Is Hiking Project good to use for Hiking? [In-Depth Review]

If you love exploring outdoors, having a hiking app is equally important as having survival gear to tackle the obstacles that befall your adventure. Besides browsing for interesting trails, a good hiking app helps you navigate safely, alerts your loved ones about your whereabouts, and traces your route accurately.

When it comes to best apps for hiking, you have many options. We have reviewed some famous hiking apps like Komoot, Outdooractive, and AllTrails in our previous articles. Today, we detail the features, pros, and cons of Hiking Project, another leading name in the market.

Hiking Project is famed for its large collection of hiking trails from around the world. Given the similarity of features, it’s mostly compared with AllTrails and renowned for its global coverage of hiking trail information.

Read our Hiking Project to find out if it’s the app you are looking for!

What is the Hiking Project?

Hiking Project, as you might have gathered already, is an app solely dedicated to hikers. It was created by REI, a brand renowned for outdoor gear. The app is equipped with details on hiking trails worldwide and provides some handy features to help you figure out the most suitable trail for you.

Users can contribute to the database by providing details on local hiking trails for others to benefit from it. Hiking Project boasts of providing guide-book quality trail information and navigation tips by reviewing all user submissions to ensure they are accurate and reliable. 

Is Hiking Project a Free App?

Yes! Hiking Project is available for free of charge. It is available in both website and mobile versions (Android and iOS compatibility). Although it’s free, it doesn’t contain advertisements either.

Hiking Project Features

Search for trails 

The app opens to a map, and you have to click on the arrow to specify your location and move the map around to find trails located nearby. Hiking Project has over 65,000 trails from around the world in its database, similar to AllTrails.

Trail information

If you click on a trail, you can read the description of the trail, elevation characters, difficulty level, ratings, additional information, reviews left by previous hikers, and other trails found nearby. There’s not a ton of information, but enough to give you the overall picture. 

Navigation and tracking

The app offers four main types of apps, namely terrain, satellite, OSM, and NeoTreks. You can download the maps beforehand and use them for navigation even when there’s no cell service in the trail. All you have to do is download the GPX file and upload it to a GPS supporting device. You can also trace your route in the airplane mode and check your progress, ensuring you don’t go off track.  

User contributions

You can submit information on new trails with a review and pictures. It will be published after being reviewed for authenticity. Additionally, you can also leave comments, ratings, and updated information on existing trails.

What We Like About Hiking Project?

User-friendly interface

Although Hiking Project is not loaded with extra features, it offers a simple, clean, and organized user interface that’s easy to navigate. So, if what you are looking for is a basic app with no-frills to support your hiking adventures, this is it.

Free!

Free outdoor apps are often blamed for sloppy features, but Hiking Project really stands out in this case. It offers some great and reliable features for an app that’s free of charge. Best of all, it doesn’t spam your interface with advertisements and diminish your experience.

Mammoth database

If you are someone in the U.S, rest assured that you will have a lot of trail options for hiking. There is a lot of options for users from other countries, and it keeps increasing with time!

Offline functionality

Cell reception is often unreliable when you are out in the wild, and you need a reliable app to help you complete the hike safely. Hiking Project has in-built GPS to trace your route and keep you updated about your location.

What We Don’t Like About Hiking Project?

Drains your battery

Use of the app can drain your battery faster even when using it on airplane mode, and it’s one of the common complaints we found out about the app. If you are using Hiking Project for tracking, we recommend you take a power bank or satellite charger with you.

Lack of extras

Compared to other leading outdoor apps like AllTrails, the features offered by Hiking Project are pretty limited. You don’t have access to additional features like real-time overlays and off-route notifications – all of which are offered by AllTrails premium (if you are interested to learn more, read our review here).

Lackluster search feature

Hiking Project also doesn’t offer the option of searching for trail options using filters, difficulty levels, and activity types. You have to click on a trail to review the information and reviews provided and find out if it’s suitable for you.

Is Hiking Project a Good Choice?

Many Hiking Project reviews said it’s a great app for beginners looking for day hikes. So, it may not be the ideal choice for serious hikers looking for advanced features like route building. That being said, you can use it to browse for trails located close to you and review their background information. Its offline functionality is another major benefit to consider. Overall, it’s best to review the above pros and cons before making a decision – but since it’s free of charge, you can always try it first hand and decide as well!

Pilot – Your Best Travel Planner

If you need a handy app to plan your nature-bound adventures or trips to anywhere on earth, we recommend you try Pilot!

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