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Phone-based mapping for trail layout?

4K views 13 replies 8 participants last post by  tjhspapa 
#1 ·
I'm wondering what mapping apps folks may find to be best for exploring new terrain and laying out trail. It seems like the ability to add notes and photos to waypoints could be useful... because I forget things.

Maybe they all already do that. I'm a cavemen, and wouldn't know. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
 
#2 ·
OnX Hunt has all of the features you mentioned as well as the ability to see property lines and property owner information. You can mark waypoints, make notes, and take photos. It can also track your position when you’re walking a trail or flagged line. This information can be exported and loaded into GIS software (like QGIS, ArcGIS, or even Google Earth) for planning and layout.

ESRI has a suite of apps that integrate with ArcGIS that you might find useful. Collector is an app that many land managers use for identifying maintenance needs on trails. It also allows you to mark waypoints, make notes, take pictures, and export the information.

I also want to mention that every picture you take with your phone includes GPS coordinates in the metadata.
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#9 ·
We use GAIA Pro for general exploration but if we have time, I generate accurate maps in QGIS and use Avanza on the phone. Being able to pick which layer to show in the field is awesome.

Just keep in mind that most phone have a very relative precision (typically 7-12m) while a GNSS Garmin (64x, 66s, etc) have 2-3m in the wood. The next step is a semi-pro unit, like the EOS Arrow100 or the Trimble Catalyst. Both offer sub-meter precision.
 
#10 ·
I also use Gaia to track/plan/navigate hiking/biking/etc and it does all the things you want. (I have a Pro subscription though, so not sure what is/isn't available with the free version. It's like $30/yr, well worth it to me)

As mentioned, limited by phone GPS precision but I find Gaia does better than some other apps, and it's not too battery intensive. Easy to upload info and access later from a computer to edit, export in various formats, etc.

I think Gaia has been bought up by Outside (that also bought Pinkbike/Trailforks)? But so far no changes I've noticed

ETA: OnX seems pretty similar, and might have better info on land boundaries.
 
#12 ·
A free Android app I've been getting good use of is Geo Tracker.
It offers quite a bit of flexibility for references and has been very accurate for building tracks for upload to MTBProject and Trailforks.

Also, a PC app called Viking has been easy to learn (compared to something like Garmin BaseCamp) and has enough flexibility to polish up gpx files before sending them off to the Interwebz.

I'll often get a track of a new flagged route with Geo Tracker, then use Viking to draw in more trail in empty space. Then, export the markup gpx back to the phone and use it on Geo Tracker to tie more ribbons into unused space.
 
#13 ·
Resurrecting this older thread...

I've been maintaining trails for a while now but would like to add a section to an existing trail to create a reroute around a climb that goes straight up the fall line, we have to constantly rebuild it as it gets really rutted out. I'd like to map the existing trail and my proposed reroute onto a topo map to present to the land owner for approval. All existing maps I can find seem to be inaccurate.

Just wondering if there is anything better than Gaia (I haven't played with On X Hunt). What's the latest and greatest phone app for trail mapping/layout? I'd rather not buy any extra hardware as this is all being funded by me but I guess I'm not opposed to suggestions...

Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks!
 
#14 ·
Resurrecting this older thread...

I've been maintaining trails for a while now but would like to add a section to an existing trail to create a reroute around a climb that goes straight up the fall line, we have to constantly rebuild it as it gets really rutted out. I'd like to map the existing trail and my proposed reroute onto a topo map to present to the land owner for approval. All existing maps I can find seem to be inaccurate.

Just wondering if there is anything better than Gaia (I haven't played with On X Hunt). What's the latest and greatest phone app for trail mapping/layout? I'd rather not buy any extra hardware as this is all being funded by me but I guess I'm not opposed to suggestions...

Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks!
We mostly use Avenza these days.
 
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