Touring - Suggestions on creating maps?

Can anyone recommend some good software or other techniques for making maps? I'm building a website on some tours I've done, and I want to give visitors something useful that also looks good if they ever go the same route. I don't want to deal with the legal/copyright issues over scanning existing maps, and some of the best places I went in Italy weren't even on any of the maps that I have.

Worse case scenario, I can draw them by hand, but they'll look terrible and won't be terribly accurate. There has to be a better way. Anyone know what it is?

I use MapPoint from Microsoft (Streets and Trips is the consumer version) and Delorme's TopoUSA. I'm planning on building maps using TopoUSA off my GPS tracks.

TopoUSA has roads and contour lines.

Microsoft Autoroute is the European version of Streets and Trips.

I'm a real life honest to goodness map maker - they even pay me. PM me and we might work out a trade. I love bike stuff.

PS - if I'm not the right guy for your project (we all have our specialities) I'll tell you I'm not your guy, and I'll find you someone who is.

:)

I use DeLorme Topo USA and enjoy it a lot because it gives me profiles of my routes. I've planned several trips for me and my friends and the maps are great to have along on the rides.

ive used both DeLorme Topo USA and microsoft streets and trips. ive found both to be pretty good. Topo is better (more features and stuff like that) but topo is also a good bit more expensive. also for what you want streets and trips is probably better. unless it's changed (i have last years version) delorme doesn't offer the ability to export maps in any format that would allow you to put the maps in a web page. so you'd have to do screen shots or something. with streets and trips you can export maps in html and just post them to your web page. i also find the learning curve for using streets and trips a little easier.
so for making maps i'm actually going to use for a trip, and for researching routes i prefer delorme. for what your looking to do i'd go with streets and trips.

I love Delorme Topo 5.0, because it lets me plot the elevation and consider different routes vs. climbs.
I'm currently planning a trip and I love that I can set a few points and let the software try to resolve the shortest route, then I can insert desired waypoints and "force" it to look at different options, it has given me better routes (sometimes) than I would have plotted.

Here's one
work in progress (http://www.thirdwave-websites.com/bike/chesapeake-bay-bicycling.cfm) , exported to a JPG. You can click the thumbnail for a bigger view.

You can offload the route to your GPS if you have one.

The interface isn't perfect, you have to play with it a bit, but I'm very pleased with it.
Cheers,
Ed

Mapping of specfic routes is one thing I wish internet map sites would make easier.

Thanks, everyone. I'll check out all of these options.