BEST APPS for HIKING and BACKPACKING // My 10 Favorite Outdoor Apps for iPhone and Android

My 10 Favorite Outdoor Apps are among the best apps for hiking and backpacking. All of these apps support Android and iPhone (IOS) and are free. The list include the best navigation apps, great apps for trip planning, and several educational and augmented reality apps to enhance your outdoor experience.
My Favorite Apps for Hiking and Backpacking:
- AccuWeather
- Hiking Project
- AllTrails
- Gaia GPS
- onX Hunt
- Avenza Maps
- Seek
- Geocaching
- Sky Walk 2
- Peak Finder
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[@OutsideChronicles]

There are so many useful apps out there. These are some of my favorite hiking apps for iPhone and Android. If you have a cool app, leave a comment. Look for future deep dives into Gaia GPS. One app that did not make this list is going to get it's own video, stay tuned. Remember to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE.

[@petrhnyk2895]

Hi, I wanted to recommend you an amazing app, but KZbin is keeping deleting my comments (maybe it things I'm spamming with ads or so). So I will make it a bit cryptic: translate the word maps into czech language and find the maps with that name - they have nice web based service, but also same named app for phones which is free and you can also download maps for any country or area you want for offline use. It's perfect for trekking and cycling.

[@wcamp2023]

Thank you so much for all the info on the tools available. Just started hiking and good to know what's available

[@OutsideChronicles]

The apps are great supplements. My only advice for a new hiker is to not rely on GPS apps as your primary navigation. Be sure to learn map and compass skills. I have a 4 part video series on basic land navigation

[@TheAdventureHeads]

Good tips. Nice touch with the OC logo TShirt. HUGE fan of Gaiagps. Love the snap to trail feature to quickly show distance and elevation profile. Airplane mode and current trail info in priceless. Just have to remember to cache map of intended area before lose cell data.

[@OutsideChronicles]

Thanks for watching! Gaia is an awesome free app. I am really impressed with onX. It is worth having both, even if you do not pay for the premium options. How did you like the new camera and mic?

[@TheAdventureHeads]

@@OutsideChronicles new camera and mic are high quality and professional. Good improvement.

[@TheNoobHiker]

Downloaded Seek, that's a pretty cool app. I will certainly give it a try while on the trail. Thanks!

[@fletcherbrown728]

Excellent -- You are just a great teacher. Good pace, level of detail, great, clear voice. As a new subscriber, i'll be checking out your series of videos. I am American in rural China (Yunnan Province).so ill be seeing which map are applicable here.

[@OutsideChronicles]

Thanks for the kind words and the sub. Best of luck in China, it must be a steep cultural learning curve.

[@RDJim]

When I was hiking in Switzerland my partner had the PeakFinder app though I didn't know what it was at the time. Just found out and purchased. Also picked up the GPS app as a backup to my Garmin. I was surprised to see a trail that I created 6 years ago on the GPS!

[@OutsideChronicles]

PeakFinder is really cool, I use it all the time in the Adirondacks. Which GPS app did you get Gaia or OnX?

[@RDJim]

@@OutsideChronicles Gaia

[@OutsideChronicles]

@@RDJim cool, I will be doing a deep dive video on some of its features.

[@Macsheen1]

Thanks for the app advice. I'll try these alternatives to my normal choices in Yosemite this weekend.

[@OutsideChronicles]

Cool, so jealous! I was only to Yosemite once for a short time. Enjoy your weekend.

[@GeezerAdventures]

Helpful. Seen others use some of those. Will definitely check these out!

[@OutsideChronicles]

My pleasure, thanks for watching!

[@markrichmond7859]

Some cool apps ! I have a few of them already but I just added peak finder, star walk and seek. Can’t wait to try them! Thanks Mike

[@OutsideChronicles]

You will love all of them. I am super impressed with Seek. It is so fast and accurate.

[@markrichmond7859]

I added Relive a couple of weeks ago too. Been playing with it...very cool as well

[@soaroutdoors]

Just dloaded Seek as a replacement to Plant Snap. I didn’t like it much. Besides Star Walk 2, I also have Star Tracker Lite. Hard to pick which one I like more. Used both while in Iceland (Feb 2019) while stargazing. I’ll have to check out your Accuweather recommendation. I’ve been using Weather Underground and really like it. Thanks for the video Mike

[@OutsideChronicles]

There are so many apps that do similar things. Seek is by far the best I have used. I have tried a couple ID apps and drooled when Jen showed me it at Deer Lick.

[@chrishaley877]

Thanks, as always, for some good information. I had not heard of Seek, and look forward to trying that out, especially with my kids.

[@OutsideChronicles]

Thanks Chris! You will love Seek. I used it yesterday to ID different maples from brown dry leaves. Worked like a charm.

[@robertkinkaid4732]

Thanks!

[@OutsideChronicles]

Hope some of these help you enjoy the trail a bit more. Geocaching can take you to some great places. Thanks for the comment and watching!

[@kaziranga_national_park]

Sir, offline any application have custom Georeference map add ?

[@lisamonalisahikes]

Thank you!

[@OutsideChronicles]

My pleasure, see you outside!

[@ArslanFutbol1]

Good suggestions. A bro tip: keep the teleprompter below the lens so you won't have to look away from the camera.

[@OutsideChronicles]

Thanks for the comment and tip.

[@Melissa-zt4ul]

Hi I have no sense of direction and I’m trying to find a app or a way that I can track my hikes because I like to adventure and then I don’t remember my way back

[@OutsideChronicles]

I would track my hike with GaiaGPS, it shows your breadcrumbs and has some trackback features.

[@pgreenx]

I remember doing my ADK46 before the internet. Sometimes the hardest part was using the guidebook to find the trailhead... Times have certainly changed

[@OutsideChronicles]

They definitely have. Some for the better and some for the worse. There is so many places to gather information on hikes and new places. There is no excuse these days to be unprepared. Thanks for watching! I am heading up to the Adirondacks on Sunday. I am planning to complete my winter 46er this season.

[@pgreenx]

@@OutsideChronicles good luck. I stopped my winter 46 to finish my ne115 (any time of yr). So many mtns and not enough time……

[@kishidabu]

What about outside of the US?

[@OutsideChronicles]

Sorry, I live in the US. I do not have any information for outside of it.

[@bigskytreks]

We need offline app please

[@OutsideChronicles]

For mapping? I suggest Avenza Maps. You can see how I build offline maps here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZa0fYKijq-EeqM

[@360Investigations]

All trails and far out are total garbage. Neither one has any options to do anything. The videos always show options being used that simply don't exist in the app

[@OutsideChronicles]

Agreed, I am not a huge fan of AllTrails, but not for the app functionality reason. More so for accuracy. I cannot really speak to the functionality since I track my hikes using my Garmin Watch and use Avenza or GaiGPS to navigate.

[@360Investigations]

@@OutsideChronicles when I wrote that comment, I had both apps opened using a free map trying to follow along using a video like this for each app. The end result is my comment. I ran into the same exact problems with any app I tried. This includes Gaia. The problem with every app is they have no instructions. The user is left with major void once the app is opened. Every time I open any app, I almost always just uninstall it after 1 minute because I find myself staring at a screen with no instructions, getting more and more aggravated until I give up. It's not my job to go looking things up or trying to guess if something on a screen is even interactive. If I open an app and there are no on screen instructions guiding me through everything, then the app sucks and I get rid of it. An app maker needs to explain it, not me poke around, or trying things. I honestly don't even grasp the concept of what it means to try things because trying things requires an indication there is something to do which that type of indication doesn't even exist in apps. The app maker doesn't even hint anything is even possible so I don't even understand where people get the idea to just try things. There isn't anything to try..it's just a screen with some random interface that has nothing to even think can be done.