In case you didn’t know, June is known as “Great Outdoors Month.” That’s right, it all started back in 1998 under President Clinton. Then, it was known merely as “Great Outdoors Week.” However, since then, the celebration of doing things outside the home grew until it became an official month when the U.S. Senate officially recognized it.
What’s it all about anyway? Is it just about doing stuff outside? A bit, yes. However, it’s more about taking advantage of the warm months of the year to enjoy the many national parks America has to offer both in terms of recreation and learning.
To help people get out and enjoy it all, we’ve put together a list of great outdoor apps that can help you navigate the many parks and events scheduled for the great outdoors month 2021. Not just that, but others on this list are explicitly designed to help should you get lost or hurt. For instance, you’ll also find apps with first aid and survival information, so there’s no excuse for you to stay in!
If you’re ready, let’s take a look.
Cairn
Cairn is an app that’s currently available only for the iPhone. However, the company has plans to release it for Android soon. It’s designed to help you even if you’re out in the boonies without regular cellular service. That’s right, with Cairn, it’s all about safety and ensuring you’re able to make emergency calls when necessary.
With this app, you can put together lists of those you want to contact in case of an emergency. The people you put on the list get updates about your location periodically. For example, say you went on a hiking trip and were supposed to be home hours ago. Your contacts will get updates on where you are as long as you’ve got your phone with you.
Mountain Hub
Mountain Hub is excellent at doing two things. First, it connects you to outdoor communities, and secondly, it provides you with weather updates. Those are two essential things when you’re out hiking. With the Mountain Hub app, communities post weather updates when outdoors. Don’t you agree that it would be beneficial if someone out on the mountain posted that thunderstorms were hitting at such and such a location? You may have been ready to start hiking over there, but now you know it’s better to wait!
Mountain Hub can be used on both Android phones and iPhones.
SAS Survival Guide
This robust app is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a survival guide that you can download to your iPhone or Android. It was written by a former SAS soldier and instructor and designed primarily for people who are into camping, hiking, and backpacking.
Now, it’s important to note that there is a free Lite version available. For many people, the Lite version provides all the information they’ll need. For instance, you’ll find information on how to find water, build fires, a survival checklist, and knife skills demonstrated in a video.
ViewRanger
The ViewRanger app comes in free and premium versions, and you can download it for both the iPhone and Android. It offers GPS trail navigation with maps that you can download. Of course, that’s great if you lose cellular service and can’t access the internet on your smartphone. The premium version provides users with the ability to access USGS and USA Topo maps.
It’s a fairly robust app that provides users with information on over 180,000 trails. It also allows them to view vital navigation stats, plot points of interest, track routes, and print out the maps they want to carry along with them.
Komoot
Designed for mountain bikers, cyclists, and hikers, Komoot can be downloaded for both the iPhone and Android. As with some of the other apps on this list, it has both free and premium versions. It’s essentially a planning app that users can use to outline the routes they want to take while considering the distance, elevation, surface conditions, and overall difficulty.
A few other features include the ability of users to download a detailed map region for free. After that, users can access additional features through in-app purchases.
Ramblr
Instead of packing a notebook in your backpack to journal your experiences, you can simply download Ramblr. This app allows users who enjoy documenting their adventures to do so easily. It’s designed primarily for those going on mountaineering and hiking trips, and users can record a wide range of activities through geotagged text, pictures, audio, and video. It also gives users the ability to see where other app users have traveled, and you can upload your own files to share trips with others.
Get outside!
Remember that while some of the apps we’ve listed are free and most are available for both the iPhone and Androids, some of them do have premium versions, and a few are only available on the iPhone. However, don’t let that stop you from researching and taking a look at those that are available for your device!
With the apps we’ve listed to help keep you safe and more, there’s no reason you can’t kick off Great Outdoors Month by grabbing some friends and hitting the trails. You can enjoy a variety of activities such as hiking, mountain biking, camping, and literally a ton of other things to boot.
