I have used the AllTrails app for years to plan and record hikes, mostly in the UK, on my phone and lap-top. They had OSM as a map option, and this is the only map that works for me.
They recently removed a few map options from their app, including the OSM. This is very frustrating.
Does anyone know why they removed it?
And can anyone recommend any other apps (free, or paid) that use OSM for planning and live tracking/recording hikes and trails?
Thanks … Dan
I use Oruxmaps with openandromaps and elevate theme.
It can much more than what most users need. So you need some time to get used to it.
If you just want to test it, you can download a beta-version from the homepage New beta 10.7.x
I am a bit surprised that All Trails would have dropped OSM. Interesting.
I know a few people that use Gaia and it seems to be based on OSM data. While in Italy earlier this month I had a chance to look at their apps and they seemed to have pretty nice maps with lots of features for creating and sharing GPX tracks, etc.
Not hiking specific, but OsmAnd is definitely OSM based and has foot routing, contour lines, and can record GPX tracks. If I recall correctly, it can also show the hike profile. I don’t personally care for the appearance or user interface so I only use it if I don’t have a map for my preferred app.
My preferred app is Avenza Maps. Their business model is different than most: They sell maps. May not be very good for the UK as I don’t recall seeing map vendors in the Avenza Maps store that cover the UK. But if you are in the US, the USGS “sells” maps in the Avenza Store for the massive price of $0.00. In my case, I create my own maps based on OSM data which I use in the Avenza Maps app but that is not an option for very many people.
Interesting, when I open the Alltrails app on my phone, the Mapbox map I see is definitely based on OSM data. I recognise POIs and paths I’ve added.
The apps lets me choose between different map types. The default one, clearly based on OSM, is the “Alltrails” map type. There are other options, “Road” and “Terrain”. They are also based on OSM data, but on much older data. I recognise POIs I’ve long removed or updated.
But apparently they also used to offer another alternative map style, called “OSM”, that they’ve now dropped?
So I think the answer to your question is that they continue to use OSM data, they’ve just dropped one of their OSM-based map styles, which confusingly they called OSM!
What was it that made the OSM option in their app work better for you than the other options?
In addition to the mentioned Oruxmaps and OsmAnd, I use Mapy.cz. They have a useful display of via ferrata icons and grades.
In OsmAnd, I have a custom view using OpenTopoMap with an overlay of satellite imagery, and the opacity can be controlled using a slider. Useful for identifying ways through pathless terrain, for example.
osmuser63783’s post is correct, AllTrails definitely still uses OSM data.
I use AllTrails mostly for getting ideas of what trails to do. I then export a GPX file from it and import it into Organic Maps. I find Organic Maps to be less of a battery hog and also less buggy, which makes it much better for use when actually hiking IMHO.
They also recently added a track recorder to Organic Maps.
I guess there are two bits to that - one is the “plan and record hikes” and the other is the actual cartography of the map. I can’t add to the suggestions for the first part, but for the second you might be able to “drop in” other maps, at least for online use. As an example, I use Vespucci as a mobile OSM editor, and that allows you to use other map tiles (in the standard format such as you see at OpenStreetMap.org). OsmAnd (both a mobile editor and a navigation application) also allows you to do that. Where this won’t work is when you’re out and about and don’t have any mobile signal - in that case you’d have to fall back to using (in the case of OsmAnd) the built-in offline maps (which are of course worth a look at - you might like them).
If you’re in England, Wales or Northern Ireland I’d definitely try and find maps that show public rights of way. Not all maps and apps do, and sometimes the “default” access they show is for cars not pedestrians (the OSM’s “standard” layer is like that). Even apps that do use OSM as a source don’t always use all available data from OSM. For example, here’s the “AllTrails” style by MapBox:
Here’s the same thing in OSM’s standard map
and here’s the same area with public bridleways etc. shown**:
As well as looking for “plan and record” features in any app I’d definitely also look for accuracy of the map data for hiking purposes - in this case the tagging of some of those tracks is a bit “unusual” and it seems to have caught MapBox in particular out.
** disclaimer - that’s a map style I created. Yes, the prominence it gives to the pub is deliberate. The area is just where I happened to be about a week ago.
Oh, OsmAnd has a nice route planning mode where it can follow a certain type of tracks between the waypoints you set. It can’t show a time estimate if there are no paths, unfortunately.
Welcome! I have used Guru Maps on my phone in a pinch when I didn’t have my GPS unit. The free version works well and the paid/Pro version has additional overlays. I like it since I can download offline maps for use in areas I don’t have phone coverage. I use it mainly for driving and navigating while traveling. Updates get pulled from OSM although the frequency seems like monthly-ish.
Thanks for the reply. The OSM map overlay that I had been using on AllTrails had many more labels (shops/facilities/monuments…etc), and a much easier to read key, and colours. The default AllTrails map, and the other reduced options still available have much less info labels, and fewer colours (green/brown/black), and I find it harder to identify certain useful features, especially on my phone screen when out and about hiking. I have attached a screen grab of each map overlay (OSM full & AllTrails default) side by side as an example.
I see, thanks. Yes, both are based on OSM data, so we call the map style on the right “OSM Carto” to avoid confusion. It shows more POIs but lacks for example the difficulty of a hiking trail and public rights of way, as @SomeoneElse said.
For an app that lets you track your hikes and has OSM Carto as a map option, you could also have a look at Wikiloc. Planning the route before the hike and navigation are premium features though (not sure how good they are, I don’t pay for premium).
I use Komoot for planning and recording. Their ‘komoot map’ is based on OSM but is only updated from OSM periodically.
