder day with a local.  Nuff said...


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## Savemeasammy (May 27, 2015)

skiNEwhere said:


> Am I the only one who used to draw trail maps as a kid?



Guilty.  Now my 8 year old does it. 



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## steamboat1 (May 27, 2015)

My spiral notebooks were filled with trail maps. Notes not so much.


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## BenedictGomez (May 27, 2015)

Domeskier said:


> At some point accuracy starts to interfere with usability.



LOL.  Well said.  

The worst parts are the trail connectors.  With virtually zero point of reference, it's very easy to miss unless you're familiar with the mountain.


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## steamboat1 (May 28, 2015)

BenedictGomez said:


> The worst parts are the trail connectors.



Yep.


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## rtjcbrown (May 28, 2015)




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## rtjcbrown (May 28, 2015)

Hard to figure which way is up in a lot of spots on this menagerie


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## catsup948 (May 29, 2015)

Heavenly is insanely confusing at first. Trail map does not help much.


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## Quietman (May 29, 2015)

Savemeasammy said:


> Guilty.  Now my 8 year old does it.
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone mobile app



I started with hand drawn maps, then started using MS Paint with hand drawn contour lines, then "graduated" to copying topo maps into Paint.  Here is an great example of boredom, Black Mountain of Maine at full "Les Otten"  build out. Haven't done any in a while


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## BeefyBoy50 (May 31, 2015)

Quietman said:


> I started with hand drawn maps, then started using MS Paint with hand drawn contour lines, then "graduated" to copying topo maps into Paint.  Here is an great example of boredom, Black Mountain of Maine at full "Les Otten"  build out. Haven't done any in a while
> 
> View attachment 16976



This is cool, I like the style. I love looking at these things.


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## Zand (Jun 7, 2015)

I remember the first time I went to Magic, the map incorrectly depicted a trail as ending higher up another trail than it actually did, so I ended up having to ski a groomer to the bottom instead of Goniff


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## mriceyman (Jun 9, 2015)

Zand said:


> I remember the first time I went to Magic, the map incorrectly depicted a trail as ending higher up another trail than it actually did, so I ended up having to ski a groomer to the bottom instead of Goniff



The HORROR! Lol


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## danimals (Jun 12, 2015)




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## mriceyman (Jun 21, 2015)

danimals said:


>



Oh my


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## millerm277 (Jun 23, 2015)

Can't believe Hunter's current map isn't on here. It makes the upper portion of the mountain where the majority of the skiing is look tiny, stretches out the lower section to absurd proportions, and makes it hard to tell how any of the West Side works. (Ex: Does Colonel's Alt connect to Clairs? Are Westway and Clairs one big wide run? Their previous map is more legible, more accurate to mountain layout, and better in every way I can see aside from needing the parks labeled a little better.

--------------

A prior disaster was the Sno/Montage trail map. 2011 map, 2007 map. Good luck understanding either. You might think you can get to the top of the Phoebe Snow lift from the base area/Switch/Spike, for example. You can't. (at least not without a significant hike).


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## Domeskier (Jun 24, 2015)

danimals said:


>



I like the little shark fin at the top of lift 2.  Hard to see how people can access the upper mountain lifts without a hike.


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## thetrailboss (Jun 24, 2015)

danimals said:


>



Wow.  I am speechless.  Looks like amateur hour.


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