Best GPX apps/programs

[daway8]

With Bill's recent removal of the drawing and gpx edit features on the 14ers map, that has forced me to migrate elsewhere for those tasks and I remembered belatedly that I had signed up for a CalTopo subscription a year or so ago that I haven't really used, but now was forced to turn there for comparing/merging/editing gpx tracks and I'm actually liking the desktop version of it for planning.

But since there's a ton of stuff in there to fiddle with, I figured I'd drop a quick poll and see if I might be missing out on a better option - should I go ahead and lean into learning CalTopo or is there a superior solution that I should move to if I'm learning a new program anyways?

Or should I use Caltopo for planning on my desktop and the GAIA app for navigating in the field, or some other combo? (Figured it was easier to deal with planning vs. navigating in the comments than in the poll, but you can select up to 2 options to help highlight that).

[HikerGuy]

CalTopo all the way.

[madmattd]

CalTopo has to be the most full-featured. I've heard good things about Gaia though. I do all my planning with CalTopo on a computer browser and use the app (with the $20 annual paid level which allows for local saving of maps, tracks and a number of other features) on the trail if I need to consult (especially for 13ers and routes not covered in Bill's app). I send a share link of my map to my emergency contact(s) before a trip so they can view my intended route(s) should the need arise. There's a ton of features (and I find more every few months when someone on here posts about some feature/ability I hadn't run into yet!), but I mainly use the different map layers, import/edit gpx tracks, draw my own routes (on and off-trail), add points of interest (campsite options, water sources, etc), consult the slope angle shading (especially for winter/spring travel), look at property boundaries if private property is a concern, and assess the sun coverage if it's a Spring couloir climb or similar. I also just like to look at maps and ponder options and it's great for that too, I browse with the app on an old iPad all the time. But there's a lot more features, and if you pay for the higher tier subscription you can also get the daily+weekly satellite imagery layers which are useful in snow season, but I mostly just use Copernicus directly for that these days. There's a special SAR version of CalTopo for those folks in SAR too for those unaware.

[BillMiddlebrook]

Yup, CalTopo for sure

[randalmartin]

Caltopo for the planning on a pc is the best. I then export the gpx file into gaia just because at the moment I have found the GAIA mobile app is better in the field but the Caltopo mobile app catching up.

[Alpine_Iris]

Caltopo on a computer for planning, especially the slope angle shading and imagery layers

offline maps for navigation (one time fee to import gpx)

GPS Logger for recording. Other gpx recorders crashed way too often on my phone

[Joey_parm]

Caltopo. Has a significant amount of very useful base layers, overlays, and more - including updated satellite imagery and 3D viewing. Might be overkill if you are sticking to standard routes on 14ers and in the summer. But will be very helpful if doing non-standard routes, lesser-known peaks, or if just hiking in the winter (re: route planning around avalanche terrain).

I've tried at least half a dozen of the other popular navigation apps and none come close imo...except FATMAP which got bought out by strava. Again, if you're sticking to standard routes on 14ers, then you should be fine with whatever the cheapeat app is as long as it allows to download the route for offline use (and actually works).

[MidsizeAl]

I am certain I have weirded out more than a handful of people by expressing my deep love for CalTopo. It's just so great, and they keep adding more cool things. I could go on all day about the features, but here are a few of my favorites that stand out:

1. The obvious - route planning is second to none. Import GPX files, draw lines, mark waypoints, and send your loved ones a nice, easy-to-open URL with the details. My family has no idea how to use CalTopo or what the Crestone Traverse is, but they know that if I fail to check in, all they have to do is share that URL with SAR, which has my planned route (and any alternatives) and the trailhead I plan to start from. All on a platform that many SAR teams already use.
2. Custom DEM/terrain shading layers. So many uses for this, but one of my favorites is to find where there are flat spots in the trees to camp in the backcountry. Just add a custom layer that shades slope angles between 0-5 degrees and specify some canopy cover.
3. Viewshed analysis. Use this to figure out anything that can be seen, or perhaps how far one can see from any point you specify on the map. Just right click and select viewshed layer. I always specify 2M as the height (for a 6ft tall person).
4. Simulated view. Exactly what it sounds like; get a nice 3D view from any point you define on the map.
5. Sun exposure shading. Especially in spring couloir season, its nice to know what is going to stay frozen longer. I also really like this layer for planning outdoor rock climbing days in the winter. Finding which crags are going to get that nice early morning sun is awesome.
6. Live satellite layers. Extremely helpful for figuring out if you can leave the snow gear at home when there isn't a recent condition report.
7. Weather. Right click any spot on the map and get a link to the NWS point forecast.
8. This is a newer one, but adding pictures. You can add these to your map at important waypoints for routefinding clues, but also, if you have the location metadata turned on for your pictures, you can retroactively upload them to CalTopo, which will conveniently pin them to the map where they were taken along your route.

One last thing I'll mention is that if you donate to Friends of CAIC you get a 20% discount on your subscription!

[oldschool]

CalTopo hands down....

Mike

[9patrickmurphy]

I find myself unable to move away from Gaia despite how much its quality has gone down the drain recently. They recently removed the NatGeo maps (which were once a huge selling point and marketing tactic for Gaia) and the ESRI world imagery without replacing either with a halfway decent alternative. That on top of the myriad of bugs that haven't been resolved in the 6+ years I've been using it (customer support has literally emailed me back saying they don't plan on fixing the bugs I've complained about) makes me pretty disillusioned with the product and hesitant to renew my membership.

That being said, Gaia has far and away the best route editor, and CalTopo's route editor lacks some key functionality that has kept me from switching over. When I plan out routes, the ability to edit an existing track by dragging points around and having them snap to trails is huge for me, and the fact that CalTopo quantizes a route as soon as you are done editing it for the first time is such a turnoff; I find I'll have to make an entirely new route instead of just editing an existing one like I can in Gaia.

CalTopo is honestly far superior to Gaia in most ways, but its route editor annoys me. Most people I've talked to about this make it sound like it's never bothered them, so perhaps I'm unique in this complaint. I'll probably switch someday purely out of frustration with the slow, sad death that is Gaia. There is a rising competitor called GoatMaps which seems to be a new version of Gaia but built by a team that actually cares, but it's still pretty early in development and is missing a lot of important features. I've thought about trying OnX, but it also just seems like a more expensive Gaia clone with a 3d gimmick that doesn't interest me (and I've never met anyone who actually uses it).

It feels like there are a lot of good mapping tools out there, but none of them have everything I want. Probably just being picky.

[MidsizeAl]

When I plan out routes, the ability to edit an existing track by dragging points around and having them snap to trails is huge for me, and the fact that CalTopo quantizes a route as soon as you are done editing it for the first time is such a turnoff; I find I'll have to make an entirely new route instead of just editing an existing one like I can in Gaia.

Interesting, I have used both Gaia and CalTopo and I didn't know that you could do this (though I've never really planned routes in Gaia, only ever used it for recording). That being said, (and you may already know this) you can split routes in CalTopo, delete the portion you don't want, draw the portion you want snapped to the trail, and merge the new track with the existing one. In fact, there are a lot of tools you can use to transform an existing route, like duplicating, reversing, resampling, creating mile markers, etc. Maybe not as user friendly or intuitive as what you are describing in Gaia, but it has generally worked for me.

[dwoodward13]

There is a rising competitor called GoatMaps which seems to be a new version of Gaia but built by a team that actually cares, but it's still pretty early in development and is missing a lot of important features.

From my understanding GoatMaps was founded by some of the (now ex) Gaia founders that were frustrated at the direction of the company once they were bought out by Outside.