iHikeGPS : Classic Topo Maps App Reviews

Making an exception in this case. I can do with out a lot of apps, this isnt one of them. Take it everywhere and utilize it often, on and off trail. Great app and very responsive development team. Would love to have access to BLM maps but other than that this app is a steal. Great job guys, keep it up.

What an incredible app. I downloaded it for my iphone4s not knowing anything since there were no reviews, but it has blown my mind. Worth 10x more for anyone who likes to leave the trails. We used it to waypoint between several gps coordinates and created a trail along the way. We then used it to navigate us back at night. It worked perfectly the whole time, even when we had no cell service. It tracked our entire hike to within 20/30 feet!! I cant wait to use it much more in exploring my local mountains.

I read several reviews before buying this app. I have also downloaded 5-6 apps that claim to be helpful out on the trail. None of those come close to this app in terms of functionality and reliability. Even though this app takes a little while to figure out, I tested in on a long weekend hike in an area that is in the middle of nowhere with no cell signal whatsoever. We backpacked and hiked in a mountainous area with no trail markings. The GPS combined with the topo maps were like a Godsend for this hike. I loaded several waypoints using coordinates from Google maps into this app priori to our trip and it saved our day by helping us stay on track. This is a MUST HAVE app for all backpackers/hikers. The iPhone 6+ upgrade was perfectly timed for our hike. Well done and thank you!

If I need topographic maps, this is where I go. It’s on all of my devices. The maps are rendered beautifully. Other apps have more gee whiz features, but this is the app I use if I want to actually read the map.

If you hike or backpack using USGS quads this is the app for you! US and Canada Topos are included in the base price. You simply download the map(s) you need when on WiFi or Cellular Data and then you can use them where you have no WiFi or Cellular data. Downloading takes seconds. Several easy ways to find the map(s) you want. When you hike you turn on a "track" and it draws your progress on a map. The different Topos can be "stitched" so that progress from quad to another occurs with so margins. Also the track has a graph showing elevation profile. You can see total average speed and speed during a section of the track. Maps are very clear and easy to zoom in and out. App allows you to put Way Points on the map ahead of time to aid in navigation or to ID where you took photos etc. The help button is always present and touching it takes you to the section of help applicable to where you are in the app. The help is organized extremely well and put into tables. Ive used a lot of apps and never seen help this well done. Even includes a complete listing of the dozens of symbols used on topo maps. All this for $8. A bargain.

This is the best app for hiking that I have yet to find and I have tried several. I have used James Associates desktop MacGPSPro for years and uploaded routes to and downloaded track logs from my Garmin GPS. Now I can do the same with this iPhone app. It downloads USGS Topo maps in seconds over WiFi or a cellular data connection. And it can be used offline to follow a route and create a track log. Waypoints may be created within the app or downloaded to it in .gpx format. What more could anyone want. I have used it for local hikes and for navigating National Wildlife Refuges during a recent trip to Florida. I have never had any problem with it. It has met my requirements and exceeded my expectations. A terrific app at a very reasonable price.

iHikeGPS is a great app. Importing/uploading .gpx files is easy as is adding new waypoints. The best thing though is the access to maps, USGS and US Forest Service for the US and National Resources Canada for Canada. Just tapping the screen brings up the available map options and dowloads are fast, usually just a matter of seconds even using cell data. The maps stitch together seamlessly for comprehensive coverage and their resolution is incredible. And they’re all free! There’s also an extensive Help section making the app just an all around excellent product.

This app does what it is supposed to do, and does it very well. It is also a nice complement to the Mac app by the same author. I am particularly pleased by the quality of the GPX files it produces. I have other apps that record my walking routes, but none that do so with the kind of precision that this one does. That said, there are two things I need to see added before I can rate it five stars: 1. Graphically show my compass bearing on the map, so I can tell when I’m oriented in the right direction. 2. Make the OpenStreetMaps available as an option. At least in my area, those maps provide much better information about trails, and are more up to date. [The quads for my area are decades out of date and show none of the trails!]

I am an avid hiker and I love looking at and playing with TOPO maps. This app is the best I have seen for maps. If you are looking for a good TOPO map app dont shirk at the price it is worth it

And the help menu is not very helpful

Offline design is great. Elevation profile is great. Current location on map is great. Its easy to choose and download maps. Improvements to the latest version look great. Thanks! Id like to have the ability to use ihikegps for multi-day hikes, or at least to save multiple tracks locally for when theres no way to save to the web or otherwise share. A short dayhike uses 25% of capacity.

Not very useful when the maps are 40+ years old.

I use this app for tracking my trips on road or trail, and love that I can transfer to the computer and overlay in google earth also. Plus to be able to bring up downloaded maps without cell or data access is great for the middle of nowhere map reading and trail finding.

Lots of useful features. Works well while offline (like when youre out in the woods).

The USGS maps used where published in the 1970s or earlier. Example: there is a 6 lane highway (990) here in Amhearst NY built in the late 1980s that is not on these maps. I have a Garmin GPS hand held that is 10 yrs old and the maps are more up to date and much more detailed. Im sure there are much better apps for hiking and out door activities.

This app is brilliant . . . and the tech support, if you need it is fabulous. I wouldn’t have any other app but this for the hiking book I am writing or for while I’m just hiking for the fun of it. I’ve tried a few other hiking apps, but they don’t compare with ease of use, clarity or they didn’t offer tech support or manuals, so they were useless for me. The creator of the app is patient and VERY helpful and doesn’t mind all my questions or confusion. This app is brilliant. I don’t know the creator of the app btw, so I’m not biased!). Buy it, you’ll be delighted, Julie

This is the best 8 dollars I have ever spent. This App helped me to navigate through 72 miles across Sierra Nevada, Fresno to Pone Pine. My phone was in airplane mode all the time and I had enough battery to use this app for 3 days. If you would like to have a GPS, this is the way to go!!!!

Handy app. Hope developer keep on developing it. Is it possible to utilize iPhone s co processor(motion sensor) to save the battery while logging path? Another problem, Sometimes if you switch to camera to other app and then lick the screen, the logging will stop until next time you open the app. Wish to fix this.

This is a rock solid app. I have been using it since version 1 and it has only gotten better. It has never let me down and I have relied on it for many many days of traveling in the back country. Having access to real USGS maps is a real plus in my book.

This is a terrible app if you want to look back at you hikes. All tracks are the same color. I used this app all weekend, we went on six different hikes. Some as short as two miles one that was eight. The screen is a total mess of pink lines leading out from camp. I cant make out one from another. It gets three stars because of the ease of downloading maps and its functionality as a gps. Do not buy this app if you want to permanently track your hikes. This app needs the ability to stop a current track, name it save it, color both the track and individual waypoints, save those tracks and then have a list of waypoints or tracks that I have saved and be able to display those saved tracks or waypoints on the screen while recording my new current track.