D&D General Preferred way of running large dungeon crawls?

[Jahydin]

We tend to use the 4e printed maps that came with modules and the 3e Dungeon Tiles which we have a few collections of. I assemble the map as the players go deeper, but eventually I need to get rid of the old encounters to make room on the table or if I need the tiles to build the new room out of. We mostly gave up on having players draw the map while exploring. I guess on a large delve, I could have them check to see if they get lost or such, but we mostly handwave this.

This is what I was doing for the longest time. It worked pretty well until around 5E, then it seemed the old blocky dungeon designs were done for and could no longer replicate what I was seeing in my adventures/adventure paths without a lot of work.

 

[Jahydin]

@Quickleaf
Those are all brilliant and exactly what I was looking for, thanks!

I want to emulate what you've did with Owl Bear Rodeo with actual miniatures because I like the way it plays. Physically seeing and moving around the "maze" is just so much fun. I was using smaller tiles and flipping them over as they approached, but that still led to some funky situations, so now I just draw as they go.

 

[Jahydin]

@jgsugden
Excellent points! I was getting excited just reading through them!

Using hallways for foreshadowing and building up suspense as they make their way down them justifies their existence on their own.

 

[HectorsNemesis]

I describe the ways and let the players map them. When there is a complex room or encounter, I'll draw it on a grid and bring out the minis.
Also since I'm running a mega-dungeon currently, I made sure there's a village or town less than a half day away. That way the players have about 4-5 hours real time in the dungeon before heading back to base. So far they've only had to spend the night in the dungeon once.