There’s nothing quite like being out in the great outdoors. It provides the perfect opportunity to reconnect with nature, as well as reducing stress levels and helping to you to keep fit. If you love to hike, but are new to the sport, or just want to make it more… pleasant, discover our top ten best hiking apps for iPhone and Android. Each of these awesome apps promise to take your trail to the next level in some way or another.
We’ve got a combo of free and premium services, with something suitable for all hiking levels for you.
These are the 10 best hiking apps to install right now
#1 Peak Visor
Using your camera and 3D tech, PeakVisor shows the names and elevations of peaks around the world. It is also a great tool for navigation, and it includes a compass. The free version of Peak Visor is often more than enough for most hikers, but they do have a premium option which has the same functionalities but is available offline. But never fear, with the free version, you can still upload pictures when you get back to signal.
#2 All Trails
With over 20 million users and over 100,000 trails worldwide, All Trails is widely considered to be one of the best free hiking apps available. It is particularly great if you are new to the area or visiting and looking for those hiking trails that are slightly off the beaten track. It is easy to use, and you can search your location to find trails based on activity, suitability, elevation, route type and popularity.
#3 Hiking Projects
Hiking Project is a crowd-sourced hiking app that is predominantly based in the US and Canada. Suitable for experts and beginners alike, you can search hiking opportunities by region, points of interest or hike features. Also, this comprehensive guide to local hiking includes detailed trail descriptions, possible wildlife and plant sightings, reviews and trail conditions.
#4 The NPS App
The National Park Service app is one of the best hiking apps for exploring any of the national parks across the States. This includes info such as the most popular hikes, directions to trailheads, and access to offline maps. It is free for iOS and Android, and basically contains everything you need for planning your hike in one of the 420+ US national parks. Plus, you can download content about entire parks for use offline!
#5 Cairn
Referred to as the ‘ultimate hiking safety app’, Cairn allows you to send detailed information of your route as you explore the great outdoors. It will provide you with information about cell coverage on route, record your stats, and has downloadable maps for offline use. They do have a free version, but regular hikers may prefer to upgrade to the pro, for $4.99 monthly or $26.99 for the year.
#6 Kamoot
Kamoot is the go-to app for outdoor enthusiasts in Europe. It features route planning, navigation, and offline use. Plus, it has a useful tour recommendation feature that enables users to locate nearby routes and sort them by difficulty, accessibility and more.
#7 Instagram
You heard correctly! Record your hike as you go and share those stunning landscape shots over on Instagram. You can also search for your location to see which are the most instagrammable viewpoints nearby. It’s all about how you use it 😉
If Instagram is one of the best hiking apps in your opinion too, then you’ll want to check out our camping photography 101 to make sure of the perfect photo…
#8 Gaia GPS
One of the most popular apps for serious hikers, Gaia is ideal for plotting your route before the big day. The free version has easy-to-read topo maps and can be accessed when you are online. However, if you want to also see classic maps and overlays, get offline access, and record your trek, membership is $20 per year. Plus, this popular hiking app can even tell you the local weather forecast as well as nearby camping opportunities.
#9 Pokémon GO
Although Pokémon GO might not have quite the same hike-enhancing capacities of some of the other best hiking apps we have discussed, it can definitely change up your hike experience. This fun game enables users to catch Pokémon in the ‘real world’ using your phone’s camera, with the aim of filling up your Pokédex!
#10 Guthook Guides
An excellent choice for long distance hiking, Guthook Guides contains over 35, 000 miles of trails. All of which work offline, which is great if you are somewhere without cell service. The app itself is free but each trail is then purchased individually or as a bundle. However, it does also offer some free demos for you to check out.
Apps downloaded?
There’s nothing left to do but find the perfect hike! If you’re USA-based, you might want to check our absolute favorite hiking trails in the whole of the U.S. off of your list!
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