If I am visiting a new and beautiful place, the first thing I want to do is explore. This is doubly true if I’m in a National Park, or someplace where hiking trails are abundant. Unfortunately my excitement can get the better of me; I’ve been led into awkward situations like wandering onto private property or, more dangerously, gotten myself lost. Usually this would mean that I’d need to visit a ranger station to find a map and quickly decide on the trails I want to hike, all while burning precious daylight. Enter the handy app, AllTrails.
AllTrails lists and rates nearby hiking trails. Users post reviews and summaries of sights to see along the course. You can rate the trails by difficulty as well as by location. This means you can browse through available routes while you are waiting in the airport, at a rest stop, or even planning the excursion the night before. While doing this, I stumbled upon my all-time favorite trail in Red Rock Canyon. You can pick a few trails or an entire park, and the app will give you the GPS coordinates for the trailhead. What’s more, you can pull up maps of the park with your desired trail marked to see how the elevation changes as well as the overall distance and direction you will be hiking. With the premium version of the app, you can download maps to be used offline (a very handy feature). The app will then use your GPS to track your progress and show it on your map. It’s like having a ranger station in your pocket! So when you arrive in the park, you can drive to your trailhead and start exploring. And what’s better, you won’t get lost when you do.