I can barely leave home, let alone travel, without relying on my iPhone and Apple Watch to help me get to my destination. I’ve long used Apple Maps to get driving and walking directions when visiting new cities. Last year, the tech giant Some features have been introduced This has made my device even more indispensable when traveling, including offline maps and easier-to-navigate maps of several major cities.
With the release of iOS 18 earlier this fall, Apple introduced More travel-friendly featuresincluding additional improvements to Apple Maps that are particularly beneficial to hikers. You can now access detailed hiking trails in all 63 U.S. national parks on your iPhone or Apple Watch using Apple Maps. I’ve always relied on other apps for outdoor activities, but these new features clearly show that Apple Maps can do it all on its own. But there was only one way to know for sure – I had to test it.
My family is lucky enough to live less than two hours from Mammoth Cave National Park, which has several above-ground trails in addition to underground trails, so my husband and I loaded our three kids in the car and headed out to explore A great day outdoors.
before hiking
Before we set off on our hike, I downloaded an offline map of Mammoth Cave National Park. Because so many national parks are (fortunately) far from civilization, their cell phone service is often spotty.
To download offline maps in Apple Maps, just search for the national park you plan to visit. You should see a button that says “Download” next to the button that says distance traveled. After clicking the download button, you can customize the area of the map you want to download. I recommend making it large enough that you can also use it to access driving routes around the park. Even when driving to Mammoth Cave, having a map of the area downloaded to my phone came in handy.
On the same screen where you clicked to download the offline map, you can scroll down to see a list of the park’s hiking trails. Since I had three kids with me, I knew I had to choose a hike that wasn’t too long or too high in elevation. When I browse for hikes, I can see the length, elevation, and whether it’s a round trip or point-to-point hike.
I did a short out-and-back hike and then turned around at the cave’s historic entrance. People have been using this entrance for thousands of years, and many park tours still pass through it today. After selecting a hike (or hikes), click on the hike and then click “Add to Library.” Once it’s in your library, you can access it anytime by opening Apple Maps, clicking your profile picture, and then clicking Library.
If you prefer to go your own way, you can also create custom walking routes in Apple Maps and save them to your library. To create a custom route, simply click on any road or trail, click More, and select Create Custom Route. You can then click on any path or road on the map to add additional stops along your custom route. Apple Maps can help you complete round-trip or closed-loop routes, depending on your preference.
During the hike
Because I downloaded a map of Mammoth Cave before heading out and saved my favorite hikes, I was able to get driving directions directly to the parking lot near the trailhead. Before this update, I could only use Apple Maps to get to the park’s main visitor center and find my way to the trailhead.
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Once we arrived, I opened up the walking directions of my saved hikes so I could easily track how far we had gone. The trails at Mammoth Cave are well marked, but it would be nice to have a backup plan in case we got lost or wanted to do another hike after completing the first one (in fact, the kids opted for lunch instead of more of hiking).
When our hike was over, it was easy to find our way back to the car using Apple Maps. To show your parked vehicle on Apple Maps, go to Settings on your iPhone, click Maps and make sure Show Parked Locations is turned on. This ensures that you can see where your parked car is, given that your phone is paired with your car’s Bluetooth or CarPlay.
bottom line
The latest features in Apple Maps make exploring our country easier, safer and more fun national park Or create your own path with custom walking trails. I love hanging out with my family and I can’t wait to try the new features again. Maybe next time I can convince my kids to walk a little longer before stopping to eat.
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