In 2021, I visited 14 national parks stretching from the East Coast to the West Coast and everywhere in between. I’ve hiked mountains for stunning 360-degree vistas, gone underground to explore cave systems, and wandered through canyons in the desert—and to do it all successfully, I relied on a few trusty apps. Whether I’m looking for camping spots, organizing a packed itinerary, or safely navigating long hikes, I find these apps extremely helpful in implementing my national park trips. These are apps that can help you plan your own adventures.
Learn more about national parks
Application: National Park Service (iOS and Android)
What it is good for: Information on every national park across the country—including national parks, monuments, and historic sites.
The smallest details: All my travel planning starts with this handy app released in 2021 by the National Park Service. Easy to use and free to download, the NPS app (which you can use offline as long as you download the content first) offers interactive maps of each park, self-guided tours led by park rangers, and news and current events, along with listings of amenities (such as food services , toilets and souvenir shops). You can plug into the app as much as you like, whether you want to keep detailed lists of viewpoints and points of interest you want to see or just need to check park hours and tickets.
The NPS app provides real-time updates on conditions inside the park—such as road closures, long lines to get in, weather warnings and whether you need a reservation to get in—allowing you to find all the essential information you need to know before heading to or traveling throughout the park. I didn’t use the NPS app on my trip to Big Bend National Park—but if I had, I could have avoided a two-hour wait at the trailhead when major roads were blocked for construction.
Discover the best hiking trails
Application: AllTrails (iOS and Android)
What it is good for: Finding and exploring all possible paths through the park.
The smallest details: With a free membership, you can search for hiking trails by name, city, or park, then filter the results by difficulty level and length. From there, you can read hiker reviews to learn more about the trail and gauge whether it’s right for you. You can also save your preferred routes to selected lists; for example, I made separate lists for each of the Utah parks I planned to visit so I could easily refer back to them as I prepared for each trip. And AllTrails isn’t just for hikers, as you can also use the app to plan mountain biking, snow sports, hiking, trail running, and climbing.
If you plan to hike several different trails during your trip, an AllTrails Plus membership could be worth the investment. For $36 a year, you have the option of downloading offline access passes, something that’s handy if you’re detouring a trail in a limited-service area. Just make sure you download your map before hiking. The Plus membership also comes with other perks, but I’ve found that being able to see my GPS point moving along an exact track is worth the annual membership fee in itself. If you’re not sold, you can sign up for a one-week free trial—but be sure to time that period to fit your next trip.
After your trip, come back to AllTrails and leave reviews of the trails you’ve hiked. If you’ve relied on the information you’ve learned about specific trails to choose and safely complete your hike, please return the favor by leaving your thoughts on your experience in the comments section. Prospective hikers will appreciate your updates on trail closures, maintenance issues, and difficult-to-follow trails.
Find a place to sleep
Applications: Recreation.gov (iOS and Android), The Dyrt (iOS and Android), Hipcamp (iOS and Android)
What are they good for: Finding campsites that fit your budget, expertise and comfort level.
The smallest details: Which app you use to book a campsite or accommodation for your trip ultimately depends on the type of experience you want to have.
Recreation.gov only lists federal camping opportunities, so if you know you want to stay in a national park or forest you’re visiting, this app should be your first stop. Each campsite listing shows site details including policies, facilities and availability. You can make reservations directly through the app, and you can also use Recreation.gov to apply for permits and pay park entry fees.
Dyrt is a good option for campers looking for free and discounted campsites, as it offers more than 500,000 campsites across the country on public and private land. Similar to the listings on Recreation.gov, each Dyrt listing provides a brief overview of the camp’s amenities and policies, but instead of letting you make a reservation through the app, Dyrt directs you to the camp’s website. You can also browse Dyrt reviews and user photos while you make your decision. Dyrt is a free app, but if you want the ability to search for campsites or download maps offline, you can sign up for The Dyrt Pro for $36/year. You can sign up for a free seven-day trial if you’re not ready to commit.
Hipcamp is perfect for people who would rather wander than camp. Through this app, you can find Instagram-worthy private glamping sites (think furnished campers, yurts, and cabins). These places are usually more expensive, but offer more amenities and comfort for those who are not comfortable pitching their own tent or sleeping on the ground. Like Airbnb (which can also help you find glamping and camping spots), Hipcamp lets you read each host’s bio, scroll through listing photos, and scroll through reviews before booking right in the app. You can also use Hipcamp to find cheap DIY campsites.
Explore the park without leaving your car
Application: Go ahead (iOS)
What it is good for: A narrated car ride through the parks.
The smallest details: This app is useful for people who want private guided tours. Using your phone’s built-in GPS (offline use is also an option), the Just Ahead app automatically starts narrating as you drive past certain markers on the map, and you can learn about the park’s scenic views, geology and history as you drive past. Each guide is professionally written and narrated by journalists and authors who have written for National Geographic and Outside Magazine. Just Ahead isn’t without limitations, though: It offers guides to only a handful of the more popular US national parks (such as Yellowstone, Joshua Tree, and Rocky Mountain), and each guide must be purchased separately, starting at $15.
Organize your travel plans
Application: Notion (iOS and Android)
What it is good for: Keeping important travel information and documents in one place.
The smallest details: You can plan your trip however you want, whether it’s in Google Docs, detailed Excel sheets, or a note-taking app on your phone—but I like to use Notion, a free project management and note-taking app that you can access on both your phone and your desktop. Since you can use this app to organize all parts of your life, it may seem a bit overwhelming at first, but Notion offers a dedicated travel template that can make your travel planning a breeze. You can pull all the essential details of your trip into one highly organized place by creating tables for different types of information (like your budget or flight details), embedding Google Maps specific to your trip, and assigning tags to certain categories to make them easier to find. You can create an overview of your trip, linking it to other important documents, files, and web pages—and you can create detailed, filtered views for each day of your trip with all the information you need. Notion also makes collaborating with others easy, so you can share your plans with travel buddies in advance and work together to create the perfect trip.
This article was edited by Treye Green and Annemarie Conte.