I use "real maps" and Google earth. The latter is good to what kind of terrain you're going through. Although it doesn't identify dirt roads, you can see from satellite photos if the resolution is good enough. I search web for parks, ferries, anything that might be useful. I use Google image a lot as well to see what might be interesting. I do a lot of research so I don't bike through some places and miss something interesting that might be off road a bit.