Trailforks

Review by eFreeware

Trailforks is a free GPS trail map and activity tracking app from the developer of the same name, published in the Maps & Navigation category. It has been on Google Play for a long time, with more than a million installs and a 4.5 average from over 27,000 ratings, which suggests a settled product rather than a young experiment. The reason to consider it is straightforward: it puts a very large catalog of mapped trails and routes in your pocket, along with the community reports and status updates that tell you what those trails are like right now.

That combination is what separates it from a general-purpose map app. Trailforks is not trying to be a navigation tool for driving across a state; it is built for people heading to a trailhead with a bike, a pair of running shoes, or a snowboard, and who want to know where to go, how to get there, and whether the route is open. The developer describes it as the largest trail database available, covering 780,000 or more routes, and that scale is the core of the pitch.

Maps and route planning for bikes and boots

The app's central job is finding and following routes. You can search the database for trails near you, save the ones you like to a wishlist, and build your own routes using topographic and terrain maps. There is a route builder that covers hiking, trail running and skiing as well as riding, and the developer says the app includes free maps with thousands of points of interest, so fuel stops, bike shops and other landmarks can be part of the plan.

For people who like to study a route before committing to it, the elevation profiles are the useful part. You can see the shape of every climb and descent in the app rather than guessing from a squiggly line on a map. The developer also lists toggleable Pro map layers such as slope angle, land ownership, USFS boundaries and light pollution, which are the sort of detail that matters when you are trying to work out whether a route crosses private land or a closed area. The app shows mapped boundaries for private property and closed zones, which is a sensible thing to check before you set off.

Trailhead directions are part of the app's planning tools. If you use a Garmin or Wahoo device, the app supports GPX files and can sync with those devices, and route plans saved on the web can be pulled into the app. That makes it reasonable to plan at a desk and then ride with the same route in hand.

Tracking the ride and reading the trail

Once you are moving, Trailforks works as an activity tracker. It records mileage and shows your position against the map in real time, and the map can be oriented to the direction you are facing, which is more useful on twisting singletrack than a fixed north-up view. It works as a tracker, with the feature set covering distance and route records for anyone who would rather not carry a separate cycling computer.

The community layer is where the app earns its keep for regular riders. Trail associations and local riders submit condition reports, so you can check status and closures before making a trip, and the app also shows weather and lets you submit your own reports. There is an activity feed for finding inspiration, following friends and sharing stats with photos and comments. The app carries a million photos and videos plus three million trail reports, a volume that makes the status information worth checking rather than treating as an afterthought.

Events are listed by region or nearby, which is handy if you want to line a ride up with a race or a group gathering. Safety is covered too: friends and emergency services can be sent your map location. That is not a substitute for telling someone your plan, but on remote routes it is a reasonable extra layer.

Winter, hiking and the wider outdoors

Trailforks is not limited to mountain biking, even though that is clearly its home ground. It covers day hiking, backpacking, trail running, skiing, snowboarding, winter biking and e-biking, with the same maps and tracking tools applied to each. The route builder covers those activities, and the heat maps include jumps as well as activity layers, which tells you something about the audience the app was designed around.

In practice, that means one app can cover a summer of riding and a winter of skiing without you needing to learn a second interface. The trade-off is that a tool built around trail networks and conditions is at its strongest where those networks are well mapped. If your outings are mostly on pavement or in a city park, the depth of the trail database is less relevant to you than it would be to someone planning a day at a lift-served bike park or a backcountry ski tour.

What you need before your first ride

The app is free to download and contains no ads, which is a pleasant change from much of the category. It does offer in-app purchases, and a Pro tier bundled with Outside+ unlocks nationwide map access including Garmin base maps, priority syncing with Garmin or Strava devices, unlimited waypoints and wishlists, and desktop-to-app tools such as printmap and downloadable GPX and KML files. The same subscription also includes access to the Gaia GPS backcountry app, expert-led courses on Outside Learn, films and live TV on OutsideYV, and digital access to the Outside Network's brands.

Offline map downloads have become more reliable, which matters if you ride or hike in places without a reliable signal.

Setup appears to be light. The app loads a region on first launch, so it asks you to pick an area when you start. From there, the work is choosing a route, downloading what you need, and heading out.

Where Trailforks fits best

This is an app for people who ride or run or ski on recognized trails and want to know more about them than a map alone can tell. Mountain bikers are the obvious core audience: the trail database, the condition reports, the elevation profiles and the jump heat maps all point that way. Hikers, trail runners and winter athletes who use the same kind of trail networks will find plenty to work with, and the multi-activity support means one install covers several seasons.

It also suits riders who like to plan ahead. Saving routes to a wishlist, building new ones, syncing with a Garmin or Wahoo, and pulling web route plans into the app are all features for someone who thinks about a ride before they leave the house. If you prefer to turn up and follow your nose, the app still works as a tracker and a map, but you would be using less of what it offers.

The community side is a real consideration too. If you enjoy following friends, sharing stats and photos, and contributing reports that help other riders, that layer is clearly a big part of the design. If you would rather keep your outings to yourself, the maps and tracking still stand on their own, but the social feed will be something you pass over.

A strong choice for trail riders who plan ahead

Trailforks does one thing at a substantial scale: it maps trails, tells you what condition they are in, and records what you did on them. The database is large, the community reporting is deep, and the planning tools cover the whole arc from picking a route at home to following it on the ground. The free download with no ads makes it easy to try, and the Pro tier adds nationwide maps, device syncing and waypoints for people who want more.

I would suggest it to mountain bikers first, and to hikers, runners and winter athletes who ride recognized trail networks and care about conditions before they commit to a trip. If you want a general-purpose navigation app for roads and cities, or you have no interest in the social and reporting side, the app will feel like more than you need. For everyone else heading to a trailhead, it is a well-established tool with a strong record behind it.

What's new in version 2026.9.0

• Faster app start • Updated map menu • Photos from your ride are suggested when you save an activity • Offline maps: more reliable downloads • Fixes for routeplan links, Discover labels, trail reports on activities and first-launch region loading • As often, we bring many small fixes to the app to improve your experience!