You may be wondering why you need a phone on a hiking trip since it is purportedly a good escape from technology.
Well, you need your gadget to access a hiking app that helps you easily navigate trails and quickly find the safest route to your destination.
Some hiking apps also help you send your location to friends and family, set up custom routes, or record your hike to share your experience with others.
Therefore, if you are planning to go on a hike, it is important to have a good GPS app on your phone. Gaia GPS, Green Tracks, PeakVisor are some of the apps you can try. However the best GPS app for hiking is AllTrails. The app garners reviews from its users that helps new hikers with verified routes and trails. It offers great features too.
Best GPS Apps For Hiking
1. AllTrails
AllTrails is among the top GPS apps for hiking, with a vast collection of detailed and well-curated trail maps. The app gives you the confidence to hit the trail anytime, anywhere, and is available on Google PlayStore and AppStore.
Whether you plan to hike, bike, run, or just walk, AllTrails is an excellent outdoor companion. It is more than just a running or fitness tracker. It has incredible features built on the idea that the outside is not a place to seek; but rather a part of us.
With AllTrails, you can discover up to 40,000 trails worldwide by location, interest, or skill level. You can filter your trail search by dog-friendly, children-friendly, or just trails with beautiful views.
You can convert your phone into a GPS tracker to follow your trail of choice to avoid getting lost. The app lets you record your pace, elevation, distance, and maximum speed to share with friends and family.
AllTrails keeps you updated on live happenings and weather conditions such as air quality, pollen, or light pollution. You only need to focus on the view, not the map, to stay alert for wrong turn notifications.
AllTrails is free to download and use. However, to access its premium features, you have to upgrade to its paid version for $29.99 per year, which translates to $2.50 monthly.
Also Read: Best Free Mileage Tracker Apps
2. Gaia GPS
Gaia GPS is another promising app for hiking. It has maps for every adventure and is available on Google PlayStore and AppStore. The app is your ultimate companion for discovering new routes using worldwide maps.
One thing that stands out about the Gaia GPS app is its navigation tools that lead you through the backcountry without cell service. So yours is to confidently discover scenic hike trails, great off-road routes, and camping sites.
Gaia allows you to navigate over 300 maps and downloadable apps like a pro. Experts from National Geographic curate detailed trail guides on the app, so you can also camp peacefully, thanks to Gaia’s public and private land boundaries.
The hiking app also provides altitude, elevation, and distance tracking information for each outdoor activity. Its complete trip planner ensures that you stay updated with changing weather conditions and directly monitor wildfire activities from the app.
Gaia GPS is a preferred choice for outdoor professionals. It’s perfect for creating routes, marking hiking trails, and sharing data with clients or fellow outdoor enthusiasts. It also has a web app that allows you to access maps, find routes, and upload data.
This app is free. However, you can do more with Gaia Premium for $39.99 annually. The premium plan lets you download maps to your smartphone, navigate anywhere, and access sources such as National Geographic trails and international maps.
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3. Green Tracks
Green Tracks is a hiking partner worth trying. Green Tracks has recorded over 100,000 downloads on Google PlayStore with over 5,000 comments, which gives the app a 4.8 rating.
The app supports online maps like Google Maps as well as offline maps in Mapsforge and MBTiles format. Green Track’s gpx file enables you to follow and record your trek.
The app has a GPS automatic positioning feature that prevents you from getting lost by helping you understand your surroundings.
Green Tracks has more to offer besides its tracking and recording functions. According to the developer Sky Wang, a few years after its launch on Google PlayStore in 2014, the app has strengthened its power through continuous improvements and optimizations.
For your safety in the woods, Green Tracks, through its coordinate automatic return service, notifies members of your Telegram group of your whereabouts after every 10 minutes.
If there is no network, the coordinate data will be held in the Green Tracks database to be sent once your device’s network is restored. Green Tracks is available for free download for Android only.
Also Read: iGPS Watch Review
4. PeakVisor
If you are looking for a 3D feel in a hiking app, PeakVisor will be an excellent choice. The app will make you a hero with PeakVisor’s outdoor navigation featuring state-of-art mountain identification and 3D maps.
PeakVisor combines your camera’s snapping capability and augmented reality (AR) to identify epic summits and nearby elevations in real time. You can also snap and label mountains to share with family and friends.
You can access satellite 3D maps offline. Don’t worry about your device’s storage, as PeakVisor’s 3D maps won’t take up a lot of space. For instance, a renowned hiking area such as the Alps will take 1GB of storage space, while smaller regions require lesser space.
In addition to identifying mountains hundred miles away, the app also allows you to confidently plan your hiking routes by evaluating the distance you are likely to cover, the elevation profile of your route, and the time you are likely to take to reach your destination.
You can share your epic adventures using the GPS tracker or import and export GPX files. PeakVisor comes in handy in extreme sports, such as winter sports in the mountains. Its topographic 3D maps help you understand your terrain better.
One thing that stands out with PeakVisor is that you can access all its features offline. All data is fully downloadable, making it an ideal booster for outdoor adventures, regardless of where you go or how complex the challenge you intend to take is.
Other exciting features that can be useful for celestial body photography are the sun trail and the moon trail. The sun trail feature reflects the sun’s movement and can help determine the best time to take a photo.
On the other hand, a moon trail can help you identify the moon’s trajectory, phase, or moonrise and moonset times.
PeakVisor is available for free download on Google PlayStore and AppStore, with in-app purchases starting from $3.49 monthly.
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5. Google Maps
If you are reading this, chances are high that you have already used the Google Maps app. However, you can bet you have yet to use it to its optimal functionality. Google Maps has over 220 countries and territories.
The app helps you get real-time GPS navigation, traffic updates, and transit information. Google Maps’s feature that makes it ideal for hiking and outdoor adventures is the ability to download maps for offline use.
Downloading maps ahead of your outdoor adventures ensures you can confidently navigate the trail even when your device goes out of service.
The best part is that the most popular trails are available on Google Maps, so you can rest assured that you will stay on track throughout your adventure.
It’s essential to note that some Google Maps features are unavailable in some countries. Therefore, if a specific feature you are interested in is not available on the app due to geo-restrictions, you can skip to the next hiking app.
You can download Google Maps from Google PlayStore for your Android and AppStore for your iPhone for free.
Also Read: Google Maps vs Google Earth
6. Komoot
Komoot is another excellent app that will turn your next bike ride, hiking, or running into an unforgettable adventure. Komoot helps you discover the readily built routes that reveal nature’s beauty and confidently plan your adventure.
Hiking enthusiasts love Komoot for its intuitive nature. The app saves you much time on route planning and allows you to experience adventure more easily. It doesn’t matter how secluded the route you’ve chosen is.
Komoot ensures you have a smooth experience thanks to features like turn-by-turn voice navigation and a down-to-the-inch verbal navigator, which keeps you on track without being distracted by your surroundings.
What you will love the most about this app is that everything is offline. You can conveniently download your target routes or an entire map for offline use. Meaning, you will navigate the trail even when the internet is low or unavailable.
You can also differentiate hiking paths, paved roads, terrain, land cover, and MTB single tracks all at a glance. Using GPS, you can track your hike; add photos, highlights, and tips to build your adventure log to store your outstanding outdoor experiences forever.
You can save your adventures as private or share them with the Komoot community to get comments, likes, or inspire fellow outdoor enthusiasts. As a local expert, you can also contribute tips, highlights, and photos to the community.
The app seamlessly syncs your adventures, saved routes, and photos across all your devices, including smartphones, desktops, iPad, and Apple Watch.
Komoot gives you free access to your first region when you download it for the first time on Google PlayStore or AppStore.
However, to expand to other areas where you can get full support from Komoot, you can subscribe to the paid version based on the number of regions you choose.
A single region package will cost you a one-time payment of $3.99 while a regional bundle that contains several single regions goes for a one-time charge of $8.99.
The world package made of three regional bundles costs $29.99 and lastly, the premium package with additional features goes for $59.99 per year.
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7. Strava
Strava does an excellent job tracking and analyzing every aspect of your outdoor activity. The app converts Android, iPhone, GPS watches, and head units into sophisticated running and cycling gadgets.
The app considers itself the world’s most extensive route and trail resources. If you are one of the world’s athletes, you will definitely enjoy Strava’s unmatched road and trail network. Strava allows you to record your hikes, rides, runs, yoga, and more than 30 other sports.
Strava has attracted a sports community of over 100 million athletes in 195 countries. Discover different routes and safely move through the trails by sharing live locations with your loved ones.
The tool is continually upgrading to provide a better hiking experience to its users. Recently, Strava collaborated with Spotify, so you no longer have to toggle between the two apps to select a piece of music.
Strava maps keep getting better. Therefore, no matter how you choose to explore the world, Strava maps will help you find, share, find, filter, or get better information about your adventure.
This app is available for free download and use on Google PlayStore and AppStore for iOS. It has a paid version that allows you to explore even more. Prices vary from one country to the other; for instance, it will cost you $11.99 per month if you’re based in the US.
8. Hiking Project
As the name suggests, Hiking Project is one of the best GPS apps for hiking that gives a comprehensive guide to some of the best hiking locations near you.
You don’t need a cell phone signal to discover more than 259,187 miles of hiking trails. Hiking Project offers complete GPS route information, elevation profiles, photos, and interactive features with the thoroughness of a printed map.
It is more of a guidebook that constantly highlights the best hikes to explore where you are or in a location you are searching for.
The Hiking Project was born from the dream of getting as many people as possible outside, in the US, and across the globe. Its main objective was to help people plan for their journey and navigate the trails, and it has done an excellent job at that.
Hikers like you contribute the information you find on the app. Therefore, with your expert knowledge, you can share your experiences, add your visual favorites, give ratings, post comments, and improve the current information.
The app is free on Google PlayStore and AppStore.
9. PeakFinder
PeakFinder gives you a better way to explore mountains than any mountaineer would. The app displays the names of all mountains and peaks with a 360-degree panoramic view.
As the name suggests, PeakFinder will find you over 1,000,000 mountains and peaks, from Mount Everest to the little hill in the neighborhood. All these functions and much more are available offline and worldwide.
PeakFinder has managed to establish itself as a market leader thanks to the various accolades that it has earned. PeakFinder’s prizes include the Best of AppStore Award and App of the Week.
The app is highly recommended by nationalgeographic.com, macnewsworld.com, and digital-geography.com, among others. If you wish to find your current location, simply press the GPS button at the bottom right and get a panoramic view of the mountains in your area.
The tool is available in multiple languages, including English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and more. PeakFinder has no free version. You can purchase it through Google PlayStore or AppStore for $4.99.
10. A-GPS Tracker
A-GPS Tracker can manage your position and altitude, making GPS tracking fun and easy for the entire family.
A-GPS Tracker is an excellent choice for hikers wishing to explore a new path or record an existing one. It also helps hikers to stay aware of their way back. You can access maps on A-GPS Tracker for free, but you must be online.
However, you can access most of its functions when your phone goes to standby mode or when using your phone for other applications. You can install A-GPS Tracker on as many devices as possible.
You can record and store your track in your phone memory, then share it with friends and family. You can add points of interest, also called waypoints, to your track and view your track’s elevation or distance profile on your phone screen.
A-GPS Tracker’s Follow Path Monitor function alerts you if you get lost in your pre-loaded GPX location. The app is designed to work well with Android devices and does not consume much battery power. You can stay active for longer hours.
It is essential to note that while A-GPS Tracker is an excellent app for tracing your path during a hike, it does not give accurate figures when used to measure the distance walked. A-GPS Tracker is available on Google PlayStore for free installation and use.
11. iNaturalist
Another app that can be a great addition to your hiking experience is iNaturalist. It’s a famous nature app that helps you figure out the plants and animals on your hiking adventure.
iNaturalist is home to nearly 400,000 scientists and naturalists to assist you learn more about nature. You can join this community by sharing observations to create research data for scientists to protect nature.
Some of iNaturalist’s outstanding features include identification suggestions that allow you to import or take photos and view them against the ten most similar species to get more information even without creating an account.
iNaturalist is free; you can download it on Google PlayStore and AppStore for your iPhone.
12. Garmin Connect
Garmin Connect will be an excellent companion if you are hiking to stay fit. The mobile and web app helps you track, analyze, and share your health and fitness activities.
Whether you are hiking to prepare for a race or just tracking your steps, Garmin Connect inspires you to keep going. The app has useful features to help you analyze your activities and other related information.
You can seamlessly synchronize your Garmin Connect app with other apps such as Apple Health, Strava, or MyFitnessPal. The app allows you to review your records of your steps, the distance you covered, and your pace.
Celebrate your achievements by earning badges and joining millions of other users who intentionally walk, run, bike, hike, and strive to be better than yesterday. You can download Garmin Connect on AppStore and Google PlayStore free of charge.
13. Cairn
Last on my list of excellent GPS apps for hiking is Cairn. If you care about safety, this is the app to have on your phone. The app will help you get home safely after a hike and quickly share your plans with friends and family.
Through Cairn, you can record your track, find spots with better cell coverage, download maps offline, or see statistics on your route. Cairn can help you get found in case you lose track through notifications, live tracking, and rescue advice.
The app is easy to set up. It takes a minute or less and is highly customizable. You can control how the app collects your GPS location and battery use. It is an excellent resource for hiking, skiing, horseback riding, rock climbing, cycling, camping, hunting, or fishing.
Cairn gives you free access to maps, trails, and cell coverage information on Android and iOS. It also has a premium version ($4.99 per month) that lets you access all features.
The best part is that the premium package offers a seven-day free trial, so you can try it out before committing.
Final Words
There you go! 13 excellent resources to spice up your upcoming hike. I hope by now you are convinced that technology can improve your hiking experience. The best thing about these apps is that you can access them for free or offline.
Nevertheless, one app that stands out is AllTrails. The app is designed to inspire sports lovers, and its freemium version has exciting features that make it dependable.
Its greatest strength is in the verified trails and user-generated routes, where you can find reviews and comments from community members.
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