Best Hiking Apps for planning and navigation

Platform: Apple (IOS), Android
Cost: Free for app. Maps vary in price (some are free)
www.avenzamaps.com

Avenza Maps is a mobile map app which allows you to download topographic maps for offline use on an iOS or Android smartphone. It pinpoints on the map where you are the map, and lets you track your route. You need to remember to download the map/s before you set off, which you can do from the app or any brower (but the maps themselves only work on in the mobile app). Over a million maps are available.

Avenza Features

• Maps are always available off-line
• Huge range of maps available (>1 million)
• Easy to import tracks or waypoints (KML/KMZ and GPX)
• Can view or enter coordinates in almost any format (latitude/longitude, Easting/Northing, WGS 84, UTM, What3words)

Avenza Cons

• Trails limited to those on each downloded map (ie. no community-generated trails)
• Tracking is clumsy across multiple maps

Platform: Web browser, Apple (IOS), Android.
Cost: Free for app. Premium subscription $30/year or $2.50/month
www.alltrails.com

AllTrails is one of the most popular and versatile hiking apps, with over 20 million users worldwide and hundreds of thousands of trails across just about every country. There are “curated trails” as well as user-submitted trails , so if a trail exists… it’s probably in the app! It’s great for planning, as you can search/filter by different criteria, read user reviews and every trail has a community rating. You can also draw your route (using existing trails or off-track) or import a track in a browser, then save and download the trail to use in the app version when you’re on the trail. You can choose to record your route, which is then available to view in the app, or you edit and download the route in a Web browser.

AllTrail Features

• One of the largest selection of trails, catering for all levels of experience
• Trails have a description, user reviews, photos and a rating
• Eight map types or overlays available, including topographic, satellite and 3D
• Easy to record and save your route
• Provides directions to start of a trail (using Apple Maps or Google Maps)
• Intuitive interface (in a browser) to create or import a trail plot and download in the app (premium subscription)

AllTrail Cons

• Need to remember to download the trails you need (this requires Pro subscription)
• Only shows your position as latitude/longitude
• Can only enter waypoints using latitude/longitude (when planning a hike).

Should you get the Pro version of AllTrails?

Yes, it’s definitely worth it if you decide to use the app on a regular basis. The annual ($29.99) or monthly ($2.50) fee for AllTrails Pro gives you these features over the free AllTrails app:

• Ability to download maps (for offline access).
• Lifeline feature which sends nominated contacts a summary of your route (and you can send updates on your location during your hike)
• Alert system which notifies you if you go off-route
• Ability to create/customize maps and print or export to PDF (you can select the scale and the grid coordinates can be decimal or UTM).

Platform: Web browser, Apple (IOS), Android.
Cost: Free for app. Premium subscription $39/year
www.gaiagps.com

GaiaGPS is an alternative to AllTrails, providing similar functionality. While AllTrails is more popular and has a simpler user interface, GaiGPS has more sophisticated features and many experienced hikers swear by this app. You can create or import a route or waypoint in the app, as well as in a browser, which can then be used when navigating.

GaiaGPS Features

• Very granular options to customise map appearance and controls, including key info when navigating
• Compass (bearing) can be displayed while using the app for navigating
• Many different map types or overlays available
• Easy to record and save route (with details including moving speed,
• Provides directions to start of a trail using Apple Maps
• Can create route in the app (although it’s a bit clunky) as well as in a browser)
• Coordinates (waypoints) can be viewed or entered as decimal or UTM.

GaiaGPS Cons

• Need to remember to download the trails you need (this requires Premium subscription)
• User interface not as intuitive as ohikes ther hiking apps
• Not many curated trails (but many tracks shown that allow you to create your own route)

Should you get the Premium version of GaiaGPS?

As with AllTrails, the Premium subscription is definitely worth it if you decide to use the app on a regular basis. The annual ($39) fee for Gaia Premium gives your these features over the free version

• Ability to download maps (for offline access)
• Download additional map layers – over 250 maps and overlays
• Ability to create/customize custom maps and print or export to PDF.

Platform: Apple (IOS), Apple Watch
Cost: Free
www.routieapp.com

Although not in the same league as AllTrails or GaiaiGPS, Routie enables simple tracking of any activity, including hiking. Designed for the iPhone and Apple Watch, it allows you to easily record and share tracks, which can be exported (as GPX or KML) or shared on social media. It also provides useful stats on each activity and allows you to add photos or waypoints.

Routie Features

• Simply interface to track and share any sports activity
• Easy to add location (waypoint) with notes

Routie Cons

• Limited functionality compared to other apps
• No topographic maps

Platform: Apple (IOS), Android
Cost: Free
https://maps.me/

With over 100 million downloads and over a million ratings worldwide, Maps.Me is one of the most popular offline map apps for travel. It has some major limitations as a hiking app, but it also has one major benefit. The bad first: there are no topographic maps, you can’t record your route and there is very limited hiking functionality. But why I still consider it essential part of my mobile hiking toolkit is that Maps.me uses OpenStreetMap data, a vast collection of user-generated routes, and the map sizes are fairly small. Which means you can download just about every hiking trail for a relatively large area – perfect for shorter impromptu hikes when you’re travelling, or if you’re overseas and don’t want to use mobile data. In short, it’s a great “backup hiking app” that lets you work out where you are you and where to go when you’re out of range and haven’t downloaded the maps you need.

Maps.me Features

• Maps always available off-line and free (but you need to download them for a state or country)
• Large number of hiking tracks
• Easy to create a route on mobile device
• Can import tracks (in KML format) into app

Maps.me Cons

• No topographic maps
• Doesn’t record tracks
• Not purpose-designed for hiking (more a general purpose travel app)

PeakVisor

Displays the name, elevation, and distance of any peak in augmented reality – the app can identify over one million peaks all over the world. The free version is limited to one peak per day; the premium version is $29.99/year. An alternative is PeakFinder, which at $4.99 (once-off) is a bit cheaper – it also works in a Web browser, if you’re trying to work out what you’ve taken a photo of from a mountain peak!

www.peakvisor.com / www.peakfinder.org

Far Out Guides

Guthook Guides were started in 2010 by a couple of thru-hikers who hiked the Pacific Crest Trail (USA) together. They have since been rebranded as FarOut Guides. The app is available in the Apple App Store and Google Play, with the guides available for a number of long-distance hiking and cycling trails. The app is free, but you pay for each trail (or collection of trails). The app is designed to work offline and has detailed information on the hiking trails.

www.faroutguides.com/

Handy GPS

Developed in Australia by Anthony Dunk (who has released a number of other hiking apps), Handy GPS is a simple but powerful navigation app. It displays and records your location in either UTM or lat/lon coordinates using a number of datums, or you can enter (or import) waypoints whch you can then navigate to.

www.binaryearth.net/HandyGPS

Also useful for planning is AusDatum, which is a Windows application (not an mobile app). It performs high precision coordinate conversions between Easting/Northing and Lat/Lon coordinates in a number of different Australian and global datums such as AGD, GDA94, GDA 2020 and WGS84 (it can also convert multiple coordindates by importing and exporting a spreadsheet).