[Montanan]

Envious of that bike!

Anyhow, Google Maps, Apple Maps and Waze are all very good, and will display on your head unit with CarPlay. The tech on all of them has advanced to the point where there's not a heck of a lot of difference, though the crowdsourced traffic info on Waze gives it an edge there. I alternate between Apple's and Google's products, and they both give pretty similar results, though Google's info might still be very slightly better overall.

With the rise of the smartphone, I don't think there's as much interest in standalone nav units anymore, though I know that both Garmin and TomTom still make them. I used a TomTom unit before the smartphone apps took off, and I was pretty happy with that, too. I think the only reason I'd consider one of those anymore, though, is if I specifically wanted something for the bike or if I spent a very extensive amount of time in locations without cell coverage. (The apps can cache map info in advance for routes that include no-signal areas, but it's a problem to create new routes if you're someplace without a signal.)

 

[Montanan]

That's good info. Coverage is a concern. I'm considering a move to a mountainous (semi)rural state that has some pretty significant cell tower coverage gaps once I get out of town. I spent a week scouting there this Summer and experienced the drop-out first-hand. There are a lot of great twisty back roads for both the Crosstrek and the bike that are out of cell range.

As a long-time resident of a rural, mountainous state, my main piece of advice would actually be not to rely too heavily on nav apps or devices when planning rural roadtrips in places like that. They're great for navigating to unfamiliar city addresses, but for all of them, the quality of their advice plummets as soon as you venture off paved roads. Relying on beta from locals and friends is still the best idea there ...

 

[Montanan]

Solid advice since I'm considering moving to your neighboring state to the West. I go back to the days of carrying AAA maps or a Thomas Guide in my car and procuring topographical maps for backpacking and camping. I'm totally fine with analog navigation, especially since you don't have to worry about dead batteries. The one thing I prefer about GPS is being able to see my close-to-approximate location on my route.

I've spent a lot of time in that state, and there's some great backcountry to explore out there. When I'm out like that, I always carry one of those state gazetteer road atlases -- I like the ones printed by Benchmark. Forest Service visitor maps and Motor Vehicle Use maps are good to have along, as well -- the latter are usually available free online.