Best downloadable hiking map app

You can even set a specific criterion to narrow your search. Just set your location and enter your filters and Bada-boom! Plan a Hike. If you want to gauge how difficult a day hike or section of a trail will be, many apps tell you upcoming elevation gain, terrain type and more. A hiking app can pinpoint all upcoming waypoints. Many with reviews and other insights from fellow hikers. Navigate: Since cell reception can obviously be spotty in the backcountry, many hiking apps let you download and save trail guides or maps so their accessible offline.

A lot of apps also come with built-in compasses and GPS navigation to find your exact location and coordinates. Socialize: Competitor at heart or seeking hike-minded camaraderie? Learn about Animals, Plants, Stars: Curious about an animal you spotted out on the trail?

Or how about if that bush you just touched is actually poison ivy? Many hiking apps have photo recognition software where you can snap a photo and have detailed information on a species in seconds. Track and Share Performance: Just like a running app, you can keep track of your personal stats for a hike.

The stats will list details like pace, calories burned, total distance, elevation gain, etc. From there, you can save your stats or share them with fellow users. Stay Safe: Planning a multi-day solo hike? Using a survival app can be a good way to help give your family and friends some peace of mind. Google Maps is great for guiding you to a trailhead or for use on a well-marked day hike.

That depends on the app. GPS tracking and trail maps can work offline for a number of apps, and with the rise of technology becoming more popular on the trail further features and improvements are likely to keep developing.

By Katie Licavoli: Katie Licavoli is a freelance writer and outdoor enthusiast who specializes in articles, blog posts, gear reviews, and site content about living the Good Life spent exploring The Great Outdoors. Her favorite days are ones in nature, and her favorite views are any with mountains. About Greenbelly: After thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, Chris Cage created Greenbelly to provide fast, filling and balanced meals to backpackers. Chris also wrote How to Hike the Appalachian Trail.

Affiliate disclosure: We aim to provide honest information to our readers. You can download the area of your interest using a strong Wi-Fi connection and save it to either your device or an SD card, as per your preference. Of course, you will not receive any traffic updates while using the offline version but you still get access to useful information like public transit options and timings — pretty useful while traveling abroad, if you ask us.

While scheduling downloads, keep in mind a cached map will expire after 30 days. Getting its data from TomTom and other mapping providers, Sygic is a hugely popular navigation app which offers 3D map view to offline users.

Those who have used Sygic swear by its intuitive UI and advanced safety features. Its offline maps come packed with super-useful information like upcoming speed limit changes and Dynamic Lane Assistant to guide you into the correct lane — again, very handy for those driving in a foreign city. And you also get voice-guided GPS navigation with precise directions and street names in the offline version.

For pedestrians, Sygic offers walking directions and a compilation of thousands of tourist attractions. For bikers, the app offers a handy guide on the terrain, explaining how flat or hilly the bike ride will be. Deep woods? No problem, Gaia GPS is designed to work offline. If you want trail maps right on your phone, Gaia Topo has you covered.

Pull up the leading recreation maps with amazing detail and rigorous local review by NatGeo Trails Illustrated. Plus, s more maps from trusted sources. 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. The offline map feature is crucial for being able to navigate and stay on trail without cell service.

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. 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. Guthook Guides is the most popular smartphone app for long-distance hiking and backpacking. In fact, it was developed by former thru-hikers who understood the need for a reliable offline map.

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 app does offer some free demo trails to get you started too. This crowd-sourced hiking app is also great for inspiration. 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. AllTrails Hiking App.

Pros: User-friendly interface Preloaded trails. Komoot Hiking App. Cons: No topographic map Inaccurate tracking Graphic design Only online maps. Green Tracks - Maps Quality. AllTrails - Maps Quality. Komoot - Maps Quality. How helpful was this post? Click a star to rate it! Since you found this post useful Follow us on social media.

We're sorry that this post was not useful! Just one more thing Tell us what was missing in this article? Submit Rating. Author Information Blaz Outdoor enthusiast with experience in all types of hiking and mountaineering. The 5 Best Hiking Boot Brands of The Best Garmin Watches to Buy in Comparison of Mid-Layer Materials.

How much water to take on a hiking trip? The 5 Best Tent Brands of Houdini Daybreak Softshell Jacket Review. Ombraz Classic Sunglasses Review. Lake Bled — Osojnica Hiking Trail. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Juan Demin 13th March , pm. Blaz Post Author 19th March , pm. Hi Juan, Not that I would know. SDR 15th May , am. Awesome review! Thanks Reply.

Ronald Guitoneau 21st May , am. Blaz Post Author 26th May , pm. Greg 25th May , pm. Carl Rossen 3rd June , pm. You missed the best one: MyTrails! Lots of maps and free offline maps too. Blaz Post Author 4th June , am. Thanks for pointing out this app Carl. Evan Grant 13th July , pm. Blaz Post Author 19th July , pm. Hugo Hermans 12th August , pm. Update for Komoot: since a few weeks you can zoom in very very detailed. Blaz Post Author 13th August , am.

Thanks for the update Hugo. Carlos 10th September , pm. Blaz Post Author 12th September , am. KM 15th December , pm. Blaz Post Author 18th December , pm. Mike 20th March , pm.

Brekel 29th April , am. Blaz Post Author 10th May , pm. Hi Brekel, thanks for sharing Oruxmaps!