While I’m not a paper-map purist, I typically prefer a phone-free experience when recreating outdoors. But I’m slowly warming up to the idea of integrating a few outdoorsy apps into my nature routine.
“Apps can definitely enhance your outdoors experience,” said Britt Mowen, a programs coordinator at in Fort Collins. Mowen uses a variety of digital tools to deepen her connection with the landscape, and Colorado State University Extension agent Karim Gharbi agrees that technology can actually enrich a user’s interactions with nature.
Note: A lot of the apps here don’t function offline, so plan accordingly. Download critical safety and wayfinding material (maps, for one!) before leaving home.
Ready to incorporate tech into upcoming treks? These are the tools local experts can’t live without.
Finding your next trail
When it comes to route-scouting apps, AllTrails () is the app that everyone knows for hiking.
I used AllTrails while researching my first guidebook, and was generally pleased with the results. The popular mobile app features a massive, user-reviewed database packed with hundreds of thousands of curated trail maps and real-time feeds offering detailed trail information (think: length, elevation gain, dog-friendliness), along with user reviews and photos showcasing terrain and current conditions. Offline navigation is also an option (with a paid subscription).
Some reviews are more helpful than others since things like difficulty and aesthetic value are obviously subjective. Still, AllTrails is great for discovering new trails, and the AI-powered search bar is fun to mess around with. (I got 20 results when I tried “inline skating routes with wildflowers great for dogs!”)
For local precision – and real-time safety advice – you might want to try the (COTREX) mobile app. Colorado Parks and Wildlife statewide public information officer Bridget O’Rourke highly recommends it — which is no surprise since CPW developed the app several years ago to give Coloradans a leg up on the outdoors.
The app works directly (and exclusively) with land managers at parks and open spaces to ensure that all the information on the platform comes from reliable, trusted sources, O’Rourke pointed out. To date, more than 236 land managers have contributed data on 45,076 miles of trail across Colorado. Whatap more, O’Rourke added, “We have a designated person who manages the app at CPW; itap his full-time job to make sure everything is correct.”
There’s still a social component to COTREX since users can follow one another and log personal field notes. They can also discover new routes, view allowed-use types (such as hiking, biking, OHV and snow sports), download offline maps, and see trip recommendations from participating partners.
If COTREX sounds like AllTrails, well, the apps are definitely similar, with a couple of notable differences. COTREX is totally free; there’s no subscriber-only content. Whatap more, COTREX posts real-time advisories for safety hazards and essential trail alerts – a mountain lion or aggressive moose in the area, for example, or maintenance closures. The app displays active fire alerts, too, including wildfires and prescribed burns in covered areas. If a trail is closed, or a lot is full, COTREX users can view surrounding areas. (AllTrails also generates a list of nearby trails for last-minute pivots.)
For a third option, check out the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s app, with over 40,000 miles of trail nationwide. That app is a lot like AllTrails and COTREX but focuses on rail-trails, which are decommissioned railway routes that have been converted to multi-use trails.
Backcountry safety
For those intending to explore Colorado’s wide swaths of wilderness, a safety app is a smart idea. I’ve had great experiences using , a mapping and navigation app that’ll track your route as you go. While it certainly isn’t as flashy as the competition, Gaia GPS is perfect for detail-oriented hikers who might be interested in, say, stacking map data like a deli sandwich, overlaying public land boundaries with slope-angle shading in order to steer clear of dangerous terrain.
Outdoors enthusiast Orion Aon, founder and owner of, uses , which, he said, launched as a mapping tool for hunters but now provides excellent data sets for backcountry hikers and off-roaders. Similar to Gaia GPS, OnX has offline tools for those recreating in remote places. “Itap a paid service, but well worth it,” Aon added.
Of course, even the best app is one dead battery or dropped signal away from total uselessness. For serious treks, where the stakes are high, Coloradans should get into the habit of packing a dedicated satellite messenger like or . These communicators bypass cell towers entirely.
Plant ID apps
A handful of Colorado plant gurus all shared a similar message: use or its kid-safe imprint, Seek by iNaturalist, for … literally everything.
At its core, iNaturalist is essentially a social network for citizen science. Itap also an excellent entry point into plant identification. Here’s how it works: Upload photos you’ve captured in the field, then connect with other users who can help you ID the plants, fungi, and animals you’ve discovered.
“The app has three very useful features,” Gharbi said, pointing to its built-in identification algorithm, vast network of users, and expert oversight. (He once direct-messaged the preeminent millipede expert of the West, who responded almost immediately.)
“There are entomologists and botanists and ornithologists who check people’s postings,” added Kristine Johnson, a Colorado native plant master and Wild Ones Boulder regional co-coordinator.
Johnson also uses iNaturalist in “the reverse way,” she said, to find specific flowers that other users have observed in an area. “If you’re looking for a rare bird – or trying to find a new foraging spot of leaf-peep destination – this is especially valuable,” Gharbi noted.
Mowen tries not to rely on one specific app alone. “I always verify my findings with a second app and then cross-reference with a book,” she said, explaining that plant ID apps struggle to differentiate between closely related species.
Beyond iNaturalist, there’s always , an AI-driven search tool that comes pre-installed on most modern Androids. (Itap also available for iPhone users via the Google app.)
Depending on where you’ll be recreating, you might check out , a free shrub and tree identification app from experts at CSU. The is a one-stop resource for all things wetlands-related.
Foraging for shrooms
When it comes to foraging mushrooms – a hot-ticket item for many a Coloradan – Aon likes , a paid app developed by a friend of his for foragers nationwide. The calendar-based app leverages a user’s location to recommend local species that are currently in season, explained Aon, noting that the app is for “the what, when, and where side of wild food.”
For identification, uses a modified version of a dichotomous key to help foragers narrow down mushroom identifications, Aon said. “It’s certainly better than using algorithms and photos,” he said before cautioning, “I wouldn’t recommend relying solely on an app if you’re planning to eat the wild food you find.”
Some plants and mushrooms can definitely kill you, and eating a mushroom confirmed by an app would be “super risky,” as Aon put it. “Never rely on an app for a final confirmation.” New foragers especially should get into the habit of cross-referencing IDs with a guidebook and knowledgeable source – possibly even an expert from the .
Bird nerds start here
Technically, bird identification is possible through iNaturalist, but the experts I spoke with use and for their bird-specific needs, since both free apps have algorithms that allow users to identify birds by their calls.
Merlin and eBird are connected to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, a nonprofit institution based at Cornell University. Merlin is “definitely the number one birding app” for everyday users, said Audrey Hicks, Denver Audubon Society’s manager of conservation and research. (EBird, she explained, is less helpful with basic identification and is generally used by experienced birders.)
Merlin, Hicks said, is a great entry point for emergent birders. “Just tap a button, and the app starts recording whatever birdsong is around you,” she said. (In case you aren’t aware, many experienced birders ID solely by ear.)
If you aren’t digging sound identification, you can always upload a photo to the app – if you can get a clear one. Alternatively, try typing in descriptive information about the bird, and see what pops up. Merlin isn’t 100 percent accurate, but itap pretty good, Hicks said, explaining that the app marks (with a red circle) any species that are rare. “Thatap when you should question the result,” she said, noting that seeing a rare bird would be … rare.
Don’t discount the , a free, comprehensive field guide app featuring over 800 North American bird species, offering (similar to Merlin) identification tools, including photos, sounds, and maps, along with real-time sightings. “Serious birders like this one because it allows users to do a side-by-side comparison with various images,” Hicks said.
, also from the Cornell Lab, is another fun app if you ever discover a nest in your yard.
Seeing stars
Letap say you’re into stargazing, but don’t have an advanced degree in astronomy. An app can definitely help demystify the night sky. And you’ve got options!
Katherine Bond, president of the Denver Astronomical Society, uses SkyView Lite, available through Google Play and Apple. She likes this app for its accuracy and user-friendliness: “Basically, you point your phone at the sky and an interactive map will show various constellations,” she said. Other popular choices among DAS members include and mobile app. DAS astronomy night coordinator Ken Sturrock recommends .
Sturrock reminds fellow stargazers to always check the weather before heading out. Sturrock suggests , an advanced weather tool designed specifically for astronomers to track cloud cover, sky transparency and more.
If you’d like some real-live-person assistance, drop by the University of Denver’s y for one of DAS’s free monthly open houses. Details are on the astronomical society’s website, . The group also offers tours and the opportunity to view the night sky through a 132-year-old Alvan Clark-Saegmuller 20-inch refracting telescope. Be sure to sign up in advance; these events frequently sell out and require a nominal fee.
OK, maybe my penchant for paper is a bit, um, vintage. I think I’ll always enjoy the tactile feel of a physical map, and yet even a skeptic like me can see that digital companions really can help us connect with the natural world.
