I've got an Etrex Legend (the blue one) and it does display maps, I think the cheapest one doesn't. You can upload more detailed maps to it for the area you are interested in if you have them, I had to buy them, but they are well worth it.
The bit you'd probably use the most for hiking (since there's unlikely to be roads around) is the page with the arrow that tells you where the end is!
For biking (that's what I use mine for), the trip computer page can display all sorts of stuff like average speed, max speed, time to finish and loads of other stuff.
It's a good little gadget with a good shape to fit your hand or a handlebar, but there might be better out there now, I've had mine for five years.