Best Outdoor Apps for the Ultimate Summer

We’re in the middle of summer, which means it’s the perfect time to be outdoors and have remarkable adventures. People will be going on vacations and planning camping trips to take advantage of the longer days and warm nights. Apps can be a great asset for finding the best spots to hike, which wild berries to avoid, and how to survive in the wilderness. Here we review the best apps for outdoor navigation, survival guides, and outdoor fun this summer.

AllTrails – Hiking & Biking
If you are going out for a hike this summer, you may want a hiking app to help assist you with what trails are the best for your level of intensity. The AppTrails app has more than 50,000 trail guides for hiking, biking, and more. You can browse through the list of trail reviews as well as write your own. AllTrails will let you look at topographic maps, photos, reviews, and even let you save a trail for offline use so you can take your guide with you without internet service. While on the trail, you can upload pictures taken on the trail and even create and upload your personal tracks using your phone’s GPS tracker. You can download this useful trail app for free, here.

Chimani National Parks App
In the summertime, USA National Parks are a popular destination spot for those who love the outdoors. If you plan on visiting one of America’s national parks this summer, then you might want to check out the Chimani National Parks app. This app will provide you with a broad database of national parks including their geographic location, an overview of popular attractions, historical data, as well as how to get to their official website. You can look up historical parks, famous monuments, battlefield sites, memorials, parkways, scenic trails, and more. You can also make in-app purchases to unlock a national parks news feed. There is a separate menu called “Other Apps” which includes links to more detailed Chimani guides for specific parks. You can download this app for free, here.

AccuWeather
If you plan on being outside, it’s always smart to know the weather conditions of wherever you are going. To get the most accurate weather report, you should have the AccuWeather app installed, one of the best weather forecasting apps in existence. AccuWeather has localized hourly and daily forecasts, radar maps, weather news, and extreme weather alerts. The most recent updates have even more innovations with new Minute Cast feature delivering exceptionally accurate, hyper-localized weather forecasts for the next 2 hours. This app can be downloaded for free, here.

Geocaching
Do you love outdoor adventures and the rush of discovering hidden items? If you do, Geocaching may be for you. For those who haven’t heard of Geocaching, it’s a modern day treasure hunt where different players can hide caches of small items and post the item’s GPS coordinates for other people to find. There are over 2 million active geocaches active worldwide, so there is plenty of opportunities to play and find various small treasures. The Geocaching.com app takes advantage of your phone’s GPS feature and map apps to provide a searchable database. There are also different recommendations for beginners, nearby items, and a ton of other features. This app really speaks to the adventurer in you and makes you feel like a modern day treasure-seeker. This app is $9.99 to download, here.

Star Walk
One of the best things about summer nights is being able to lie outside and gaze at the stars. If you plan on escaping the urban jungle and enjoy the natural beauty of the night sky then you may want to download the Star Walk app that presents you with a digitally enhanced view of the stars. All you need to do to make this app work is position your device upwards towards the sky and Star Walk will display matching view of the constellations, planets, and other celestial bodies you can view in real-time. Users can also tap on planets and other objects that stand out to look at in further detail. Another cool thing about this app is the Time Machine feature which allows the user to view the stars at past or future date. A Night Mode will also allow you to look at the stars without burning out your night vision. This app is an absolute must for star-gazing or camping on a clear night. This app can be downloaded here, for $2.99.