Hiking apps on the smartphone have significantly advanced throughout the years. The best hiking apps gives us elite features such as the ability to navigate our trails offline as we go explore new territory, connect with fellow hikers, and allows us to venture of the beaten path to avoid crowded trails.
Whether you are new to hiking or a veteran hiker, hiking apps are a great resource to locate new trails and track your performance, but they could also save your life.
I asked my community to share their top 5 hiking apps and tested them out.
Without further ado, let’s jump into the article:
Why choose a hiking app?
Smartphones have made it possible to give us a substantial amount of information almost instantly. Hiking is a fun and healthy hobby for many of us, so it’s only natural that hiking apps would be popular.
Here are some reasons you should consider downloading a hiking app:
Discover new trails- The best hiking apps have a vast database of information, which means they are ideal for finding new trails. You can search for hiking trails based on distance, difficulty, or you can find them randomly based on your inspiration.
Safety- Safety on the trail comes first and foremost. Your family and friends will appreciate you that you take your safety seriously. Some of the best hiking apps on this list will allow you to share your location in real time so your loved ones back home won’t have to worry about you during your hikes.
Offline Navigation features- One of the best features of any hiking app is the ability to navigate offline without service.
Tracking your Performance- I have always been a stat nerd, so this is one of my favorite features when it comes to hiking apps. A great hiking app will help you track your elevation, speed and distance during your entire hike. I personally like to track my hikes to share with my family and friends when I get back.
How to Choose the Best Hiking App
The best hiking app for you will be based on a number of things such as app features, cost, and just personal preference.
You must ask yourself, are you on a budget? Are you interested in hikes near me? Or better yet, are you wanting some dog friendly hikes?
Not all hiking apps are created equal, and some are better than others when it comes to certain features.
Most of the hiking apps are free to use, however, some may require you to pay for the premium version that will give you enhanced features that you can use at your disposal.
But sometimes, the free version is all you need.
Learn to be concerned with your battery life
Be mindful that hiking apps are a great resource, and you should never depend on your smartphone alone.
What good will it do if you have the best hiking app out there, but you run out of battery on a wilderness hike and have no backup plan?
From experience, using GPS and other features within hiking apps will quickly drain your battery life. On a long hike, using an offline map for just a few hours can significantly reduce a phone’s battery life.
I like to come prepared when I hike just in case. The easiest way to solve this problem is to carry a backup source of power such as a solar charger or power bank.
When I hike with my wife or one of my friends, I like to use one of our phones with offline maps and keep the other phone turned off with a full battery in case our first phone dies and we have an emergency.
Our Favorite Hiking Apps for 2022
All Trails– Best Free Hiking App
If you’ve ever googled or searched online for great hiking trails, more than likely you’ve probably come across an app called All Trails. They have been around since 2010 and they have some really neat features. Let’s take a look:
- You can record your hikes (the length of time for your specific hikes, exact route, elevation gains etc.)
- You can easily find trails on the app based on what you’re looking for. Whether it’s based on distance or difficulty, All Trails will have several populate into the system and just pick the one you feel most comfortable with.
- You can save the trails on your phone which I think is a massive bonus.
- If you want to download these trails offline on your smartphone, the pro-version will allow you to do this and will also notify you if you get off the beaten path. Again, a very cool feature!
Spyglass- Most sophisticated
This is the hiking app of the future for my fellow hikers. This app has advanced features such as a rangefinder which will measure your distance on the trails. It also allows you to track your hikes in real time and precise location. Here are a few things I love about the Spyglass app…
- Elevation tracking.
- The Rangefinder that allows you to track your distance and checkpoints on the trail.
- The Sophisticated GPS that gives you Military and Civilian coordinate options.
Avenza Maps- Best Old School App
With an old school approach to hiking, this app is tried and true. It sets the standard for GPS hiking. Avenza proudly claims to have the world’s largest map collection in its database. All of the maps can also be downloaded offline. Here are some valuable features regarding Avenza Maps:
- This app allows you to see private land vs public land.
- You can record your GPS hikes.
- You have Realtime GPS positioning (even offline).
- You can document your notes and photos on your hikes.
Gaia GPS- Best Overall Hiking App
This app should strongly be considered if you are choosing a hiking app. Here are five reasons why:
- You can save your hike’s statistics and performance.
- You can easily find new trails.
- It has a built-in forecast for your hikes.
- It allows you to find campgrounds near your trails.
- You can also see private vs public land.
Cairn- Best Hiking App for Safety
Cairn is a simple and user-friendly hiking app that sends detailed information about your route in the wilderness, keeping you safe and helping you find cell coverage. Here are some of my favorite features that Cairn has to offer:
- You can download maps offline.
- You can share your GPS coordinates with your family and friends.
- It allows you to track your progress and gives you an estimation on completing your trails.
And there you have it. These are just a few of our favorite hiking apps for 2022. Which hiking apps do you find helpful? Please share your experiences in the comments below!
-CT