Best hiking trails apps

Offline maps where there is no signal, elevation profile and trail duration, reviews and photos from prior hikers, everything in one planning reference

New interface hides basic features from free users, crashes and overheating on long navigation, murky cancellation and charge after trial, search jumps back to top of list, AI slop in trail descriptions

Hikers and runners who want one reference with maps, elevation and living trail reviews

Endless customization of metrics and watch faces, intervals with voice cues, external heart-rate monitor, battery saving, responsive support, people switch from Garmin for it, no ads

A mountain of settings with no documentation scares off newcomers, Bluetooth glitches and a two-device error, complaints about Tip Jar charges, heavy cluttered interface, cannot build routes inside without Strava, drains battery over long distances

For data and metric lovers on Apple Watch who will spend time configuring for full control over a workout, runners and hikers

Auto-alerts to family with coordinates, cell-coverage map, peace of mind for family, offline maps ahead of time, route and elevation-gain tracking

Tracking stops on its own mid-hike, crashes in offline mode, needed trail missing from database, rigid list of return times instead of your own

Solo hikers and their loved ones who need family to know the route and last location

Massive worldwide route database, works for moto and horse trails, precise track recording, people stay on Pro for years, finds trails where everything around is private land

Makes you log in again and again on filters, no button to center on your location, search returns hundreds of irrelevant results, after updates GPS draws straight lines and inflates distance, offline maps download slowly

For those hunting trails in remote spots worldwide, for hiking, horse and moto trips, who can tolerate clunky search for the coverage

Readable topo maps, offline access without signal, responsive developer, convenient map management, detail

Tiles stall on download, paid pro version drops after an update, inaccurate mileage tracking, no way to enter coordinates manually

Hikers and cyclists who need clear offline maps in places without signal

Water points and bear and campsite markers, fresh comments from people who just walked it, buy a map once with no subscription, view with map, elevation profile and waypoint list

Freezes and crashes on multi-day trips, offline map sometimes won't open without signal, updates lose purchased trail sections, fewer fresh comments now, planning a route on the phone is awkward

Thru-hikers and paddlers on long routes who need water points and live reports from the trail

Trip reports on snow, washouts and road conditions, best coverage for Washington and PNW, free, no ads, clean pleasant interface, sense of community

Crashes on search for the past year, trip reports do not sync from the app, gray text on pale background unreadable in sun, tiny text with no dynamic type support, forces a password every launch

For hikers in Washington who want fresh trail condition reports before heading out, willing to tolerate crashes and fall back to the website when the app dies

Finger-drawing a route with instant mileage, planning runs for a specific distance, excellent drawing on iPad, simple and clear planner

Stuck on splash screen after updates and won't launch, freezes and loses drawn routes, navigation and offline maps paid only, route doesn't sync between watch and iPhone, support doesn't reply

Runners and cyclists who need to draw a route for a target distance and see the mileage

Accurate UTM coordinates for paper maps, works without signal in airplane mode, saves battery, simple and fast, responsive author adds datums on request, accurate 8-digit grid

Many fives are empty and generic, coordinate formats buried in a menu or unavailable, stopped working after an iOS update, charges extra for full features that only add an azimuth readout, narrow functionality with no map

For those who hike with a paper topo map and compass and want only coordinates with no internet, for grid navigation and emergencies

Solid database of rail-trails and bike paths, inspires finding routes nearby, reveals hidden spots on a familiar trail, handy for milestones and tracking progress

Incomplete database, shows only a couple of trails nearby out of dozens, no GPS guidance on the route after parking, paid access won't unlock premium features for years, no full-screen view on tablet

Cyclists and walkers who need rail-trails and bike paths nearby

Georeferenced maps as a paper replacement, accurate GPS even on free, importing USGS maps and historic aerials, fast offline map downloads

Custom map import removed from free version, clumsy search for the map you want, heavy field-notes interface, cap on number of imported maps, coordinate entry autocorrect breaks navigation

Firefighters, hunters and field professionals who need their own georeferenced maps offline

Clear and fast layout, offline maps with no fear of losing signal, accuracy on the route, building your own route with a feasibility check

Route builder drops points on its own and won't let you remove them, trail database sometimes thinner than AllTrails, features split across separate paid apps, search fails to find popular trails, buries you in offer and rating pop-ups

Off-roaders and hikers who need offline maps and land-ownership data in the backcountry

No subscription and no ads, honest one-time purchase, simple and clear, battery saving via airplane mode with a preloaded map, works in the background, several topo maps to choose from, affordable price

Distance tracking consistently overstates mileage by miles, does not sum total elevation gain across multiple climbs, does not save calories and elevation to the saved map, map goes black after 10 minutes for some, cannot import waypoints, no compass

For those who want a simple hike tracker with no subscription and no ads for a one-time fee, and who do not need distance accuracy to the tenth of a mile

Real community and group outings, following local leaders, spots they have vetted, online waiver signing instead of the old Meetup process, easy trip sign-up

Nearby events do not show in the feed, no location filter (other states creep in), no notifications for new events or moving off the waitlist, the waiver form gets stuck

People looking for a real community and group outdoor outings, not just a trail map

Accurate maps and clear directions, exporting routes to devices like Wahoo, strong planner for cycling and travel, works for cyclists and runners

Bending Spoons takeover broke the familiar planning, purchased map packs useless without a subscription, every tap pushes a free trial, route privacy isn't the default, no dedicated walking mode

Cyclists and travelers who plan routes and export them to bike computers

Depth of data and level of control, years of accumulated stats and miles, motivates regular walking, solid sensor work and route creation

Tracking stops mid-walk with no sound, mileage swings on the same route, aggressive ads including porn and fake virus warnings, unreliable watch link after updates, hard to use with no instructions

Walkers and regular-exercise folks who care about deep stats and control over their data

Planning long routes and previewing trails, shows campgrounds during planning, good coverage in some regions, free planning, keeps you on the right trail

Recorded hikes do not sync and disappear, support replies once then goes silent, wrong elevation profiles and odd difficulty ratings, busy interface, fewer trails than competitors, distance in kilometers only, promotional notifications

For those planning long routes who want free planning with trail previews, willing to keep a second app or a paper guide alongside for navigation

Unmatched Ordnance Survey maps, detail and accuracy, offline mode in rain and wind, rights-of-way over land

Constantly logs you out and demands re-downloads, crashes when zooming on offline maps, unreliable during server outages, nearly impossible to cancel the subscription

Hikers across Britain who need official OS maps and offline access in the wild

Good topo maps and GPS tracking, helps offline with no signal, simple intuitive controls, on-screen prompts, replacement for a discontinued trails app

Topo detail and contour lines disappear on zoom, offline maps download by painful tile-by-tile panning, no compass or heading orientation, no center-on-me button, loses tracked miles on a tracking failure

For those who want a cheap topo map for a hike and can tolerate clumsy offline downloads, not for serious backcountry navigation

Nice route videos with photos and stats, stats like top speed and elevation gain, music in videos, easy clip creation after a hike

Route trimming removed, auto-pause won't resume by itself, videos capped at 60 seconds, stats stripped from free videos, charge after trial with no warning

Hikers and cyclists who want to save and show off a route as a nice video clip

Finds less crowded trails and hidden gems in national parks, route detail and difficulty ratings, works offline in dead zones, easy to pick family-friendly trails, pleasant layout

Basemaps do not load, crashes on open after the update, incomplete catalog with missing parks and trails, some webcams down for years, cannot log in without creating an account, support links to a different app's website

For those planning US national park trips who want to find less crowded trails with detail and offline maps, if the app works at all right now

Drawing your own routes, .gpx export for Garmin, 3D route videos, detailed maps

Features lost after ViewRanger, paid lifetime maps disabled, overheating and battery drain, silent support, cannot reset password

People willing to learn it and draw their own routes, but not former ViewRanger users with a lifetime purchase

Some of the best maps for off-roading and overlanding, USGS Topo layer, saves you at junctions with no signal, accuracy on the route

Constant crashes since the June update, removed Nat Geo Trails and satellite layers, snap-to-trail fails offline, slow and painful offline map downloads, elevation gain estimate off by 30-50%

Off-roaders and overlanders who need detailed topo maps offline in the backcountry

Free, great route tracking, accurate trail detail and elevation profile, driving directions to the trailhead, legacy of REI-era simplicity

Crashes on launch on newer iPhones, offline barely works and maps do not load without signal, became an ad wrapper after the OnX purchase, weak search and many missing trails, no kml/kmz import or gpx export, lag on zoom

For those who remember it from the REI days and want free tracking with directions to the trailhead, if the app even launches on their phone

Shows secondary trails and hidden park corners missing from regular maps, pleasant map, helps in specific parks, responsive developer fixes issues on contact

Email-code login does not work, crashes on a screen tap and freezes on points with no details, invasive data collection by default, tiny non-adjustable font, the trail disappears and must be searched again, no iPad version, sparse data

For those exploring a specific park or state program where this app is officially used, and willing to tolerate login trouble and crashes