Which states and provinces don't offer official paper maps anymore?

[Mdcastle]

As per title I'm trying to update my collection for trip planning this fall.

[Alps]

Quebec does not give out anything for free.

[corco]

Washington's is only digital now

[Dr Frankenstein]

To complete what Steve said; Québec still has an official map, but does not give it away. The infotouriste centre in Rigaud had a "Cartes routières gratuites" (Free Road Maps) sign on the door, but they only gave me a small, barely useful 15"x11" monochrome map of the province and a tourist map of the region. I still don't have a copy of the actual official map, which costs $5 I think.

Ontario's Bainsville Tourist Information Centre did happily give me a province map that had a $2 price tag on it covered with a "Compliments" stamp.

[Mdcastle]

I do seem to recall having to order the Quebec map from a web site in French a while back, about the only time I found the four years I spent trying to learn French as actually useful.

Anyone know what years these are? I can't find a date anywhere on them, they're most likely at least 10 years old

[bugo]

That Arkansas map is several years old as I don't even recognize it.  I'd look through my collection and check the date but it's in storage.  If you open the map it will give the date on the lower right hand corner.

[Mdcastle]

OK. Arkansas was right on top of the key, I don't know how I missed it. It's 2001 BTW.

[corco]

The Nebraska is 1990-94, I think, since it probably matches the first round of Nebraska license plates with that font (I have maps from the second round, and that one doesn't match)

[Takumi]

That Kentucky map looks like it's from the mid-'90s, based on when that shade of purple and fonts like that were popular.

[Dr Frankenstein]

According to this: http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/07/25/good-roads-and-bad-roads/

At the Alberta Welcome Centre, plenty of free tourist literature is readily provided but it costs $2 for a provincial road map. Alberta is the only province [sic] to charge visitors for its road maps.

"It's just always been that way,"  says Victor the tourist guide. "We have a road map here from 1987, and it was two bucks back then."

Now I'm wondering which states (besides Washington) do not offer paper maps at all, regardless of price.

[bugo]

Several states don't even have PDF files of state highway maps.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, some states have PDF files of state highway maps, county maps, traffic count maps, historical county maps, a state map archive, and many others.  Arkansas has a lot of TIF files on their website, which I prefer to PDFs.  I'm lucky, as my stomping grounds (Arkansas and Oklahoma) have lots of maps of different kinds on their website.

[Mdcastle]

You have Alberta, Quebec and Ontario that charge for maps. Then you have IA, MO, and ND that have stacks of them at every rest stop.

The KY might be from 2001. In very fine print in the corner of the main map it says "Compilation by Peggy Younger Cartographer 01", and Patton was Governor. CO has a 99-2000 at the lower left corner, so maybe that's a date code? For Nebraska  Bob Nelson was governor so the mid 90s date seems correct.

Does CA have a map that's worth getting? Normally I prefer to use offical maps for navigation, but the CA used to be inferior to commerical offerings.

[oscar]

The Northwest Territories charges $3.50 for their map.  Considering the limited NT highway network, not really worth it.

Alberta is still charging $2 for its better map.  Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Yukon are freebies, and I have lots of Saskatchewan and Yukon maps to give away at the next road meet I can make (the current Saskatchewan map has on its cover a goofy-looking young woman on a zipline, so that should be a popular item). 

Alaska's official map is also a freebie.  Its mapping hasn't been updated since 2007, but that's because nothing has changed since then.  They at least did an update to insert the current governor's smiling face in place of former governor Sarah Palin's.

Hawaii still has no official DOT highway map at any price, though you can look at small and horribly-outdated .jpg maps carried over from its old website.  The University of Hawaii puts out very nice and frequently-updated paper maps, but they're about $4/island (except for one map that covers both Lanai and Molokai), so you're talking about $20 for coverage of the entire state. 

[usends]

The date for Colorado maps can usually be found in the lower left corner of the map, down near Four Corners.

[huskeroadgeek]

You have Alberta, Quebec and Ontario that charge for maps. Then you have IA, MO, and ND that have stacks of them at every rest stop.

The KY might be from 2001. In very fine print in the corner of the main map it says "Compilation by Peggy Younger Cartographer 01", and Patton was Governor. CO has a 99-2000 at the lower left corner, so maybe that's a date code? For Nebraska  Bob Nelson was governor so the mid 90s date seems correct.

Does CA have a map that's worth getting? Normally I prefer to use offical maps for navigation, but the CA used to be inferior to commerical offerings.

I have(or used to have) all of the maps you pictured above. In fact, the Colorado and Kentucky maps you pictured are the ones I still use for those states(yes, I need to get some more up-to-date maps). The dates you give are correct-2001 was the last time I made an effort to get maps from every state. I don't have that specific Nebraska map handy right now, but I've had at one time every Nebraska map from the early 70s to the present and I recognize most of them-early to mid 90s sounds about right. Since I lived in Arkansas from 1992-99 I had all the maps from there from that time period, and it may be from that time period or possibly a little after. For awhile, the font for "Arkansas" on the map was the same as used on the state entrance signs-I believe they changed that sometime in the late 90s, so it would be after that.

As for California-unless they've changed, they haven't had their own map for years. I have a map from 1966 that is their own map-I have never seen one more recent than that. I remember one time in the mid 90s when I sent away for some tourist info(being most interested in a state highway map), I was disappointed to find out the map they sent me was pretty useless for actually using in the field-it was just a general overview of the state and they apparently contracted with some other company and just put their name on it.

[Scott5114]

You have Alberta, Quebec and Ontario that charge for maps. Then you have IA, MO, and ND that have stacks of them at every rest stop.

I've noticed a lot of states around here have a guy behind the desk handing them out. OK, MO, and KS do this. Some states (KS and IA come to mind) ask you to sign their guestbook when receiving a map (which usually just consists of your name, hometown, destination, and number of people in your party–presumably used to create tourism statistics). Other states just leave a stack of maps in a literature holder and you can have at it yourself.

[oscar]

I've noticed a lot of states around here have a guy behind the desk handing them out. OK, MO, and KS do this. Some states (KS and IA come to mind) ask you to sign their guestbook when receiving a map (which usually just consists of your name, hometown, destination, and number of people in your party–presumably used to create tourism statistics). Other states just leave a stack of maps in a literature holder and you can have at it yourself.

In Canada, Manitoba and Nova Scotia maps are freebies, but grudgingly doled out from behind a counter.  At least one Saskatchewan welcome centre does same, but others let you take a map self-service (sometimes shrink-wrapped with a separate tourism guide).  Yukon territory (at Whitehorse visitor information, and many local visitor centres and motels), Prince Edward Island (at Gateway Village, at the east end of the Confederation Bridge), and Newfoundland/Labrador (at the North Sydney NS ferry terminal) are self-service.

For some reason, I never stopped at a New Brunswick or British Columbia visitor centre lately, so I don't know what their map distribution policies are.

[Scott5114]

I sort of wonder what the purpose of having the guy handing out the maps is for. I presumed it was to keep someone from making off with the entire inventory...but one time I asked for an absurd number of Oklahoma maps for a road meet and the guy gave me a bundle of 20 or so of them like it was no big deal.

[Mdcastle]

Actually, IA and MO have them for the taking at every rest stop I've been to. IA has them in racks inside unstaffed rest areas and MO sometimes hides them in the same kind of literature dispenser as  the "meet hot country singles" boxes outside. But in both states if it's a staffed welcome center they ask you to sign. I don't think stealing road maps is a big problem, it sounds like something Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearny would do. WI has the nice ones only behind the counter but they do have some freebies, which are smaller and plastered with adds, for the taking.

[kphoger]

Do they actually refuse to give one to you without your signature?  'Cause that's just crazy.

[Scott5114]

I've never seen a signature required, and the request is always phrased as though you could presumably decline to sign and still get a map. I always just sign since I doubt IaDOT or the Iowa Tourism Board really intends to do anything sinister with the information that I was driving down I-35 in Iowa on such and such date.

On my most recent trip through KS I happened to walk in when the guy was away from the desk so I just grabbed the maps without signing.

[Alps]

Tangentially, I always sign when asked, and my signature always includes my website.

[Mdcastle]

...(the current Saskatchewan map has on its cover a goofy-looking young woman on a zipline, so that should be a popular item).

I didn't need a new Saskatchewan map but this prompted me to order one anyway...

I've noticed a lot of states around here have a guy behind the desk handing them out. OK, MO, and KS do this. Some states (KS and IA come to mind) ask you to sign their guestbook when receiving a map (which usually just consists of your name, hometown, destination, and number of people in your party—presumably used to create tourism statistics).

Someone (on MTR?) suggested that they used them to justify their funding. It was kind of cool thought, at Krisdala Baka Rest Area they have a guest book. I signed it and a year later flipped it back to see my signature.

I don't mind signing physical guest books as much as I mind giving my email address when requesting tourism information online. So far I haven't gotten any spam from the states and provinces that required it though, unlike how I'm still getting special offers from Biltmore two years after I first bought some tickets online.

The new maps are coming in. Arkansas and Maryland are the two most eager for me to visit, followed by North Dakota and Nova Scotia

[Dr Frankenstein]

I can now confirm that what I said about going into an Ontario tourist info building and getting a free map despite the $2 (now $2.50 I think) price on it was not an isolated event. They all seem to give them away. So Ontario maps are free as long as you get them in a tourist information centre.

I just got a new one in Sarnia. (My older one was obtained in Bainsville, at the other end of the province)

[cu2010]

I can second that about Ontario- on all my previous visits, they just handed me a map free of charge.

New York has no "official" map. The tourism department continues to contract out to MapWorks to publish a free map, but they are no longer included in the state travel guides. I picked one up at the High Peaks information center off I-87 southbound back in March (since the previous one I had dated to 2005), but not all rest areas seem to have them.

(Sidenote: ILOVENY has put the entire 2012 guide online now, though paper copies still exist...)