If you are planning a hike, one of the things to have with you is a GPS system which will have many features that will help keep you alive, on track, and safe.
However, you might not want to buy a dedicated handheld GPS unit. After all, they can be pretty expensive.
But your smartphone should have built-in GPS capabilities, which means that with a suitable app, you can have a fully functional handheld GPS using nothing more than your phone. And this means you need the right GPS hiking app.
This article reviews some of the best hiking GPS apps and what they can do. We will cover a range of free and paid hiking GPS apps that will help keep you on track.
Best Hiking GPS Apps
The following hiking GPS applications are highly rated for functionality and user-friendliness.
1. Gaia GPS
Gaia GPS is one of the highest-rated services for hikers. This fully functional app lets you record your route, save hiking statistics, track performance, find new trails, and more. It also provides information about current and coming weather.
There are paid and free versions. For most casual hikers, the free version will be more than enough, especially if you’re just going for a single hike. This allows you to view satellite and topographic maps and using cell service, you can track your hike.
However, the paid version is recommended for adventure hiking or backpacking. This version costs $39.99 annually and comes with offline maps, off-road driving, backcountry skiing, mountain biking maps, and much more. If you plan to navigate without cell service, the offline map functionality is essential
2. All Trails
All Trails Is another highly rated GPS service specifically designed for hikers. It comes with over 100,000 different trails worldwide and has over 20 million users.
The routes you take for hiking can be searched based on elevation gain, route type, user rating, length, and difficulty. You can also search for hiking trails based on things like having a lot of flowers, trails that are ideal for biking, being dog friendly, and more.
Once you find a route you want to take, you can receive various information and tips about that trail, reviews, and how long the hike should take. This application also records hikes and much more.
The basic version is free, but a professional version is also available for $29.99 per year. It lets you download maps and use them offline; you’ll also get notifications if you go off-trail. The professional version also has three-dimensional maps.
3. Google Maps
Most likely, you’re already using Google Maps, especially for navigating your city. However, Google Maps also has excellent functionality for hikers. You can download maps offline and use them without any service.
This way, you can download maps ahead of your hike and use them with no cellphone service. GPS service continues to work even if you don’t have cellphone service, which means you can use offline Google Maps. Moreover, Google Maps is best used for rural and urban areas.
It does an alright job mapping secluded areas, such as woods and mountainous terrain, although it works better in slightly more populated areas. However, Google Maps works fine for basic navigation of trails and paths.
4. PeakVisor
Here’s another popular application among the hiking community, created explicitly for mountain hiking.
Simply open the application on your phone, point the camera at the peak of the mountain, and using a combination of GPS location and image recognition, it will provide the information you need about the area. This application features a catalog of over 1 million different mountains.
This application also has free navigation tools, such as tracking and waypoint recognition, plus it also comes with a compass. However, if you want to use this application offline, you will need to pay for the pro version, which is $29.99 per year.
5. GutHook Guides
Suppose you’re looking for a good smartphone hiking app. One of the best for long-distance backpacking and hiking is GutHook Guides. This application has over 35,000 miles of hiking paths and trails.
This is one of the most comprehensive apps for elevation, distance, water sources, campsites, waypoints, and more.
You can use satellite and topographical maps to track your location and receive notifications if you stray off track.
The app is free, but you will pay for each trail map, which will cost between $4.99 and $59.99. It’s not the cheapest app, but it is one of the best.
Final Thoughts
These are five of the best GPS hiking apps to use on your smartphone. Of course, you will pay to use most of them, but it’s still cheaper than investing in a handheld GPS device.