9 Nifty Apps for Outdoor Summer Adventures

Summer is best spent outdoors and as we’re fortunate to have a lakefront, hundreds of paths and trails, plus picturesque parks, it’s easy to enjoy our city.
Here are nine apps to help track your summer activities whether it’s on the water or on the trails.

KAYKING/CANOEING/STANDUP PADDLE BOARDING 

Strava
This multi-purpose app is popular amongst kayakers as it lets you track your route, progress, speed, performance and analytics. There’s a free and paid version available and a community segment.
Tides Near Me
Knowing the water conditions is crucial for safety and planning. This app gives you in depth info on tidal conditions with tables, charts and predictions to help keep you safe on the water. 

Go Paddling
With over 25,000 locations, this app makes it easy to find places to enjoy time on the water.
This free app gives you info on launch sites to help plan a summer full of paddling.

HIKING

All Trails
This wildly popular app is ideal for finding new trails and includes difficulty rating, length, dog and kid-friendly trails and user ratings. The content comes from community members that are user-generated so you’ll have a chance to add your input as you explore. 

Gaia GPS

While the quantity of trails is lower, the quality of information is higher. This app lets you create your own routes, add and edit waypoints, and has a built in compass. 

Spyglass
This advanced 3D augmented reality navigation GPS app boasts helpful and safety features including a gyrocompass, maps,  high-tech viewfinder, waypoint tracker, military spec compass, tactical GPS and coordinate converter.

WALKING/RUNNING

Map My Walk

A simple yet effective free comprehensive app to help you keep track of your progress as you get your daily/weekly/monthly steps in. It’s easy to use and has available advanced metrics including foot strike angle, stride length, and ground contact time.
Nike Run Club
Another free app from the sports giant gives you the expected array of stats, plus it comes with guided runs but not suggested routes. 

Argus
The cool factor for this free app is that it doubles as a heart rate monitor by placing your finger on your camera lens. There’s a sleep cycle tracker, pedometer and multi-activity GPS tracker, along with challenges and video exercises.