Best Hiking Apps of 2024 – Tested and Reviewed

Thank you Blaz for this review!!!
Is there any app for phones/tablets able to receive GPS data from the watch (Suunto, Garmin) and handle maps, waypoints and routes?
I mean, just to see bigger and with more details what you can see in the watch….
Thank you!!!

Awesome review! Thanks

I use Locus Pro, very good map material and a lot of options. You can create your own gpx files.
Worth a second look from you.

Thank you for your article and laying out the apps for navigation that are out there. Juan, most phones and tablets have a GPS in them and can be used for navigation in conjunction with your watch. The maps and tracks/route need to be installed on the device before heading out to prevent battery drain in low or non existent service areas and when using for navigation should be placed in airplane mode.

You missed the best one: MyTrails! Lots of maps and free offline maps too.

My favourite is ViewRanger (www.viewranger.com) which has free apps for Android and iOS with free, downloadable maps from Open Street Map, Open Cycle Map etc available worldwide. Premium maps available to purchase if you need them. Responsive and helpful support team too.

Update for Komoot: since a few weeks you can zoom in very very detailed.

What I like very much about Komoot, is the detailed analysis of planned routes: surface, inclination, …
Regarding pricing for Komoot, 30€ for a worldwide forever subscription is more a gesture of respect.

Congratulations!
The review is very well structured.
I’m looking for an hiking app for my Android smartphone.
I would like to see your review, as well, about the apps: ViewRanger, MyTrails and Locus.
Is it possible?

Do you know any app (or webpage) that contains estimated times? Or even allow you planning tours (by setting start and end of tour and displaying estimated time)?

Have you looked at Topo Maps+ application? I’ve used some of the ones mentioned and have found I like Topo Maps+. More expensive, however they offer lots of great features that work for me. Looking forward to a future report on it.

Have you checked out Oruxmaps?
There’s a free version on their website and a donate version in the Playstore. Maybe not as easy to pick up as some, but there’s so much stuff it can do once you really get in to it.
It will work with many online WMS/REST mapservers to get additional maps, which you can then download for offline use.

Going GPS-free can be much more enjoyable.

Ciao Blaz, thanks for the reviews. Very help/useful.

I use Easytrails while hiking, it also has a lot of maps loaded. Unfortunately it’s rather slow in loading maps while using..even if you are online (paid version)
After finishing a trail you can upload the track on other apps like Wikiloc, Koomot, Garmin, Relive. That’s very good.
I use Alltrails to draw routes, it is very good, with a lot of different maps and overlayer to choose. Then I download the track in GPX and upload it to Easytrail to follow (Easytrail is complicated to upload tracks) or upload on Wikiloc which (paid version) is the best app while following the track. The phone vibrates (or you can use the voice) if you get off the track. This future has saved me a couple of times when I was in unknown areas.

Wikiloc is also good to use while hiking, you can see elevation gain and loss..time recorded and in moving time..and if you follow a track you can see how may km remains to finish.
I use Koomot only in Tirol as this is the region I got when I subscribed.
I tried Locus (free version) but I found it complicated.
Lately people keep suggesting ViewRanger, which has a lot of free maps to download.

I can’t wait to read your new review of hiking apps 2021! 🙂
Brii

Thanks for review. I’ve been using RIDEWITHGPS for my hikes. I had been using it to create cycling and driving routes. Discovered I could use it for hiking as well. So tried it two ways: 1 to record a hike, 2 to create a route for a hike and then hike that route. The hike leaders were really impressed.
The features I appreciate most are:
– create a route in advance so can advise fellow hikers on distance of hike and show them the trail in advance;
– pre load routes for offline usage during hike no need for data or wifi while hiking
– tracks progress during hike and give distance to finish
– advises when you are off route by showing what direction you are going and the direction you should be going
– voice navigation, so I’m not always looking at the phone;
– phone goes dormant when doing a long stretch so not using up battery life, phone reactivates when close to turn and voice navigation kicks in, can override this manually as needed;
– OSM outdoors map for hiking, plus several other maps;
– using same app and device, can create a scenic drive to and from the trailhead;
– shareable routes because each route has a unique number that I can share with others;
– create a library of routes to share with others;
– when using camera on the phone on which the app is loaded, it will record location of where the photo was taken and file this with the route when saved; would be useful for a tricky intersections, can take photo of this to record for future users.
– plus more features.
There is a free version, a monthly or yearly subscription and a club membership.

Hi Blaz,

Have you checked out Hiiker App? Great for long-distance hikes.

Thank you for the review, I tried a couple of these but they are pro hiker oriented and do not satisfy a rather simple need: create a breadcrumb trail as you wander about, using GPS and an offline map, then use the breadcrumbs to take you back home (preferably using turn-by-turn voice assistance).

It’s for senior lady who has a smartphone and has absolutely no sense of direction, but wishes to take short walks (no longer than about 1 km) in the mountains. Is there such an app?

Hello. A helpful review. Thanks. I’m new to this and my needs are simple I think. I don’t want micro planning of a day trip as it takes the fun out of it. I don’t even really want maps, although it’s OK if they’re on the app, but the deep bush I ride in here in Australia probably isn’t sufficiently mapped in detail anyway. I’m a ” go see ” guy. I need a (Android) smartphone app that lays a trail of breadcrumbs such that I can find my way back again. You mention this for Gaia. Is it also available for any of the others? As an aside I have a good, simple shouldn’t-get-lost system which is to hang strands of orange wool on trees at junctions of bush tracks. It’s fail proof except for one thing, and that is forgetting to do it at even one junction, which happened recently and a 3 hour evening mountain bike ride turned into a 2 day ” oh dear,” culminating in a helicopter rescue. So a reliable backup would be good.

You might have a look at what is available to us here in the UK from our national mapping agency, Ordnance Survey – https://osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/

Through an inexpensive subscription, we have access to a wonderful range of services, on a desktop, iPad or phone app. Route plotting (at scales to 1:25,000) with distance, time, elevation data, and easy route editing. Route fly-through on a superb 3D aerial photographic base. Out in the field, all integrated, eg on an iPhone, with accurate GPS location.

Nice presentation. There are preloaded trails in Komoot, though,

Great overview,
Looking forward to an update.
Another one for the list: mapy.cz with free offline maps.
And a question to the community:
Do you know of any hiking or hiking app, that allows instantaneous voice note taking?
I think it would be a killer feature to allow recording quick trail comments while hiking and exploring that are linked to the current GPS location.

Just wanted to note that you can import and export GPS tracks in AllTrails. This may be a premium feature as I have subscribed on an annual basis.

Hi, thank you, this was helpful.
I will add just one more interesting one as it is more hiking location based game than pure navigation app. It is Hill Hunter GPS. The goal is to visit real hills and peaks, get points for it, compare score with other users and possibly win trophies. It is fun and motivating.

Last year I subscribed and this year I’m trying Gaia. I like how Alltrails seems to make it easier to locate trails. But I do like how easy it is to create a trail/path with Gaia. I need a PC to create one on Alltrails. As you can see there are things I like about both. Still figuring out my preference. If I could create paths on all platforms for Alltrails I’d probably lean more toward Alltrails. Very good app. Worth downloading

Did you look at Sports Tracker? It can be used for a multitude of activities – hiking, backpacking, walking, cross country skiing, etc. It has been my go-to app for years.

One to check out – Soviet military maps app for android – these maps are about 40 years old and were drawn to a 1:50,000 scale, and are therefore excellent for finding old roads and tracks, but no good if you are looking for a motorway!, they have contours and contour shading, forest areas, etc. The app has plenty of alternative maps including Yandex (which has better photography than Google Earth, at least in this area), Open cycle map etc, and ESRI (digital mapping firm) amongst many others. Since I spend most of my time looking for new routes, it’s really useful, especially for eastern Europe, etc. You don’t have to be able to read Russian as place names are added in Latin script. Has all the normal tracking features of Gaia etc.

I want an app that will show trail distance and elevation gain and loss for planning. With the old PC based Delorme Atlas app one could trace the trail with your finger to get that info.

Most countries have excellent local apps. For example, Switzerland has the Swisstopo app which is very nice.

Great review thanks!

Can you please check ATLAS app with Altitude monitor capabilities?

Thx for this info. But what about Strava, I use it and there are monthly competitions that you can join for free. Do you maybe know if there are any competitions on this 5 apps

GreenTracks was by far the best, no bloatware and when I opened the app it didn’t feel like it was a lovechild of Google Maps, Instagram and Facebook. Just no nonsense, down to business navigation and tracking app. It didn’t try to tell me where to go, what to see or ask my opinions.
Sadly, it seems that the Hike & Fiets Kaart option for online maps has been removed. Today I downloaded and tried other 5 top rated apps, including Alltracks and Gaia, and the maps on those are nowhere nearly as accurate, nor are they as visually pleasant.. Half of the more obscure trails are not shown.

Thanks for your review.
I was a big fan of Viewranger, but it is Outdooractive now (as of march 2022) and I am very disappointed. So I am looking for a new app 🙁

Viewranger was free (even downloading maps), more accurate, better maps, lower battery consumption etc. (see comment by Evan Grant below as well)

The past few weeks I used Outdooractive to track home-work vv on my bicycle, same route every day. Elevation differs, max speed is way off (I could be world champion with those speeds), uphill average speed is higher than downhill (I am sure it is not), and so on…
And, After stopping the recording the time is shown in hours and minutes without seconds.
On a positive note: it shows total time and actual moving time.

One thing to consider next to GPS-accuracy is GPS-update frequency (and recording). Every second, 5, 10 seconds or every 10 meters.

Is it possible to reverse the comments? Newest first? 🙂

Have been using Osmand which I find v good

Two of the other popular Apps are: Strava and OutdoorActive (ex. ViewRanger), both of which I thought you’d include in your review.

Can you advise on a route/map planner for beginners please.

I use VIDEGRO’s WalkTracker. Including offline maps, no account needed. Follow GPX-track included.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.videgro.walktracker

I use GaiaGPS and was surprised with the assessment as it does not highlight the true capabilities of the App. If it is true that Gaia requires a subscription for their premium service, it is important to mention that the subscription provides access to very high quality maps such IGN and Swissmap for example. I have used the IGN maps doing the GR10 across the Pyrenees and had much better reliability than any other other app especially when outside the US. Note that it is used by many professional guides in the world. Because I use an iPhone, obviously I cannot comment on GreenTracks. Note also, that the zoom capability on Gaia allows you to go as low as 50ft!… It also has a feature that automatically locates you on the map. The best way to use it is to plan your itinerary on the computer and then start the app at the trailhead. This automatically down load the local map, including the overlays of more advanced maps and grids. The use of the record button is registering your track and it becomes very easy to retrace your steps if you get lost. The key to extend the battery is to turn the airplane mode on once your start your journey. BTW, I always use paper maps and compass as I do not rely exclusively upon the Phone as well as a 2-way messaging device. I hope this is helpful.

Thank you for the article. I personally use Relive app for hiking, they have recently added Routes to the app.

Very interesting review, not mentioning two classic navigation apps for android: OruxMaps and Locus map, yet you included Green tracks which does not even have user reviews, or a proper site in the play store. Is it a legit app at all?
I doubt the info here is usefull btw…

Great info
Cheers

Both Gaia and AllTrails have off-line mapping available. I use AllTrails all the time like that. You need a subscription to download off-line, but it’s a capability.

You can effectively double the limiting battery life of your mobile phone by using an inexpensive back up battery. I’ve just bought one for £13 sterling. However, I still have to use it whilst hiking. When I’ve done this in the UK I’ll post again. Your review was excellent!

Mapy.cz app is better IMO. Free and has offline maps, can import tracks etc.

I have been a Gaia GPS user since the app was first launched (using it for wildland fire fighting) and continue to use it to this day (for hiking and boondocking). While the app still has utility, each update and upgrade has made it more difficult to use, bloated and buggy. Downloading maps has always been a major downfall and is even worse now – often requiring multiple restarts of the app over extended periods of time. I just downloaded a map, checked it was fully cached (when offline), went to download another map and the first one started redownloading, thus slowing the second map download. It’s taken all morning for 4 maps (about 1.5 GB) to download on a 5G system clocked at around 120 mbps (no VPN – Gaia slows download speeds). If you switch to another app and come back to Gaia the map position you had been viewing will have changed to a seemingly random location and you’ll need to relocate it. The status bar in recent versions takes up 1/8 of the screen. The original version took up less than half of that. The map list on the web map has never been sorted and still contains maps that are no longer available. The app cannot search for DMS coordinates – only decimals. I’ve never been able to get the compass reading to read correct bearing. When plotting routes the route paths sometimes do not conform to roads and trails. Bottom line: if you are a hard core, outdoor map user it may be worth investing money in but beware – you will also be increasingly investing time getting the app to function like it used to and like it should. Also, they just increased the pro price despite the app working less well compared with previous versions. TrailBehind (developer): If you’re reading this: stop monkeying with the app, fix its faults (including the web map) and also bring back the old online user discussion and suggestion space!