The Best Hiking Apps

We all get cabin fever now and then, and there’s nothing quite like a hike in the woods or a camping trip to shed the desk-job blues. It’s time to get outdoors and go on an adventure. Thankfully, we’ve been scouring the iOS and Android app stores in search of handy hiking aids, camping help, and adventure apps — we’ve grouped it all here in the best hiking apps. If you’re heading out into the wild and leaving the comforts of the modern world behind, just make sure you install these apps first — some of which are features on our picks for the best iPhone and Android apps. Also, don’t forget your smartphone! Taking a moment to pause and catch your breath on a hike, you gaze out at the mountain on the horizon. “Look at that,” you say, smiling and turning to your friend. “Isn’t Mount Hood beautiful,

“Pretty sure that’s Mount Jefferson,” your friend replies. Your smile remains, frozen in rictus, but your eyes sharpen. Before long, you’re tussling, each trying to throw the other off the side of a cliff for having the audacity to be so wrong. If only you had PeakVisor, a lovely little app that uses your phone’s camera and the power of augmented reality to identify any mountain you aim the camera at. You can download maps for specific regions you plan to hike, so you can use the app even when you have no connection. If you’re a lover of the outdoors, you may want to discussyour adventures with other outdoor junkies. Yonder allows you to easily share your experiences when it comes to hiking, camping, and biking. It acts likea social media network for those that enjoy the great outdoors.Yonder isn’t just a social app, however. The other half of the app is aimed at exploration,and such being the case, it allowsyou to see experiences close to you. You can also view shared images, which is helpful when you’re searching forsomething to do.

Safety, when you’re hiking, is paramount, but it’s the last thing you want to worry about on the trail. Fortunately, Cairn helps you stay out of harm’s way, and get help should you need it. The app crowdsources cell coverage areas, so you know where you can expect service before you set foot on the trail. It also ties into your GPS, so friends or loved ones can keep tabs on your location when you’re out and about. You can set up the app to automatically notify specific contacts when you’re overdue, and even download a collection of free maps and trails with statistics for thousands of routes in the United States and United Kingdom. Cairn is iOS-only at the moment, but an Android version is on the way. Want more of a challenge when hiking, Geocaching is basically a modern day treasure hunt, one that requires players to hide small items and tokens before posting their GPS coordinates in the Geocaching app.

The app features upwards of 2 million treasures, and utilizesyour phone’s GPS to help you find them. Iteven providesrecommendations and tips for beginners. Maybe birds aren’t your thing — maybe you’re more into flora than fauna. If that’s the case, Leafsnap is the app for you. Leafsnap is a joint project between Columbia University, the University of Maryland, and the Smithsonian Institution. It uses visual recognition technology to help you identify what species of tree a leaf is from — just take a photo and the app will tell you what you’re looking at. The app doesn’t just identify leaves, though. It also offershi-resolutionphotosof bark, fruit, and flowers, which can help in the identification process. With 50,000 trail guides in the U.S. Canada alone, it’s not too difficult to work out why the AllTrails app has more than 1.5 million users. It’s an easy way to find trails near you, whether you want a gentle hike, a bone-rattling mountain bike track, or a great spot for some fly-fishing. You can create your own trails with GPS tracking, photos, and text, and save them for later or share them with others.