If y’all are anything like me and millions of others, one of the main goals of summer 2021 will be to simply get.out.of.the.house. And after the year and half we’ve had, who can blame us.
So, as I prepare for my own outdoor adventures, I thought I’d put together a quick little post about my favorite apps for making my roadtrips and outdoor experiences safer, easier, and even more fun.
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California
STAY
RECREATION.GOV is the best on-the-go app to help find and reserve public campsites for 12 federal agencies, suck as the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, US Forest Service. Review upcoming reservations, location details, book campsites, find tickets and tour info, enter lotteries for popular activities, and much more. Free app for iOS + Android devices.
HIPCAMP is kinda like the Airbnb of outdoor experiences - from camping on private vineyards to glamping in cozy cabins, plus it also connects you to nearby state and national park campsites. The app is robust with booking features, filtering, detailed campsite information, and more. Free app for iOS + Android devices.
THE TEXAS STATE PARKS APP is the official guide to finding your perfect outdoor escape in the Lone Start State (and I bet your state has one, too). With features like finding a state park near you, searching by activities, overnight accommodations, or amenities, driving directions, downloading park and trail maps, and more. Free app for iOS + Android devices.
MY FAVE HOTEL CHAIN APP is also on my phone for the occasional nights I do spend at a hotel, which is usually at the start/end of my trips, after long drive days, or when it’s too hot to camp. This is great to have if or when something goes awry with my plans and need to quickly find somewhere else to stay (which has definitely happened a time or three.)
Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado
RECREATE
THE NPS APP is the new official app for the National Park Service with tools to explore more than 400 national parks across the country. Find interactive maps, tours of park places, on-the-ground accessibility information, and more. This is a great resource to plan your next national park adventure before and during your trip. One handy feature is the ability to download park info for offline use, but I had problems with app opening without a signal, so until that’s fixed, I’ll have to try to remember to open it up before hand. Free app for iOS + Android devices.
ALLTRAILS is a great app for searching over 200,000 trails, complete with trail info, maps, detailed reviews, and photos curated by millions of experts, hikers, and nature lovers. Since I bring Frankie with pretty much everywhere, being able to search for dog-friendly trails is a must. Free app (with in-app paid features) for iOS + Android devices.
THE OUTBOUND is another fantastic app for outdoorsy folks. Find local adventures, tours, and lodging, all over the world, save your favorites to curated lists, get inspired by unique stories about destinations, travel tips, family travel, and more. Another great app for dog owners with ability to filter for dog-friendly activities. Free app for iOS + Android devices.
FIRST AID BY AMERICAN RED CROSS is actually new to me, but looks like a must-have with valuable info on what to do in any common first-aid emergency and preloaded content for offline use. There are also apps for Pet First Aid, Emergency Weather Alerts, and apps specific for tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and floods.
Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
NATURE
SEEK BY INATURALIST is a fun and educational app that uses the power of image recognition technology to identify the plants and animals around you. Simply point the Seek Camera at a living thing to identify and learn about the plants wildlife, plants, and fungi all around you. Perfect (and safe) for kids of all ages. Free app for iOS + Android devices.
MERLIN BIRD ID is another fun, educational app that identifies birds of North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Answer three simple questions about the bird you’re trying to identify and the app will come up with a list of possible matches and helps all levels of bird watchers to learn about our feathered-friends. Free app for iOS + Android devices.
Joshua Tree National Park, California
ON THE ROAD
GASBUDDY is probably an app that most people have heard of, but if not, it’s a great tool for finding real-time fuel prices at more than 140,000 gas stations in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Free app for iOS + Android devices.
THE NAVIGATION APPS I use are varied and I three different apps because I haven’t found one that does everything I’d like it to do. So, I like the native iPhone Map app for my actual on-the-road navigation as I prefer how the directions are displayed and how it functions in stand-by mode. I also will use Waze from time-to-time in certain situations, and I like Google Maps for keeping track of all my saved locations and searching for places while I’m out-an-about.
PERSONAL SAFETY as a solo traveler is a top priority, and among other precautions, I always give a loved one my detailed itinerary and I check-in throughout the day and often at a set time. Since there are different options for different situations, I’ve got another post in the works that round-ups some safety-related apps, so stay tuned for that and I’ll update this post as well.
Rocky Mountains, Colorado
PHOTO
LIGHTROOM is a free, powerful photo editor and camera app, including easy image editing tools like sliders and filters for pictures simplify photo editing. It’s my go-to editing app. Free app (with in-app paid features) for iOS + Android devices.
ALPENGLOW is handy little app to have for checking sunrise/sunset forecasts (although take them with a big grain of salt), quickly getting sunrise, sunset, blue hour, and golden hour times for your location, setup reminders, and more. Free app (with in-app paid features) for iOS + Android devices.