Adventure confidently with Gaia GPS. Discover new routes with worldwide maps. Find your way in the backcountry with leading navigation tools – no cell service needed.
Welcome the warm weather with the ultimate collection of hiking trails and camping sites around you – Gaia GPS. Find amazing adventures with topographic maps while spending less time looking at your phone. Explore with map layers, weather condition updates, GPS navigation, hill-shading and hiking maps. Discover local routes or map your own trail and share online. Whether you’re looking for hiking trails, off-roading routes, backpacking, or public land, discover with Gaia GPS.
Find backpacker trails or offroad routes with the help of Gaia GPS. Make the wilderness your backyard with the best hiking, backpacking, and backcountry navigator – all in one. Navigate routes with offline navigation, weather reports, GPS coordinates, camping sites and distance tracking features to help you explore.
Cruise through a popular backpacking route, hiking trail, or walking map with GPS navigation tools to guide you. Download the premier outdoor activity app featured in publications like the New York Times, Washington Post, and GearJunkie.
BACKPACK OR HIKE
• Hike the largest collection of trails and routes available on Gaia Topo, the ultimate backcountry navigator.
• National parks or scenic hiking trails – Discover new outdoor routes waiting to be explored
• Backpacking from base camp all along offroad hiking trails and back again is easy with breadcrumbs
• Distance tracker with altitude and elevation monitoring for every activity
• Travel easily to trailheads with connections to directions
CAMPING COMPANION
• Explore different camping sites and navigate to them conveniently using GPS coordinates
• Discover campgrounds across national parks, forests, and scenic landscapes
ROAD TRIP PLANNER MADE FOR YOU
• Offline maps: RV travel is easy with offline maps that track your location, even when far from cell service
• Discover camping sites, parks and route conditions seamlessly to help you prepare
OFFROAD ACTIVITY PLANNING
• 4x4 & overlanding adventures are easy to record on Gaia GPS
• Activity tracker and route planner make trekking, hiking, and backpacking offroad trails simple
• Maps, routes, and waypoints displayed on Apple CarPlay
SKIING AND SNOWBOARDING
• Discover ski slopes and cross country skiing trails around you with best-in-class topographic maps
• Know weather conditions with ski resort information and Nordic trails from OnTheSnow
EXPLORE THE WORLD LIKE A PROFESSIONAL
• GPS coordinates help explore while creating routes and tracking progress
• Share your data with clients to improve Gaia GPS
• Access the full NatGeo map collection
ELEVATE YOUR OUTDOOR ADVENTURES WITH GAIA GPS PREMIUM WITH OUTSIDE+
• Access 300+ maps including NatGeo Trails Illustrated, Private Lands, weather forecasts, and more
• Offline maps to download anytime
• Weather, terrain, and safety features
• Access the Trailforks GPS biking app
• Expert-led online courses on Outside Learn
• Premium access to award-winning films, shows, and live TV on Outside Watch
• Unlimited digital access to Outside Network's 15 iconic brands including Outside, Backpacker and National Park Trips
Explore the world with Gaia GPS to guide all of your adventures. Enjoy GPS navigation, countless hike trails, and more with Gaia GPS – your perfect outdoor companion.
SIGNUP
• Gaia GPS is part of the Outside Network. Create an Outside account to access the app.
TO MANAGE YOUR SUBSCRIPTION:
• TURN OFF auto-renewal: https://support.apple.com/kb/ht4098
• Subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You will be charged for renewal within 24 hours of the end of the current period.
• Your Apple App Store Account will be charged at confirmation of purchase.
• Privacy Policy: https://www.gaiagps.com/company/privacy
• Terms of use: https://www.gaiagps.com/company/terms_of_use
I’ve used Gaia for several years. In the wilderness it’s great since you can download maps for offline navigation & use low power mode- no cell signal, Bluetooth or wireless eating up power. Really full-featured. Maps available are extensive including NOAA marine charts for sea kayak navigation. Everything works perfectly as you’d expect. Maps are up-to-date and detailed. Very easy to use. I like the routes feature a lot where the app follows the footpath as you plot your course. I have stumbled over a couple of problems. Twice the app has unexpectedly quit on me deleting my track up to that point - a simple app restart fixed the problem but lost my tracking data up to that moment. And yesterday hiking in Europe in the Bavarian Alps up Sonnenkopf I found a misplaced footpath which led me into an unnecessary bushwhack but first time this has happened to me. This second error is certainly a map source and curation issue. I don’t know if and how Gaia curate their OpenStreet maps but there is clearly improvement that would be helpful. Otherwise, this is a terrific tool generally much better than Google maps and other alternatives for trails, footpaths, marine. Less cluttered with ability to easily switch from map to map with overlays, satellite, contours, units change, best local hikes etc. The four concurrent overlays permitted is usually adequate though I’ve found myself wishing I had another one. Browser features are good too. Worth the money for premium.
Gaia came to save the day !
HugeStudioGuy
While taking a new way from Colorado to Utah I went through a dead zone where my navigating app dropped completely with no signal to accurately follow my pre planned route so I resorted to my compass and map and proceeded to follow what it looked to be the appropriate way on the map and have in mind all of these while a Thunderstorm is raging in the background. So after my soon to discover erroneous choice and 27+ miles later of Offroad muddy rainy and lighting strikes all around… I must admit even so I love off-roading being alone in a remote area under these conditions was a bit intimidating. Well short story this route came to a holt because of a lock gate. Realizing my mistake I turned around and had no choice but to drive back through the storm I was hoping to out run so needless to say the area was beautiful but the storm was making it a bit harder to appreciate at the moment. After what it seemed a while of negotiating wet obstacles under lighting and Phone Alerts to seek Higher ground I made it back to the main road this time deciding to make a quick right and seek shelter while I figure out my next move. I drove maybe a couple hundred yards and I remember I had previously downloaded this region map on GAIA so I loaded it and YEAH ! here where the answers I needed, clear marked mapped routes and completely offline. So here it is Gaia thanks for saving the Day !!
Possibly the best app ever
Camo_junkie0611
I am an avid outdoorsman, private pilot, recreational fisherman, big game hunter, etc. and I have used a hundred different GPS/mapping/geolocation/topographic maps over the years. Gaia is by far the best all-in-one map app I’ve ever used BY FAR. Used free version for a while and decided to upgrade to paid version and it is money well spent. This app has literally hundreds of overlays from cell service coverage to 24 hour weather forecasts to private landowner information to USGS topo maps to VFR aeronautical maps. I couldn’t recommend this app more highly to anyone who spends any amount of time in the mountains, or boating, or hiking, camping, cycling, kayaking or big game hunting. In my humble opinion this app is indispensable for outdoor enthusiasts of any kind. Probably my favorite feature is the map overlays — you start with a solid base map like Satellite imagery or OpenStreetMaps and from there you can start stacking other maps on top of it with varying transparency. I also like the trip recording feature, which you can trigger from your Apple Watch and it will record distance traveled, elevation changes, average traveling speed, and even show you a cross section of the ascent/descent changes made on your trip. I honestly can’t say enough great things about this app…you’ll just have to download it and see for yourself.
Best I've found by a wide margin!
LinkLaithreach
Gaia's accuracy even when I have zero service is pretty dang impressive. It's often spot on perfect but even when it isn't, it's not far off. At the very least it's always close enough for me to find my way. It also seems to have a bigger database of trails than any of the other apps I've used. Reviews of trails written by other users have always been helpful and led to some great gems and tips on what to expect for a given trail.The feature I personally love the most is the trail tracing feature. You can create two or more waypoints and Gaia will generate a trail path to get you to your destination. It's particularly dumb proof for those of us who are map challenged, and I loooove that it includes a distance estimate. It helps plan my endurance, meals/snacks, time allotment, and expectations. If you want, you can break a single hike into several waypoints so you can know about how long each leg of the trip is. This can help line up your map trail so you can know when to expect obstacles, challenges, route changes, or noteworthy milestones listed in user reviews. For example: "4 and a half miles in there's a really dicey scramble up steep shale. Take your time and be careful!"I *never* write reviews, so it's saying something that I'm impressed enough to write one at all. 11/10 would recommend.
Gaia GPS Version 2026.2 Release Notes
What’s New
This release smooths out a few rough edges so things stay on track while you’re navigating.
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue where the distance grid wasn’t showing on the map
Fixed the compass so it’s tappable again and reliably points north
Fixed a layout issue in Advanced Settings so buttons and text no longer overlap
Version 2026.2
Subscriptions
Gaia GPS Premium with Outside+
Premium + access to Outside digital content
Free Trial
Gaia GPS Premium
Access the full catalogue of offline maps.
Free Trial
The developer, TrailBehind, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Used to Track You
The following data may be used to track you across apps and websites owned by other companies:
Identifiers
Data Linked to You
The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:
Purchases
Location
Contact Info
User Content
Identifiers
Usage Data
Diagnostics
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
Seller
Trailbehind, INC.
Size
125.9 MB
Category
Navigation
Compatibility
Requires iOS 16.0 or later.
iPhone Requires iOS 16.0 or later.
iPad Requires iPadOS 16.0 or later.
Apple Watch Requires watchOS 7.0 or later.
Location
This app may use your location even when it isn’t open, which can decrease device battery life.
