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Trip Preparation Apps
Roadtrippers
Find interesting stops along the way to your camping destination. Database includes over 100,000+ destinations/attractions. Enter your route and select destinations/attractions to overlay onto your path. Whatever information you input/save on www.Roadtrippers.com, automatically appears on your Roadtrippers app. App can also estimate total fuel costs with your chosen route. Price: Free
Packing Pro
One of the best travel checklist apps. Comes with sample templates (yes, it has a camping template) and everything is customizable (delete and add items to your list easily). E-mail your list to other campers and yourself. Price: $2.99
Platform: iOS
Camping Checklist
The BEST camping checklist for the Android. Pre-loaded with more than 225 camping trip related items. Price: $0.99
Platform: Android
Driving/Road Apps
Waze
A crowd-sourced, social network GPS application. The app provides directions like any other GPS app (Google Maps, Mapquest, etc.), except additional information is provided by other WAZE users around you. Waze users report: traffic jams, police sightings (hidden speed traps), accidents, hazards, redlight/speed camera’s and closures. All up-to-date information provided by users just like you. Price: Free
IExit
Uses your devices location to determine where you are on the highway. It proceeds to show you the next 100 highway exits and the upcoming junctions, where you can tell the app if you plan to merge on a different highway ahead. Just select your new travel path and a list of exits will show up. Can also filter results for particular businesses/amenities (gas stations, diesel stations, food/restaurants, rv, camping, etc.) Price: Free
Gas Buddy
Using your devices location, gas buddy will find all of the gas stations closest to you and report back with the lowest prices. Price: Free
Campground/Park Apps
Camp Finder
Find campgrounds, RV parks and RV resorts while on the road. Up-to-date campground information: telephone numbers, email addresses, website links, photos and reviews. Filter results with the type of campground, amenities or activities you’re looking for. Price: $3.99
Oh, Ranger! ParkFinder
Locate a park near you and filter results by what you’re looking to do. Price: Free
Filter’s include:
| Activity Center | Disc Golf | Picnicking |
| Auto Touring | Dog Run | Playground |
| Baseball | Fishing | Running |
| Basketball | Football | RVing |
| Bicycling | Golfing | Skating |
| Birdwatching | Hiking | Tennis |
| Boating | History | Volleyball |
| Camping | Horseback Riding | Water Sports |
| Caving | Hunting | Wildlife Watching |
| Climbing | Off-Road Vehicles | Winter Sports |
Chimani National Parks
This app provides information on parks, historical parks, monuments, battlefields, memorials, historic sites, parkways, preserves, seashores, lakeshores, rivers, scenic trails and recreation areas. The hyper-local park apps (listed below) are what really sets Chimani apart from other apps. These apps feature: information on trails for various skill levels, bike rental locations, lodging, parking, shuttle schedules, food locations, water filling stations, bathrooms, waterfalls, sunrise/sunset data, tidal data, ranger-led events for the season, audio tours, safety tips and much more. Chimani Apps are for campers, hikers, rock climbers, bikers and all around adventurers. Price: Free
Chimani Hyper-Local Park Apps
Acadia National Park (Maine)
Baxer State Park (Maine)
Bryce National Park (Utah)
Cape Cod National Seashore (Massachusetts)
Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)
Glacier National Park (Montana)
Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)
Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)
Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Tennessee/North Carolina)
Olympic National Park (Washington)
Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park (California)
Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming)
Yosemite National Park (California)
Zion National Park (Utah)
Map/Trail Apps
AllTrails
Easily find hiking/biking trails with a library of over 50,000 U.S./Canadian trail guides. Track your hikes with GPS, see your stats, take photos and save your tracks. Upgrade to AllTrails Pro for offline access to National Geographic maps. Price: Free
MotionX GPS
Contains topographical maps, NOAA marine charts, measuring tools and a compass; most of the functions you’d want for off-the-grid navigation or hiking. Track your hikes by: distance, realtime speed, avg speed, max speed, elevation, gradient, total ascent and descent. Price: $0.99
Platform: iOS
Gaia GPS
Topo Maps, Trails, and Tracker – Pre-load topographical maps (U.S. Geological Survey and Satellite maps) for offline use. Perfect for hikers, campers, bikers and hunters. Also good for: 4×4, geocaching, boating, tracking, skiing, snowmobiling and international travel. Price: $19.99
BackCountry Navigator TOPO GPS
Record tracks and mark way points. Pre-load TOPO maps for off-line use. Enter coordinates using longitude/latitude, UTM, MGRS or grid references. Use for: hiking (on/off trails), camping (find a spot or a way back to camp), hunting trips, bait/fly fishing, search and rescue, kayak/canoe trips, backpacking trips, snowmobiling, skiing and snowshoeing. Price: $11.99
Platform: Android
Survival/Tool Apps
SAS Survival Guide
An app version of the best-selling book by John “Lofty” Wiseman. Provides full text of the book, 16 videos of survival tips, a morse code signalling device, survival checklist, survival in extreme climates, sun compass, first aid section, photo’s depicting: animal tracks, knots, edible/medicinal/poisonous plants and much more! Price: $5.99
Army Survival Guide
Army Survival Guide is based off of the U.S. Military Survival Manual FM 21-76. Price: Free
Platform: Android
Survival Guide
Survival Guide is based off of the U.S. Military Survival Manual FM 21-76. Price: Free
Platform: iOS
Swiss Army Knife
An app that contains a set of useful tools (just like a swiss army knife). Includes a: flashlight, compass, bubble level, timer, calculator, ruler, unit converter, mirror and magnifying glass. Simple set of tools that do exactly as they should. Price: Free
Platform: Android
Spyglass
The most advanced and accurate digital compass. It’s a finder, tracker, augmented reality navigator, waypoint tool, tactical GPS, speedometer, altimeter, optical rangefinder, sextant, inclinometer and more! Price: $3.99
Platform: iOS
WhatKnot
Step-by step instructions of 70 different knots (with illustrated examples)! Presented within 6 categories: Bends, Bindings & Lashings, Hitches, Loop Knots, Special Knots and Stopper Knots. Price: Free
Platform: iOS
Free Light
Use the LED light or screen on your device for bright or soft light. Great backup while camping because the one thing you always have on you is your phone. Price: Free
Platform: iOS
First Aid
The Official Red Cross First Aid app. Contains videos, interactive quizzes and step-by-step advice. Price: Free
Food/Recipe Apps
Camp Recipes!
Over 700+ camp recipes listed by category, preptime and keyword search. Some recipes are duplicates (with some changes between the list of ingredients) and contain minor spelling/grammatical errors. Even with these faults, it’s still the best/vastest camp recipe app out there. Price: $1.99
Platform: iOS
Camping Cookbook
A little over 80+ recipes that can be searched through three filters: equipment being used, type of meal or type of ingredients. The app also includes a planner (make and store recipe lists) and general cooking tips (prep/handling). Price: Free
Platform: iOS
Camping Recipes Cookbook!
Camping recipes for the Android. Price: Free
Platform: Android
Identification Apps
Project Noah
A community of users documenting nature. There are 3 modes in this app: Spottings, Location-Based Field Guide and Field Missions.
Spottings: take a photo of a plant/animal you want more information on. Add your location, descriptive tags and submit. You should receive an answer within 24-hours.
Location-Based Field Guide: see what plants/animals have been spotted near your location.
Field Missions: help gather data for research projects being conducted by laboratories, environmental groups and other organizations. Price: Free
LeafSnap
Grab a leaf, place it against a white background and take a photo of it. Leafsnap analyzes the photo and determines what tree it came from. Database currently includes only trees of the Northeast United States. Price: Free
Platform: iOS
iPflanzen
Identify more than 1,500 garden, park, and forest plants. Identify the plant by its physical appearance: flower structure, leaf shape, flower color or fruit color. Price: Free
Platform: iOS
Wild Edibles
Using the knowledge of “Wildman” Steve Brill, learn how to identify and use wild edible plants. Identify wild edibles with up to 8 images per plant and filter plants by: habitat, edible part, type and available seasons. Also contains information on how to harvest, prepare and cook your foraged food (included recipes). Price: $7.99
Merlin Bird ID
Asks you a set of questions: When did you see the bird? Where did you see the bird? What did it look like? What was it doing? Merlin then shows you the most likely species in your area, on that day. The app taps into eBird, a database with millions of sightings from around the world. Price: Free
Audubon Birds Pro
Contains images of birds, their range, what they sound like (10-15 second samples), thorough descriptions, birds that are similar, sightings and much more. Taps into eBird. Price: $0.99
Other notable birding apps:
 iBird Pro |
 Nat’l Geo |
 Birdlog |
 Sibley |
 Peterson |
 Larkwire |
Star-Gazing Apps
Star Walk 2
Just point your phone (or tablet) at the sky. By using your phone/tablet’s GPS and accelerometer, an augmented reality night sky is displayed through your devices screen. Zoom in onto any star for detailed information about that star. Search through: constellations, the solar system, deep space, stars and satellites. Shows when the sun and other planets will rise/set, as well as upcoming astrological events (meteor showers, full moons, etc.) Star Walk 2 is the updated version to the original Star Walk. Now you can see constellations, stars and planets – all in 3D. The time machine function lets you see how the planets/stars looked in the past or how they will look in the future. Price: $2.99
SkyView Satellite Guide
Discover and identify over 20,000 satellites, just by pointing your phone at the sky! You can even schedule a reminder that will notify you when a visible satellite is over your location. Includes a ton of facts, tidbits, descriptions and images. Price: $2.99
Platform: iOS
Other notable star-gazing apps:
 StarChart |
 StarTracker |
 SkyGuide |
 Skyview Free |
 GoSkyWatch |
 Sputnik! |
Fall Foliage
Leaf Peepr
Find where and when leaves are turning. Foliage reports are made by posting photos, leaving comments and rating the foliage stage (Green, Turning, Moderate, Peak, Fading and Gone). Price: Free
Weather Apps
DarkSky
A hyper-local weather app. DarkSky gives minute-to-minute predictions of when it’s going to rain, up to an hour in advance. Even sends you an alert of when rain is coming, based on your location. Price: $3.99
Platform: iOS
World Radar
Displays Radar, Current, Forecast and Charts. (Temperature, Precipitation, Wind, Pressure and UV Index) The most comprehensive free weather iOS app I’ve come across. Price: Free
Platform: iOS
Outdoor Social Network
Yonder
A social networking app for outdoor enthusiasts. Post pictures of your adventures and connect with others. Price: Free
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