Best Apps For Hiking is a blog dedicated to reviewing apps this beautiful and nature greenery. And as its name suggests, we’ve tried to enlist apps that are suitable for hikers. If you are interested in our reviews please check us out -and don’t forget to subscribe!
Table of Contents
Best Apps For Hiking
- AllTrails
AllTrails is one of the best hiking apps in the appstore
Screenshots from Apple App Store
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AllTrails is one of the most well-known hiking apps out there. With over 20 million users and 100,000 trails worldwide, it’s easy to see why. This is my go-to hike planning app.
Hikes are searchable based on difficulty, length, elevation gain, route type, and user rating. You can also search hikes based on tags, like trail running, dog-friendly, or wildflowers.
Once you find a hike, you can view specific details, like distance and an elevation profile map. All Trails also provides tips and information on getting to the trailhead, how long the hike should take, and reviews from users.
All Trails also allows its users to record their hikes, tracking the route using GPS and time to complete.
While the base version of All Trails is free, they also offer a Pro version for $29.99 per year. AllTrails Pro allows you to download maps offline and sends you notifications if you stray off-trail. The Pro version also comes with 3D maps!
Available on: iOS & Android
Price: Free & Paid Versions ($29.99/year)
- Gaia GPS
Gaia GPS Hiking App
Screenshot from Apple App Store
Gaia GPS is one of the most popular hiking apps for navigation. In this app, you can do everything: finding new trails, recording your route, and saving hike statistics and performance.
The app will even tell you the weather forecast and help you find camping near your hike!
There is both a free and paid version of the Gaia GPS hiking app. For most day hikers, the free version is enough. In the free version, you can view both topographic and satellite maps and track your hike with cell service.
For backpackers or advanced hikers, I recommend the paid version. For only $39.99 per year, the paid version of Gaia GPS unlocks offline maps, including backpacking, off-road driving, backcountry skiing, and mountain biking maps. The offline map feature is crucial for being able to navigate and stay on trail without cell service.
Available on: iOS & Android
Price: Free & Paid Versions ($39.99/year)
- PeakVisor
PeakVisor hiking App
Screenshot from Apple App Store
Have you ever looked off in the distance and said, “what mountain is that?”. If so, I’ve got good news for you! It’s an app called PeakVisor. Here’s how it works: you open the app on your phone, point it at the peak, and it will tell you, using a combination of image recognition and GPS location.
You can even upload pictures of mountains from past hikes or when you’re without service and the app will identify those too! The catalog of mountain peaks is over 1 million. This app also offers a compass, great for navigation on hikes.
PeakVisor comes in both a free and pro version. The free version allows you to use most of the app’s features. The Pro version’s biggest advantage is offline peak identification and maps – no cell service required!
Available on: iOS & Android
Price: Free & Pro Versions ($29.99/year)
- Google Maps
Google Maps is one of the best hiking apps in the appstore
Screenshots from Apple App Store
There’s a very high likelihood you’re already using this app. But I’d be willing to bet you’re not using it to its full functionality. Google Maps‘ best feature for hikers is the ability to download maps offline.
Downloading maps ahead of time will ensure you’re able to navigate to the trailhead even if you lose service. Since GPS continues to work without cell phone service, you can use Google Maps to navigate with your downloaded map.
Many popular trails in busy parks are also shown on Google Maps, allowing you to track your progress on the trail and stay on track.
In the app, you can download a customized region. I recommend downloading the area from your home to your trailhead and the full trail area.
To download offline in Google Maps, just go to the app, select Offline Maps from the menu, select a custom map to highlight the area, and then click download.
Available on: iOS & Android
Price: Free
- Guthook Guides
Guthook Guides Hiking App
Screenshot from Apple App Store
Guthook Guides is the most popular smartphone app for long-distance hiking and backpacking. With over 35,000 miles of trails in its database, it’s a go-to for thru-hikes like the Pacific Crest Trail or the Appalachian Trail. In fact, it was developed by former thru-hikers who understood the need for a reliable offline map.
In the app, you’ll find detailed trail information like distance, elevation, waypoints, water sources, and campsites, all viewable on topographic or satellite maps. The app actively tracks your location on the map, making sure you’re always on trail. All of this works offline without cell reception.
The app itself is free, but each trail is purchased individually. You can buy full trail guides for thru-hikes or buy smaller trail guides for national parks. The guides range from $4.99 to $59.99, depending on trail length. The app does offer some free demo trails to get you started too.
Available on: iOS & Android
Price: Free, but requires in-app purchases of the guides ($4.99-$59.99 per guide)
- Hiking Project
Hiking Project is one of the best hiking apps in the appstore
Screenshots from Apple App Store
This crowd-sourced hiking app is also great for inspiration. While a lot of the functionality is similar to AllTrails, Hiking Project provides points of interest (labeled as “Gems” in the app).
You can search for hikes by region, by point of interest, or by hike features. With hikes mainly in the US and Canada, Hiking Project allows you to see stats by state, including trails ranked by popularity.
For a specific hike, you can view detailed descriptions, wildlife and plants in the area, reviews by users, and trail conditions. Using the Hiking Project app, you can get a feel for the hike before you even step foot on the trail.
Available on: iOS & Android
Price: Free
- Recreation.Gov
Recreation.Gov is one of the best hiking apps in the appstore
Screenshots from Apple App Store
If you’re an avid national park camper, you’re probably already familiar with this app. But Recreation.Gov can be used for a lot more than booking campsites. This app is also a platform to book tours, tickets, and permits.
Many US national parks offer ticketed ranger-led tours, like Fiery Furnace in Arches National Park, bookable through the app. Permits to wilderness areas, like Mt. Whitney or the Lost Coast in California, are booked through this app too.
Recreation.Gov is the official place to enter lotteries for permits to places like The Wave in Arizona or Half Dome in Yosemite.
You can also buy interagency passes, like the America the Beautiful National Park Pass, through the Recreation.Gov app.
The moral of the story is that Recreation.Gov is one of the best hiking apps for government lands. If you’re trying to book permits or campgrounds, most sites open up around 6 months in advance.
Available on: iOS & Android
Price: Free
- National Park Service App
National Park Service App
Screenshot from Apple App Store
For national park lovers, the National Park Service app is a must! This app has everything you need to know about all 423 national park units, including the 63 US national parks. You’ll find information on the best things to do (including lots of hikes), where to stay, tours, park amenities, and more.
Not sure what park you want to visit? You can explore all the various national parks and create your own favorites, lists, and mark parks as visited.
The app also provides details on each park’s most popular hikes, including distance and time to complete the hike. You’ll also find directions to trailheads and maps available offline for when you’re without cell service.
Available on: iOS & Android
Price: Free
- Seek by iNaturalist
Seek by iNaturalist is one of the best hiking apps in the appstore
Screenshots from Apple App Store
Have you ever seen a plant on the trail and wondered, “what kind of plant is that?”. I used to do this all the time and I’d think to myself, wow wouldn’t it be really cool if there was an app that could tell you these things. Well, it turns out there is!
One of the coolest hiking apps is Seek by iNaturalist. It was developed by the California Academy of Sciences and National Geographic. Seek uses your camera and GPS location to identify plants and animals you encounter on the trail.
To use, simply take a photo of your subject using the app. Seek uses your location to narrow down possible species and gives you more information about what you’ve found.
And because everything is more fun if it’s a game, you can earn badges and achievements based on the species you discover.
Available on: iOS & Android
Price: Free
- SkyView Lite
Skyview Lite is one of the best hiking apps in the appstore
Screenshots from Apple App Store
This free hiking app is the only tool you need to identify planets, stars, and constellations in the night sky. The app uses the phone’s built-in compass to locate astronomical objects.
The app overlays graphics of night sky objects based on where you point your phone. Plus, you can read more about the object of interest, such as the International Space Station.
You can even set notifications for upcoming stargazing events, like meteor showers or planet sightings. I’ve found this app to be great for stargazing before sunrise hikes or after sunset hikes.
Best free hiking apps 2021
- AllTrails (iOS, Android: Free/$29.99 annually)
AllTrails is one of the best hiking apps for novices and experts alike. All it takes is a few taps on your phone to find curated hiking, biking, and running trails for various lengths and difficulty levels.
The app also lets you create custom trail maps, follow friends’ activity and read trail reviews from its user community.
While the app’s premium paid version has additional features like offline off-route navigation and real-time overlays, the free version offers more than enough for most explorers.
And for more in-depth information, check out our AllTrails app review to see if AllTrails will be a good fit for your next hiking excursion!
AllTrails app preview on an iPhone
A preview of how the AllTrails app appears on your phone.
Why We Love the AllTrails Hiking App
At Pilot, our goal is to help people live a happier life through shared experiences and AllTrails helps facilitates this really well.
The app makes it easy for you to share custom maps, routes, and experiences with family and friends.
Plus, real people contribute the reviews and pictures of many locations which definitely makes the app’s information more honest and reliable.
- Spyglass (iOS, Android: $5.99)
Spyglass is the best hiking app for outdoor navigation. Although it’s not a free hiking app, it’s a one-time fee of $5.99 is more than palatable and definitely worth it.
With modern features like augmented-reality navigation, the app operates in 3D, shows you real-time object locations, and overlays directions over images and maps.
Spyglass also has the power to turn your phone into a GPS receiver, altimeter, speedometer, star finder, coordinate converter, a pair of binoculars, and more.
Screenshots of SpyGlass mobile interface
Just a few screenshots of all the information Spyglass offers you.
Why We Love the Spyglass Hiking App
Spyglass’s gazillion features will turn you into a proficient navigator and explorer in no time!
What’s more, the advanced object-location data features can really elevate your wildlife-spotting or star-gazing experiences.
- The Hiking Project (IOS, Android: Free)
Hiking Project is the best free hiking app that uses community-sourced content to help you pick and choose the perfect trail.
Users submit information like route descriptions, images and reviews that are then vetted by an in-house team before they are added to the app.
The hiking app basically functions as a living guidebook that is constantly updated with new information and more reviews.
Plus, Hiking Project works offline so you can use it literally anywhere your explorations may take you.
You can learn more about the Hiking Project app with our Hiking Project review that grades the quality of the app and goes into detail about the unique features so you can get the best out of it!
The Hiking Project Mobile Interface
You can use The Hiking Project app to learn about featured hikes in your area and read their reviews.
Why We Love the Hiking Project Hiking App
All the info on the Hiking Project is contributed by real hikers who have actually “tested” the trails they write about, so the app includes useful tips that aren’t on just any website.
The Hiking Project is the best hiking app to learn specific things like how much water to bring or the best place to park your car to start off a particular hike right.
Another amazing bonus is that the app is free and it doesn’t have any built-in annoying pop-up advertisements, which makes for a great user experience.
- PeakFinder (iOS, Android: $4.99)
Attention budding mountaineers—this app is for you!
PeakFinder contains information about more than 650,000 peaks all over the world and helps you identify the ones you find during your trips.
From Mount Everest to that small hill you can see in the distance, PeakFinder uses your phone’s location and camera to label the peaks you are looking at.
The app also offers labeling and naming features within a 360-degree panoramic display.
Peakfinder mobile hiking app preview.
You can use the app’s camera and photo editor mode to capture locations and share them with friends.
Why We Love the PeakFinder hiking App
Hiking is as much about discovery and exploration as it is about health.
PeakFinder lets you learn all the names of the new peaks you discover, so when you talk about your weekend hike, you can say you saw Mount Owen instead of some nondescript hilly area.
- Cairn (iOS, Android: Free/$26.99 Annually)
Cairn is one of the best hiking apps that can help you stay safe during your adventures.
You can use the app to share your real-time progress and location with family or friends for their peace of mind, and yours too!
Cairn helps you plan routes by offering helpful estimates of how long you will take to complete a particular trail based on personalised data and points out areas with weak cell reception.
If you take longer than expected for your hike, the app also notifies your emergency contacts to let them know.
The premium version of the app lets you use its features offline and automatically sends live updates to your contacts.
Conclusion
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