Best GPS software and apps?

What apps do you like for driving and hiking?

For driving, Waze. Nothing I’ve tried does better with accuracy, routing, and routing around traffic issues.

For hiking I’m much less knowledgeable but I keep coming back to MotionX GPS. It allows you to download maps, has terrain and road options, and works well for me. I had a great topo map app once upon a time, but it wasn’t updated and stopped working. I’d love a suggestion for a topo map app on the iOS platform.

My go to for a GPS/Topo mapping app for iOS is Gaia GPS. The free version is good, but an upgrade to premium turns it into the best mapping app I have ever used. There are a ton of different map options that can all be downloaded for offline use. Maps can be layered so you can build a map set specific for your needs. Since I found GAIA I no longer use a stand-alone handheld GPS.

Second to GAIA is Avenza Maps. It doesn't have all the features of the Premium version of GAIA, but if you are just looking for a straight forward GPS program with offline topo Avenza might be what your looking for.

I second using GAIA.

You can download maps so that when out of cell range you can run the GPS with the phone on Airplane mode to save battery life. The phone isn't constantly searching for towers.

For hiking and driving in National Forest I like their downloadable maps that combine the USGS topo and the Forest Service User road maps. Much easier than trying to compare the tiny Metsker USFS maps with the larger USGS topos to find where you are on a remote dirt road without signs. You can also download satellite photos.

For Android:

I like "Maps Ruler" for tracing a route (like for a walk around a few blocks) and seeing how long it is. Also for figuring the distance between locations you can identify on a map. It supports satellite view too, so you can identify, say, two houses that you are familiar with and see how far they are apart. This would also be good if you lived on a large property and wanted to range various places from your house, so you could set your rifle scope's elevation correctly.

I like "What3Words" for a way to identify locations using words that are easier to remember and convey to others than GPS coordinates.

I like "SkyView" for identifying celestial objects in the sky overhead.

Here's a bump to this thread with an article about "What3Words" use by first responders:

https://globalnews.ca/news/7612779/what3words-geocode-app-ontario-emergency-services/

Very cool!

This thread got me looking into GPS apps. I found a great one for tracking me taking walks around town. This is not for what the O.P. is looking for, but I found it very useful for a different purpose and I thought others might too.

Android app: Sportractive (note the extra "r" between "sport" and "active".

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sportractive