Did you know
that hiking is the fourth most popular outdoor
activity in the United States, with
more than 44 million people hitting the trails yearly? As the “wild” effect
continues to increase in popularity, people are now considering the efficacy
and usage of some of the top
hiking apps and opting for one
that best caters to their individual needs.
Why opt for a hiking app?
- It allows you to navigate unknown terrain offline without a GPS and WiFi.
- Let’s organize your hikes into customizable folders under various sub-categories.
- Helps build a community of hikers worldwide and connect them through the app and share their experiences.
- Hiking apps also offer an extensive database of information to help new trails based on your required difficulty levels, distance and even dog-friendliness.
- It helps track your elevation profile, speed and distance throughout your hike.
- Many hiking apps available today allow you to share your location in real time, so those back at home won’t have to worry about you during your hike.
Top hiking apps for trekking enthusiasts
All Trails Inc.
Boasting
over 10000 fans a year with more than 60,000 trails in its database, AllTrails stands
tall as one of the most sought-after free guide to the great outdoors for
Android and iOS users. Founded more than a decade ago, this community-based app
has received favorable feedback from Forbes, Nast Traveler and Wall Street
Journal to kindle the spirit of adventure among outdoor explorers.
As soon as
you download this free hiking app, you can expect to be greeted by an
unimaginably long list of suggestions for the nearby hiking and running trails–
each categorized by the difficulty level and user ratings. For each trail
option, one can get further details like a full trail map, a short description
of the place, the distance and elevation, reviews and even the expected
weather, thus rendering it one of the top hiking apps. So
as soon as you finalize your hiking location, you can add it to your plan list.
While the
basic subscription is free of cost, if you wish to avail all its features, then
a subscription to AllTrails Pro is required. The Pro version allows you to
avail a 14-day trial, after which a minimal annual subscription and a full
refund in case you decide to cancel your membership within 30 days of purchase.
What We Like:
•User-friendly
•Preloaded trail database
•14-day trial period with a full refund option
What We Like Less:
•Offline maps require subscription
•Cannot export GPS tracks
Gaia GPS
If taking the rough roads or off-roading to trailheads is something that sounds like you, then Gaia GPS is definitely going to impress both Android and iOS users with its smart features and wide range of information. From informing you about the hike’s speed graph to elevation and even the highest peaks, Gaia is there to hold your hand as you go about exploring unknown terrain, thus making it extremely popular as one of the top hiking apps of all time.
Gaia GPS is a mapping and navigating software optimized to work with Android phones and act as your hike guide. Supporting road and satellite maps and an easy-to-use topographic map Gaia GPS helps you find trails, record hikes, take photos and share them. One of my favorite features about Gaia GPS is how it helps you keep everything organized. The app can create folders with tracks, hikes and photos. You can take these folders and put them in other folders.
Another fascinating feature about Gaia GPS is that it allows both free and premium memberships. While the free version does offer a lot of features but the paid one allows you to access your trail or trip maps in offline mode as well.
What We Like:
•Ease of use
•Secured and organized folders
•Self-explanatory topographic map
•Detailed information about the hike
•Allows you to record hikes
What We Like Less:
•Subscription required to access maps in offline mode
The Green Tracks App
The third one on our list of top hiking apps worthy of taking another look is the Green Tracks app. This hiking app stands out from the others because of its ease of access and the enormous library of free offline topographic maps. Additionally, since hiking in the mountainous or remote areas can sometimes limit your access to Wi-Fi or weaken your smartphone’s signals, the Green Track Hiking App offers offline maps as well to help guide you on your trail.
Designed for Android users, the Green Tracks hiking app comes bearing not just a few but 11 11 different types of online maps, such as the. road, satellite and topographic, etc., Moreover it also enables users to make use of live streaming of their hike and be vary of the ascent, slope, distance, elevation graph etc. The process of using the GPS tracks in Green Tracks is fairly simple. All you have to do is transfer the GPS tracks to your smartphone and open it in the Green Tracks app.
Alternatively, the app still has a few bugs that need to be tweaked, especially the updating of location, but hopefully, the developers will get around to fixing it soon.
What We Like:
•Availability of offline mode in areas where internet isn’t an option
•Easy to use
•It offers a wide variety of maps.
•Convenience – can easily import GPS tracks.
What We Like Less:
•Limited to Android Users only
•It gives a bit of a 90s feeling.
•It has a few bugs that need fixing.
Final Words
As a hiking
enthusiast, the above-mentioned top
hiking apps come in handy while you venture into the great outdoors.
However, you must never solely rely on smartphones and such smart apps. After
all! Its functionality may be limited by the availability of signals or battery
life.
A wise
decision would be to carry a topographic map and a compass just in case things
don’t go as planned. Nonetheless, using these carefully researched and
chosen top hiking apps to navigate your way is definitely worth the while.
Valerie Young
Valerie Young writes for Find Compare and is a writer and editor in London.
