AllTrails (iOS/Android) has been a popular smartphone app among hikers, trail runners, and mountain bikers for some time now and has even earned a spot on our list of the best hiking apps. With its online community consisting of more than 8 million users, the AllTrails app and website offer crowdsourced info on more than 50,000 trails, including reviews, photos, and first-hand reports on current conditions. But a recent update to the app promises to deliver some nice improvements designed to make it even more valuable to outdoor enthusiasts.
The latest version of the AllTrails app includes a new map layer that the company says was rebuilt from the ground up to provide the best possible trail map its users have ever seen. Among the improvements are better labeling of local, state, and national parks, with the borders of those parks clearly visible on the maps themselves. This new design element was implemented to make it easier for hikers to find new places to explore, both at home and while traveling. Using their phone’s built-in GPS capabilities, users simply open the app and see which parks are nearby their current location.
But that isn’t the only improvement that outdoor athletes will find after updating the app. AllTrails says that its cartographers have completely redesigned the maps that it uses in an effort to improve legibility. These subtle, but important, tweaks reportedly make the maps easier to use, conveying a better sense of the space that the user is currently exploring. If that wasn’t enough, the app now includes more points of interests too, with campsites, restrooms, public parking, drinking water, picnic areas, and other important items now being added to the mix.
These improvements have been automatically added to the AllTrails app, which is free to users. The service also offers a premium tier for those willing to pay for some additional features. AllTrails Pro users gain the ability to download maps for offline use while customizing their routes with waypoints and personal notes. For $2.50 per month (or a $100 lifetime subscription), Pro users can also print maps, receive real-time weather alerts, and removes ads from within the app.
