There are many methods to finding hiking trails. But with so many options it can be hard to know where to start. Here, I will show two Apps that I use to find local trails.
Apps:
There are a lot of Apps tailored to outdoor activities, especially hiking. My top two options are:
Strava:
Strava is a fitness app that is great for many types of sports. I use it for running and biking as well as hiking. I like Strava because they have a tracking system which is great if you’re looking to time your hikes. They also have an award system that shows your pace and tells you if you’ve beaten your personal record. You can also see how other people fare in the same activity.
Highlights
Strava subscription gives you access to maps of hiking trails in whatever area you’re in while using the app.
The maps have three options: standard, satellite, and hybrid. You can search for trails up to 100 miles away if you want or zoom out and move the map around to whatever location you desire.
After you find the trail that you want to hike, you can save the map while you have a connection and use it without wifi or data. If you want to get an idea of the trail before you save the route there’s also an elevation, amount of traffic on the trail, and you can see the mileage and approximate time to complete a trail as well.
Alltrails:
The AllTrails App was made for the outdoors. I subscribe to the app because I love using it for my hikes. I like that when I open it there is a top trail suggestion on the home screen.
Highlights
If you’re not into their suggestions, Alltrails has a map option as well. You’ll see small green circles with numbers denoting the number of trails they represent or if you zoom in it will look like a green tag for their location identifier. When you select one, the route is highlighted, and a short information blip pops up with the name, distance, and estimated completion time.
Alltrails has an option to download their maps as well. They have 6 types of maps; I usually opt for the Alltrails version or terrain. The Alltrails app has a cool feature that will alert you if you have gone off route.
Alltrails also has weather information, a short description, activities allowed on the trail, and reviews sections. I like reading the reviews because you get a better sense of the trail conditions such as mud, ice, and closures.
Conclusion:
Both Strava and Alltrails are good apps to find trails and to record your activity. The downloadable maps are great to keep you enroute. In each, you can upload pictures which adds a social media aspect. Personally, I like Strava for their recording feature and Alltrails for their navigation and trail information. Often, when looking for a trail I’ll use both apps and compare the information. Also, I liked to use them together during my hikes as they are great compliments to each other. Hopefully, these two apps help you when searching or recording your next hike.