Organic Maps: Offline Map 4+

I tried Apple and Google maps (offline / downloaded maps) AND the official National Parks app and none of them came close to the usability of this app.
Apple and Google maps were super hard to read / visually see the trails, and required you be a certain zoom level (to be highlight the trail) that was too far in to be useful, used a decent bit of battery life even in airplane mode, AND couldn't route in offline mode.
This app fixed all those problems, smaller offline map size, insanely legible trails and legends, almost no battery drain, showed elevation charts, and I could search offline.
Came across a couple on the mountain that were struggling to navigate with one of the above apps and was able to instantly tell them where we were and where they wanted to go. They were shocked how easy this app made it seem and I recommended it to them.
Perfect, 5 stars, love it. Can't explain how great it feels to have a proper working offline digital map.

Thank you for the detailed review!

I recently downloaded this app after hearing about it. Previously, I relied on applications such as Avenza and Gaia maps for offline navigation. However, they presented challenges: downloading additional offline areas incurred costs, and certain features were inaccessible. Organic Maps stands out due to its user-friendly interface, support, and extensive features.

Nevertheless, I have a few suggestions:

- It would be beneficial if users could press and hold on any location on the map to view its elevation. This would facilitate the determination of precise elevations anywhere on the map.

- Integration of additional map layers (such as Satellite, Shaded relief, etc.) and the ability to download them for offline use.

- Implementation of advanced navigation and GPS tools, including area calculation, coordinates derivation by offset (enabling users to select a location, specify distance and direction, and generate coordinates), GPX track recording, selection of various compass types (magnetic, true, grid), and dynamic routing.

This app is commendable, and the incorporation of these features would further enhance its utility.

Thank you for the detailed feedback! Most of the mentioned features are already planned. Please check our Github for existing issues and update them, or add new issue.

Downloaded Organic Maps a while back for privacy reasons. But even if Google were to suddenly become champions of ethical behavior, I’d still be glad I downloaded this app. The ability to download maps for offline use is invaluable when hiking and would have been an absolute lifesaver back when I passed through Ontario, unaware that my cell service provider was completely absent there. Plus, the trail maps themselves are far superior to what I’ve seen elsewhere.

That being said, I have noticed a few issues:
- Lately it’s been freezing up every time I try to edit a place. When I tap Edit Place it brings me to the edit screen, but I can’t tap anything there.
- The Manage Route option does nothing, whether I tap or drag it.
- When adding a place to the map, sometimes there is no category available that fits. For example, there is a fencing club that I tried to add, which is how I noticed this issue. It might be a good idea to add an Other category (or something similar) for things like this.

Overall, this is a pretty solid app. I’m grateful for the privacy it gives me and for the ability to navigate in areas with no cell service, and adding places/information as I find them helps me feel like I’m making a difference in the world.

Thank you for this thoughtful review. Your story captures exactly what we hope to achieve — helping people explore with confidence, even offline and far from coverage. Even in emergency situations. The freeze and route issues you mentioned should be fixed in the next update — apologies for the trouble. And your idea about an “Other” category is a great one. We keep the category list limited to avoid potential misuse, since our app is designed as a gentle first step into contributing to OpenStreetMap. That said, for more detailed mapping, we recommend trying apps like Go Map!! or Every Door — all excellent tools for expanding the map further. It means a lot to know you’re not just using the app, but also helping improve the world’s OpenStreetMap database. That’s the true spirit behind it all 🧭🌍🛠️ Maps by the people, for the people. No barriers.