The 5 Best Hiking Apps in 2026

Hiking is one of those activities that sounds simple until you actually try to plan one. Where do you park? How long is the trail? Is there cell service? Will you accidentally end up on someone’s private property? A good hike starts with knowing what you’re walking into, and that’s where the best hiking apps earn their place on your phone.

The stakes are higher than with walking or running, too. When you’re three miles deep on a trail with no cell signal and a fork that isn’t on any sign, having a reliable map on your phone isn’t a luxury. It’s the difference between a great afternoon and a stressful one. CNET’s testing of hiking apps even includes a disclaimer that you should never solely rely on a phone app while hiking remote areas. That tells you something about how seriously the outdoor community takes navigation.

Here’s the thing: there are a lot of hiking apps, and most of them were built for trail runners or cyclists first, with hiking bolted on later. A few are genuinely designed for hikers, with features like offline topographic maps, elevation profiles, and trail condition reports that actually matter when you’re above the treeline with zero Wi-Fi.

We’re not ranking these best hiking apps in 2026 from first to worst. Your ideal app depends on whether you’re doing casual day hikes on well-marked trails or navigating backcountry routes with nothing but a compass and downloaded topo maps. Instead, here are five solid options that each do something different. One of them will fit.

(Already sorted out your hiking app and need a tracker for your runs or walks? Check out the best running apps in 2026 and the best walking apps in 2026.)

Hiking Tracker: Simple GPS Tracking for Hikers Who Just Want to Hike

Hiking Tracker takes the same approach to hiking that a good trail takes to a mountain: the most direct path with nothing unnecessary in the way.

Open the app, tap start, and go. GPS tracks your route while recording distance, elevation gain, speed, and time. When you finish, your route appears on a map, color-coded by speed so you can see exactly where you were covering ground and where the terrain slowed you down. Green sections mean you were moving quickly. Red means you were grinding uphill or picking through rocky terrain. For hikers who care about pacing and elevation performance, that visual breakdown is genuinely useful.

What makes it different: Hiking Tracker is built specifically for hiking, not adapted from a running or cycling app. You get voice summaries at set intervals (so you can keep your phone in your pack instead of checking it constantly), split times across distance segments, calorie tracking, and detailed elevation data. There’s also shoe tracking, which matters more for hikers than most people realize. Trail shoes break down faster than road shoes, especially on rocky terrain, and worn-out soles are a quick path to rolled ankles. The app also works on Apple Watch, letting you check distance and elevation from your wrist without digging your phone out of your pack. No social feeds, no gamification, no subscription required for basic tracking.

Best for: Hikers who want accurate GPS tracking and elevation data without a complicated interface. Day hikers who don’t need a massive trail database but want to record routes and monitor progress over time. Anyone who’s tried bloated fitness apps and just wants something that works.

The catch: No built-in trail database for discovering new hikes. If you need to find trails in a new area, you’ll want to pair it with something like AllTrails for discovery and use Hiking Tracker for the actual tracking. It’s also iOS-only, so Android users will need to look elsewhere.

AllTrails: The Trail Discovery Giant

AllTrails is, by a significant margin, the most popular hiking app on the planet. With over 450,000 curated trails, 80 million registered users, and a community that actively updates trail conditions, it’s the closest thing hikers have to Google Maps for the outdoors.

The core experience is trail discovery. Search for hikes near you (or anywhere in the world), and AllTrails surfaces routes with distance, difficulty ratings, elevation profiles, and photos uploaded by other hikers. The crowdsourced reviews are the real value here. Before you drive an hour to a trailhead, you can check whether the trail is muddy, whether the parking lot fills up by 9 AM, or whether the “moderate” rating is actually more like strenuous. That kind of real-world intel is something no map alone can give you.

What makes it different: The database is unmatched. AllTrails launched a new Peak membership tier in 2025 that added AI-powered custom routes, trail condition forecasts (including snow depth and ground conditions), community heatmaps showing trail traffic, and an Outdoor Lens feature that identifies trees and plants using your phone’s camera. The Plus tier ($35.99/year) already included offline maps, wrong-turn alerts, and 3D trail previews. GPS navigation works well for on-trail hiking, and the filters let you search by dog-friendly trails, waterfall hikes, kid-friendly routes, and dozens of other categories.

Best for: Hikers who prioritize trail discovery and want community-powered intel before heading out. People who hike in different regions and need a massive database of options. Beginners who want clear difficulty ratings and crowdsourced tips.

Free vs. paid: The free version gives you the full trail database, community reviews, photos, and basic GPS navigation. Plus ($35.99/year) adds offline maps, wrong-turn alerts, and 3D previews. Peak ($79.99/year) adds AI-powered custom routes, trail condition forecasts, and community heatmaps.

The catch: AllTrails’ maps aren’t as detailed as dedicated topographic apps like Gaia GPS. The crowdsourced data, while usually helpful, can sometimes be inaccurate or outdated. And the app is better for on-trail hiking than off-trail exploration. If you’re heading into serious backcountry terrain, you’ll want more robust mapping. Features also got shuffled when Peak launched, which frustrated some long-time Plus subscribers who lost access to features they’d previously had.

Gaia GPS: The Offline Map Powerhouse

If your hikes regularly take you beyond cell service (and let’s be honest, most good ones do), Gaia GPS is built for exactly that situation. Where AllTrails focuses on trail discovery and community, Gaia is all about serious mapping and navigation.

The app gives you access to over 300 map layers, including USGS topographic maps, satellite imagery, slope angle shading, and weather overlays. You can stack multiple layers on top of each other to build a custom map view that shows exactly the information you need. Download entire regions for offline use, and you’ve got reliable navigation even when your phone has zero bars. Testing from Outdoor Tech Lab found that phones in airplane mode with GPS active lasted 8 to 10 hours, compared to just 6 hours with cellular searching enabled. That makes offline maps not just a convenience but a genuine battery-life strategy.

What makes it different: Gaia’s strength is navigational depth. The premium map layers include National Geographic Trails Illustrated maps, weather forecasts, terrain features, and even cellular coverage zones so you can see in advance where you’ll lose signal. Multiple independent testers have found that Gaia edges out other apps on GPS accuracy, particularly in tricky terrain where competitors struggle to maintain a reliable fix. You can plan routes with waypoints, get turn-by-turn directions to trailheads, and use breadcrumb navigation to retrace your steps. It also works with Apple Watch and syncs between phone, tablet, and desktop.

Best for: Backcountry hikers and backpackers who need reliable offline maps and detailed topographic data. Hikers in remote areas where cell service is spotty or nonexistent. Anyone who wants full control over their map layers and navigation tools.

Free vs. paid: The free version includes basic maps, GPS tracking, and route creation. Premium ($39.99/year) unlocks the full library of 300+ map layers, offline maps, weather data, and cellular coverage maps.

The catch: Gaia is built for people who want depth, which means it has a steeper learning curve than apps like AllTrails or Hiking Tracker. Trail discovery features are limited compared to community-driven apps. There’s no social component, minimal trail reviews, and finding new hikes requires you to already know where you want to go. The free version is quite basic, so you’ll realistically need the premium subscription to get meaningful value.

Komoot: The Route Planner With Turn-by-Turn Smarts

Komoot sits in an interesting spot between AllTrails’ trail discovery and Gaia’s mapping depth. It’s a route planning app that uses its own algorithm to generate optimized hiking routes based on your starting point, destination, fitness level, and preferred terrain type.

Tell Komoot where you want to start and where you want to finish, and it builds a route for you. You get an elevation profile, estimated duration, surface type breakdown, and turn-by-turn voice navigation. You can also browse routes created by other users, including “Highlights” (popular points of interest like viewpoints, rest spots, or tricky sections that other hikers have tagged). The community aspect is growing steadily, with hikers sharing recommendations and tips worldwide.

What makes it different: The routing algorithm is Komoot’s signature feature. Instead of just showing you a trail on a map and saying “follow the blue line,” it calculates the best path between two points based on the outdoor activity you’ve selected. Hiking, mountain hiking, and alpine hiking all generate different routes. The map data comes from OpenStreetMap and includes contour lines, path types, and hill shading. Komoot recently launched an Apple Watch app with offline navigation, so you can leave your phone in your pack and navigate entirely from your wrist, even without cell service. Offline maps download by region and work smoothly for areas you’ve saved in advance.

Best for: Hikers who like planning custom routes rather than following pre-set trails. People who hike in Europe (where Komoot has particularly strong coverage and a large user base). Anyone who wants reliable turn-by-turn voice navigation on the trail without constantly checking their phone.

Free vs. paid: You get one free region map when you sign up. Komoot Premium ($59.99/year) unlocks worldwide offline maps, multi-day route planning, sport-specific maps, and live tracking. You can also buy individual region maps as one-time purchases.

The catch: Komoot doesn’t let you draw your own route freely. It plans routes between points you set, and while you can adjust waypoints, the app doesn’t offer the freehand route-drawing that experienced navigators might want. The trail database is smaller than AllTrails’, and user reviews are less detailed. Live for the Outdoors noted that the app becomes difficult to use when you want to heavily customize a route, since there’s no option for fully manual path drawing.

onX Backcountry: The Off-Trail Explorer’s Map

If your idea of hiking involves leaving the marked trail behind, onX Backcountry is the app built for that kind of adventure. Originally developed for hunters who need to know exactly where public land ends and private property begins, onX has evolved into a powerful backcountry navigation tool for hikers, backpackers, skiers, and mountaineers.

The standout feature is land ownership data. The app color-codes public and private land boundaries across the entire US and Canada, so you always know whether you’re legally on public ground or accidentally trespassing. That might sound niche, but for hikers who venture off established trails, it’s essential. CNET’s testers called onX the most user-friendly of the backcountry-focused apps they tried, with an intuitive interface that didn’t require a manual to figure out.

What makes it different: The satellite imagery updates every two weeks through onX’s Recent Imagery feature, showing current on-the-ground conditions. You can check for snow coverage, wildfire damage, or flooding before you head out, and scroll back through time to see how conditions change with the seasons. The app also includes slope angle overlays (critical for avalanche safety), detailed weather forecasts, and waypoint tracking with photos. Field Mag’s hands-on review highlighted how powerful the downloadable topographical maps are for precisely tracking routes in the backcountry.

Best for: Off-trail hikers and backpackers who need to know land boundaries. Winter hikers and backcountry skiers who want slope angle data. Anyone hiking in remote US or Canadian wilderness who needs fresh satellite imagery and serious topographic mapping.

Free vs. paid: The free version gives you topo, satellite, and hybrid map layers, plus activity tracking. Premium ($29.99/year) adds offline maps, trail conditions, and additional map layers. Elite ($99.99/year) adds the full Recent Imagery archive, advanced weather, slope analysis, and printable maps.

The catch: Trail discovery is limited. onX doesn’t have the massive crowdsourced trail database that AllTrails offers, so it’s better for navigating terrain than for finding your next hike. Coverage is heavily focused on the US and Canada, with limited international data. And while the free version is decent for casual use, the features that make onX special (land boundaries, recent imagery, slope analysis) all require a paid subscription.

So Which Hiking App Should You Actually Use?

That depends on how you hike. (Not the most exciting answer, but it’s the honest one.)

Pick Hiking Tracker if you want simple, clean GPS tracking and elevation data without the clutter. Just tap and hike.

Pick AllTrails if finding new trails is your priority and you want community reviews, photos, and condition reports before you head out.

Pick Gaia GPS if you hike in remote areas and need serious offline mapping, detailed topographic layers, and reliable navigation without cell service.

Pick Komoot if you prefer planning custom routes with turn-by-turn navigation, especially if you hike in Europe where coverage is strongest.

Pick onX Backcountry if you go off-trail and need land ownership boundaries, updated satellite imagery, and backcountry-grade mapping tools.

You can also use more than one. A lot of hikers use AllTrails for trail discovery (finding the hike, reading reviews, checking conditions) and then switch to a dedicated GPS app like Gaia or Hiking Tracker for the actual navigation and tracking. These apps aren’t mutually exclusive, and using the right tool for each job is smarter than trying to find one app that does everything perfectly.

One practical tip worth mentioning: whatever app you use, download your maps before you leave home. GPS works without cell service (it’s satellite-based), but loading map tiles on the trail requires data. Airplane mode with GPS active is the recommended setup for preserving battery life while still getting accurate location tracking. And carry a portable battery pack. Your phone is a navigation tool, a camera, and potentially an emergency device all in one. Letting it die on the trail is not a plan.

Long hikes burn serious calories, too. If you’re doing full-day treks and want to make sure you’re fueling properly, pairing your hiking app with a calorie tracker can help you understand what your body actually needs on big elevation days.

The right hiking app won’t make you a better hiker. But it’ll help you find better trails, stay on course, and actually enjoy the time you spend out there instead of wondering whether you missed a turn two miles back. If you’re also into cycling or walking for fitness, the same principle applies: the best app is the one you’ll actually use.

Now go hike.