AllTrails Review – Hiking/Biking Companion App

AllTrails is a popular hike/trails discovery and companion website and app. If you have ever wondered what has replaced the old-fashioned paper map and compass for hiking, AllTrails is one of the answers. I used the AllTrails website and app extensively in my recent trip to Acadia National Park. This post is an AllTrails review that provides an overview of what it is, how it works, and what it can do for you. With that information, you can decide for yourself if it is the right solution to improve your next hiking trip.

If you decide that you are interested in AllTrails, links to the website and both apps are provided below:

• AllTrails Website: https://www.alltrails.com/
• Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alltrails.alltrails&hl=en_US&gl=US
• Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/alltrails-hike-bike-run/id405075943

Base Features

Trail Discovery

One of the two best features of AllTrails is Trail Discovery. The other best feature is Trail Maps/Navigation, but I will cover that later. AllTrails features a listing of established trails that can be hiked. A simple user interface allows searching by city, park, or trail name to locate the desired hike. This is helpful if you have read about a trail (for example in the 7 Days of Coastal Maine Itinerary: Bar Harbor itinerary) and want more information on it.

However, AllTrails isn’t only helpful when the name or location of the trail is already known. Powerful search and filter capabilities are built into the app and website to help you find new hiking adventures. The app recommends nearby trails if you allow the app location permissions. Alternatively, if you enter a city and state into the search bar a similar location-based search will be run. AllTrails also suggests trails in different categories such as easy, family-friendly, less traveled, hiking, biking, etc… All of the categories and attributes are filterable to make sure you find the best hike for you.

For example, if you want a loop trail that is under 3 miles in length, has less than 400 feet of elevation gain, is appropriate for hiking, and has waterfalls and a cave along the path, AllTrails allows you to search for this. I can’t promise that a trail like this exists. However, if it does, the search feature of AllTrails can find it.

Trail Information and Reviews

Locating trails using the powerful search and filter options within the AllTrails Explore option is only the first part of uncovering the wealth of information that is in the service. Selecting each trail will bring up detailed information on the trail. This information includes length, elevation gain, trail type, trail attributes, and a trail map, among others. In addition to the trail information, AllTrails provides reviews from various users for each of the trails. These reviews can be a wealth of information to get the perspectives of a lot of different hikers. Recent reviews can give you clues about the condition of the trails, how the trails handle recent weather, or pointers to make your hike that much better.

Saved Trails and Trail History

Once you have found trails of interest or hikes you want to take, AllTrails provides the capability to save trails for easy recall in the future. The app and website support custom lists. These lists can categorize trails you want to take by the trip, location, or any other criteria you desire.

In addition to saving trails for the future, AllTrails keeps track of the hikes you have done in the past. If you use the trail navigation feature of AllTrails (covered in the next section), history is automatically recorded. If you don’t like using the app for navigation, you can manually mark hikes complete for tracking.

Trail Navigation

The next feature is for those who don’t like to navigate by old-fashioned maps. If you prefer the turn-by-turn style of Google Maps or Apple Maps, then the Trail Navigation feature is for you. The first part of this feature provides walking directions to the trailhead. Many times the trailhead isn’t located at a parking lot or isn’t immediately obvious. This feature helps you find the start spot with ease. This feature also makes sure you always stay on your trail. If you make a wrong turn, you will immediately know when you are using Trail Navigation. No more getting lost, wandering aimlessly to find the next turn, or wondering which way is up on your map. Trail Navigation can also answer questions like: “How much longer is the hike?” or “How much higher can this mountain go?”

Premium Features

All the above features are available for free on the apps and website. However, there are some additional features that require a Pro subscription within AllTrails to access.

The best Pro feature is no doubt the option to download trail information and maps in the app. Often hiking trails do not have great data service. Therefore, you may be unable to use the trail information and navigation portions of the app without downloaded information. As a workaround to this, you can open the app to the map while the device has service and not close the app throughout the period of time that service is lost. However, this may be an inconvenient workaround since the app may try to reload. Closing the app will also cause the loss of the map image. The benefit of the download feature will depend on how often you will hike without cell service.

The next features of a Pro subscription in AllTrails are real-time weather radar overlaid on the trail maps and a feature they call “Lifeline”. While real-time weather radar overlaid on the trail map is convenient, if you know where you are on the map, any weather app will do the same function for free. Lifeline, on the other hand, is an interesting feature. This safety feature shares your hike route as well as start and stop times to designated contacts. If you don’t finish your hike by a predetermined time, AllTrails will send your last known location to your safety contacts. If you routinely hike alone, this can be a good investment for you. It could also provide peace of mind for your friends and family.

Subscription Cost

All in all, if you hike year-round (especially in locations with bad data service), a Pro subscription could be worth it. However, if the $30/year cost (or $20/year if buying 3 years upfront) is a little much for you, there is plenty of value in the free features.

Bottom Line

AllTrails is an excellent service for trail discovery. The ability to look at maps of trails, elevation change, and reviews from hikers is really valuable when planning a trip. The other features like trail navigation are also useful if you have a cell signal while hiking. As most of the features are free you have nothing to lose in trying it on your next hiking, biking, or backpacking trip.