This summer, AllTrails, one of our favorite hiking apps quietly launched a new membership tier with all sorts of new features: Peak. We’ve always loved the app for how easy it makes finding good hiking trails in new destinations, how it keeps track of hikes we’ve completed, and keeps us on track and from getting lost if we end up on the wrong path. But now, there’s so much more to love. So whether you’re sticking with the free membership or upgrading to the newest paid membership tier, AllTrails is worth a look.
AllTrails Free Features
To be clear: Even the free version of AllTrails is still one of the most helpful and easy hiking apps to use. It lets you explore new trails near you (or wherever) and plot and track your route. I love using it to not only keep an eye on my progress, but elevation maps allow me to know when tough climbs are coming up, estimate how much longer it will be before I reach a peak, etc. Each trail description also offers info on distance, estimated time to complete it, elevation gain and reviews (which can be super helpful for planning or knowing if a trail is right for you).
- Explore: Search for nearby trails or trails in areas you plan to visit anywhere in the world. Search by trail name, park, city, and filter by activity type (hiking, biking, etc.), and suitability (dog-friendly, kid-friendly, wheelchair-friendly), plus whether you want views, waterfalls, wildflowers and more! AllTrails has hundreds of thousands of trails to explore.
- Plan: Create custom lists of trails, activities, and maps that you’d like to tackle at some point. Save local trails, plan trips, and organize dream destinations. I have lists with dozens of dream hikes sorted by state and even city.
- Navigate your routes: Use the Navigate function to follow and track your route as you hike. Just tap “Navigate” on the selected trail page, then start and track your activity, including distance and pace. Add real-time trail conditions, reviews, and photos when you’re done. At any time you can look at your in-app map and see where you are on the trail, plus how far you have to go.
- Save: Manage and view your saved lists, maps, activities, and completed trails.
- Profile: Access and manage your stats, trail reviews, photos, and settings.
- Community: Share trails, lists, and activities with others. Follow members, contribute new content, or suggest edits.
AllTrails Plus Features ($35.99)
The first paid AllTrails membership tier is “Plus,” and there’s plenty to love about it, but our favorite feature is the ability to download maps. That’s super useful if you’re headed somewhere there’s no cell service; you can download the full map and route you want and still track your progress.
- Offline trails: If you know the trail you want and you know it’s out of service, download a single trail. I almost always do this when heading to a new trailhead, just in case.
- Offline parks: If you’re headed to a local, regional, or national park where service isn’t reliable, you can download the entire park, which includes every trail and key park info.
- Offline areas: You can also define and download your own customized area if you know where you want to go in general but haven’t settled on the exact trail yet.
- Search by distance away: Search for trails based on how far they are from your current location. This is nice when searching for a trail with say, a waterfall, but don’t want to drive an hour for it.
- 3D maps: View an enhanced visualization of trails, including peaks and valleys, to better understand the terrain before heading out. This is especially useful if you haven’t mastered reading topographic maps.
- Tour photos along the trail: See photos of the trail throughout the seasons and preview popular trail sights like natural springs or overlooks so you never miss a worthwhile resting place or quick detour.
- Printed maps: Print customized maps with options for scale, orientation, gridlines, and paper size. Super helpful if you don’t want to buy or don’t have access to a paper map or guidebook.
- Wrong-turn alerts: Hit “Navigate” on a map to track your course, but also get alerts if you veer off course. This has saved me from spending too much time heading in the wrong direction on poorly marked trails many times.
- Live share: Invite family and friends to track your outdoor activity in real-time. They can cheer you on along the way with just a tap, too. This offers peace of mind if you’re hiking solo.
AllTrails Peak Features ($79.99)
On top of all the benefits of the AllTrails Base and Plus memberships, Peak offers more advanced mapping, planning, and fun tools and features to use on-trail. It won’t be worth it for everyone, but for those who hike often, like to explore deeper into the backcountry and are naturally curious about their surroundings, Peak has a lot to offer (and since it’s more expensive, it’s most likely to appeal to more frequent explorers anyway).
You do have to click on the map stack icon and select “overlays” to see things like the community heat map and some trail conditions, but once you figure out where to find those things it’s easy to use.
- Trail (and Weather) Conditions: Access expected conditions along the trail, including temperature, rainfall, snow depth (as in, you can see the difference between the temp at the trailhead and at the peak), even alerts for air quality and mosquito activity. Terrain and ground conditions showing pavement, gravel, mud, and more are coming soon. This helps you head outside prepared, which is the first Leave No Trace principle for a reason. This may make it one of the best apps for tracking winter hikes and trail conditions.
- Community Heatmap: See trail traffic data to find popular trails or more secluded hikes. This tool gives insights into recent outdoor activity to help you plan an adventure that aligns with your preferences (whether you’re looking for “best of” trails or uncrowded routes). I love this because it helps us know what to expect so we’re not disappointed (and can better plan for parking in busy lots).
- Custom Routes: Build your ideal trail, whether it’s a short loop or a multi-day hike. You can start from scratch, customize and link existing trails, and use AllTrails smart-routing to instantly make a trail shorter, less steep, or more scenic. How cool is that?
- Outdoor Lens: Forget opening the Seek app alongside your navigation app. Just use the new Outdoor Lens tool, point your phone camera at a tree, flower, etc. to identify it and learn more. We love knowing what wildflowers and types of trees we see on trails. No service out there? It will save the photo and you can identify it later.
Bottom Line: Is AllTrails Peak Worth It?
AllTrails is hands down our top pick for hiking apps for hikers who range from beginner to advanced. Sure, apps like OnX Backcountry may offer more detailed and high-tech info, but for ease of use, features for the price (an annual Gaia subscription is $59, an OnX Backcountry subscription is $30-$100), and pleasant-to-look-at user interface, we don’t think it’s an excellent choice for most adventurers.
And while the free AllTrails functionality is excellent for most beginner to intermediate hikers, for those who like to push their limits, Peak is full of imminently helpful features and functionality. For me, the ability to download offline maps was enough to get me to upgrade to Plus a couple years ago. That’s been worth its weight in gold when heading on backpacking trips where no service meant I wouldn’t have been able to confirm I was still on route otherwise. As an obsessive map-checker, I relish being able to know exactly where I am at all times (and how far I have to go).
And when I saw AllTrails Peak included weather info for not just the trailhead or nearest town, but peaks and valleys along the route, well, it’s nearly all I wanted in a hiking app. I recently used it on a mountain crest trail ride to find out what the temp difference would be and the info confirmed I should bring a jacket along for wind, rain and much cooler temps than where I was starting the ride. Other riders didn’t check and paid for it in a cold, wet ride. I will definitely be using it this tons winter when I need to check conditions, snow depth, even when spikes or snowshoes may be required on mountain trails.
Basically, if you’re going far, fast, high or deep into the wilderness on a regular basis, AllTrails Peak is worth the annual investment in my book. It just makes it easier to head outdoors full prepared for whatever you might encounter.
