Keen to hit the trails but don’t know how to get started? Hikingbook offers a full suite of features that will help all hiking enthusiasts, new and experienced, navigate the wilderness with confidence.

What we love: The combination of social networking, route planning, track recording, and activity analysis—useful whether you’re planning a hike or in the middle of one. Find your next hiking companion and share tips on the trails you’ve completed, and make quick work of identifying a suitable next route with the app’s intuitive interface.

Quick tip: Learn your limits before you hike. Verify your fitness level and risk tolerance on your profile, then pick a trail that works for you. Each trail in Hikingbook is rated from level one to five: higher levels require better stamina. Risk ratings will also alert you to tough terrain, the need to cross brooks, and more to help you make an informed decision.

Meet the creator: The idea for the app started with a Facebook group for hiking enthusiasts, created by founder Ke Zhengxiang in 2019. He has since continued his mission to fill the gap for practical and aesthetically pleasing hiking tools.