There isn’t a pressing need for new map apps, since Google and Bing do such a good job of showing you everything around you and where you’re going. But National Geographic’s Trail Maps has you covered for camping trips where you’re going to be away from a strong network connection for a while.
What’s it do?
It’s a map app that lets you download extremely detailed maps of trails and cities all over the globe. It has hi-res Bing aerial shots and maps from the US Geological Survey. The app also tracks your route across the trails visually, and keeps a profile of your distance, speed, elevation and more. You can also add waypoints, search and measure distance on the maps. It’s basically command central for any hiking trip.
Why do we like it?
As a default map app, Trail Maps would be certifiable insane. Each file is ~100MB, and to cover a single city you’ll have to download a few of them. But as digital stand-in for a physical trail map, it’s great. If you’re going hiking or camping or hunting or whatever else, Trail Maps gives you a local, extremely granular map that won’t abandon you as soon as your data connection does, but it also has a ton of features to keep track of your trip if you do manage to stay connected.
The Best
Post-Apocalyptic Map Solution
The Worst
Massively oversized files