Explore California State Parks
National Parks, Hikes, Camping
Only for iPhone
Free · In‑App Purchases · Designed for iPhone. Not verified for macOS.
Explore is your all-in-one companion for discovering California's most beautiful outdoor places. From national parks and hidden trails to beaches, lakes, and scenic viewpoints — everything you need is in one beautifully designed, map-first app.
Browse a curated map of the best natural destinations in California. Discover national parks, state parks, beaches, mountains, lakes, waterfalls, and more — each with stunning imagery and handpicked highlights.
Plan with confidence. Check passes, fees, and permits at a glance. Find camping, lodging, and nearby stays. Stay informed with real-time closures, alerts, weather, and seasonal conditions.
Explore features a smart, hierarchical map — regions, parks, and points of interest appear naturally as you zoom in. Save your favorite places and enjoy a minimal, clutter-free design that lets nature take center stage.
Whether you're planning a weekend hike, a road trip, or just looking for a quiet beach — Explore helps you find the right place at the right time.
Privacy Policy: https://natetedesco.com/apps/explore/privacy
Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
more Explore 2.0.11
Small fixes and polish. If Explore has been useful on a trip, a rating in the App Store helps other people find it.
2.0.11 Sep 24
Explore 2.0.7
Live Activity for hikes. Start a recording and your distance, elevation, pace and timer stay on the lock screen and in the Dynamic Island, with a nudge if you wander off the trail.
One filter row everywhere. Sort, type, access and length now read the same way for places, camps and hikes, and the row tucks away as you scroll.
Best match understands where you are. Results blend quality with how far away a spot is, so a great place across the country no longer outranks a good one nearby.
Filters reach the whole state when the list is fullscreen, instead of only the part of the map behind it.
A launch screen that hands off cleanly to the app.
Camps with no photo now invite you to add one, the same way trail pages do.
Save buttons on every result card, photos included or not.
2.0.10 Sep 14
Explore 2.0.7
Live Activity for hikes. Start a recording and your distance, elevation, pace and timer stay on the lock screen and in the Dynamic Island, with a nudge if you wander off the trail.
One filter row everywhere. Sort, type, access and length now read the same way for places, camps and hikes, and the row tucks away as you scroll.
Best match understands where you are. Results blend quality with how far away a spot is, so a great place across the country no longer outranks a good one nearby.
Filters reach the whole state when the list is fullscreen, instead of only the part of the map behind it.
A launch screen that hands off cleanly to the app.
Camps with no photo now invite you to add one, the same way trail pages do.
Save buttons on every result card, photos included or not.
2.0.9 Sep 11
Explore 2.0.7
Live Activity for hikes. Start a recording and your distance, elevation, pace and timer stay on the lock screen and in the Dynamic Island, with a nudge if you wander off the trail.
One filter row everywhere. Sort, type, access and length now read the same way for places, camps and hikes, and the row tucks away as you scroll.
Best match understands where you are. Results blend quality with how far away a spot is, so a great place across the country no longer outranks a good one nearby.
Filters reach the whole state when the list is fullscreen, instead of only the part of the map behind it.
A launch screen that hands off cleanly to the app.
Camps with no photo now invite you to add one, the same way trail pages do.
Save buttons on every result card, photos included or not.
2.0.7 Sep 10
Explore 2.0.1
Smoother everywhere. Launch, the map, spot pages and Downloads all do less work as the app grows, so panning and scrolling stay fluid.
Pins never lose their icon. When the map gets crowded only the names thin out, so you always see what is there.
Things to Do on national parks. Activities, self guided tours and ranger programs from the park service, right on the park page.
Read more on every description, with a credit to the National Park Service or Wikipedia when the words are theirs.
Map labels now use the app's own typeface.
Recording a hike draws a steadier line and no longer slows the map.
Fixes to the bottom sheet animation, Downloads sizes and photo memory use.
2.0.2 Sep 8
Explore 2.0
Search by town. Type where you live and the map flies there, with the spots nearby.
Filter deeper. Pick a category, then narrow it: drive up, short walk, dog friendly, swimming.
Pins tell you what a place is at a glance. Blue for water, tan for desert, slate for peaks, amber for historic sites.
Hikes to Get Here is back on every spot page, faster than before.
Three free offline downloads to try before Pro.
Report an issue from any page in two taps.
Weather now shows in the park's own time zone.
Dozens of fixes across saving, offline downloads, photos and sign in.
2.0 Sep 7
Performance and stability improvements. Location pages load faster and more reliably.
1.9.3 Sep 3
New accounts start with a Favorites list, so your first save lands somewhere right away. Hike maps now show the waterfalls and spots the trail passes. Search shows when it is still loading. Your photo and name are edited from the top of Settings, and you can turn off tab bar labels under Display. Plus small fixes and improvements.
1.9.2 Sep 2
You can now cancel an offline download while it runs. Your profile is easier to get around with new Saved, Downloads, and Activity sections. The map shows more camp pins as you zoom in. Plus small fixes and improvements.
1.9.1 Aug 24
Browse camps and hikes right from search. Tap the Hikes or Camps chip or just type what you want, then narrow results with new filters for camp type, access, fees, hike length, elevation gain, and route type. Plus small fixes and improvements.
1.9 Aug 23
Send feedback right from Settings, rate the app with one tap, and read the new privacy policy and terms pages. Plus small fixes and improvements.
1.8.3 Aug 22
A fresh app icon with softer, rounded points.
Also in this update:
• Bug fixes and performance improvements
1.8.1 Aug 21
Saving a spot no longer asks you to make an account. Tap save and it sticks right away, on your phone. Create an account later if you want your lists on more than one device.
Also in this update:
• Your first offline map download is free, so you can take a spot with you before you decide to pay
• Place names on the map now read clearly over forest, snow and photos
• Map labels no longer print through the pins sitting next to them
• Photos of a spot appear on the map sooner as you zoom in
• Smoother route shaping when you build a route by tapping the map
• Bug fixes and performance improvements
1.8 Aug 20
Navigate is here. Record a hike with live distance, pace and elevation, build a route by tapping the map, and follow it out in the field. Finished hikes land in your profile.
Also in this update:
• Your saved lists now live in your profile, alongside your stats and recent activity
• New map layers for active fires, smoke, air quality, snow, temperature and public land boundaries
• Sign in with an email and password, not just Apple
• Wilderness areas, national forests and BLM land are labeled on the map
• Hike cards always show a map, even for trails with no recorded line
• Smoother trail lines that follow the ground instead of jumping between segments
• Bug fixes and performance improvements
1.7 Aug 15
Explore now keeps watch for you. Follow a campground and get a push notification the moment sold out dates open up, or follow a park to hear about new closures.
Also in this update:
• Leave reviews on parks, camps and trails
• Add your own photos to any spot
• Trail pages got a big upgrade with photos and richer detail
• Download offline maps by drawing a box around any area
• Export any trail or route as a GPX file
• The map now shows every campground, not just the first thousand
• Spot something wrong? Report it right from the page
• A fresh onboarding experience
• Bug fixes and performance improvements
1.6 Aug 8
Search got a lot smarter. Find campgrounds and trails by name, or type things like "hikes in yosemite" to jump straight to the answer.
Also in this update:
• Photo galleries on park pages, tap any photo to view it fullscreen
• Images across the app load noticeably faster and use less data
• Park pages open faster, with alerts ready the moment they appear
• Search results now show an icon for what each place is
• Open any spot in Apple Maps or Google Maps from its coordinates
• A cleaner look for top spots, top hikes and map settings
• Bug fixes and performance improvements
1.5 Aug 6
Introducing Explore Pro. Download map regions and take your saved spots fully offline, no signal needed. Includes a free 7 day trial on the yearly plan.
Also in this update:
• A richer map with 3D terrain and shaded relief
• Smoother map performance when zoomed out
• Better search suggestions for places and cities
• Explore now follows your device appearance
• Clear messages and retry when something can't load, instead of blank screens
• Loading indicators while your saved spots and lists sync
• More reliable offline behavior. Changes made without signal sync when you are back online
• Bug fixes and performance improvements
1.3.1 Jul 30
Introducing Explore Pro — download map regions and take your saved spots fully offline, no signal needed. Free 7-day trial on the yearly plan.
Also in this update:
• Clear messages and retry when something can't load, instead of blank screens
• Loading indicators while your saved spots and lists sync
• More reliable offline behavior — changes made without signal sync when you're back
• Bug fixes and performance improvements
1.3 Jul 30
Polish release — everything a little smoother:
• Clear messages and retry when something can't load, instead of blank screens
• Loading indicators while your saved spots and lists sync
• More reliable offline behavior — changes made without signal sync when you're back
• Bug fixes and performance improvements
1.2 Jul 28
Bug fixes and improvements.
1.0.17 May 22
Explore 2.0.11
Small fixes and polish. If Explore has been useful on a trip, a rating in the App Store helps other people find it.
more Version 2.0.11 Sep 24
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