topography maps

i'd like to get back into orienteering. does anyone have an idea of a good source for topography maps for southern california? or actually just anywhere, really?

National Geographic has a site to download topos for free.

FrankPS has supplied good links - that's where I go for the free PDFs.

caltopo.com has a layer for USGS and Forest Service topos. You can use the interface to add waypoints and tracks and then download them to your mobile device. On the mobile systems, I like to use the apps Gaia, MotionX and USTopo, some of which have topo map layers that you can download into your device so that you don't need cell service when you are navigating in the back country. When I was younger, I learned the orienteering with map and compass, then moved to GPS units and anymore I just use my cell phone with paper maps as a backup.

If it's paper maps that you are after, the link FrankPS posted for the USGS is what I have used for a long time to either download .pdf maps or order for paper delivery.

good stuff. thanks folks.

Aaron.. Look for old Topos. The new ones omit a bunch of things that were/are on older maps. Stuff like old mines, dirt roads and old settlements are not on the new maps.

So when you stumble upon a dirt road, its marked on your map... and not omitted.

What John Said! I use CalTopo to plan all trips and then add them to GaiaGPS.

And what Guy said...but keep in mind that the magnetic declination changes over time - so maybe don't use really old maps!

A habit i recently got into is to follow the trails using Google Earth, you can draw trails and save them, giving you distance and elevation gain/loss stats.